The makers have claimed that Geethaanjali is not the sequel of Manichithrathazhu. They are right and personally I wish to call it as the lamest remake of the classic psychological thriller. Geethaanjali from director Priyadarshan has all the elements of Manichithrathazhu happening at the same time zone (in terms of scripting) and to see Dr Sunny not so funny makes the experience severely boring. I think Mohanlal has got more screen time in Red Wine when compared to this movie.
The latest story has this couple Anoop and Anjali. They plan to get married soon. But an accident happened to Anjali’s mother forces them to go to her house which people consider as a haunted one after the mysterious death of Anjali’s twin sister Geetha. The scary series of events that happens in that house and the solution to all this with the arrival of ghost buster Dr Sunny Joseph is the content of Geethaanjali.
The really disturbing fact about Geethaanjali is its constant reference towards the old classic. We have Anoop and Anjali replacing Nakulan and Ganga. There is a haunted room which the female protagonist opens that leads to the problems (similar to Manichithrathazhu). Thilakan is replaced by Nassar. Keerthy Suresh’s character is a mix of Ganga and Sreedevi. Madhu in a way replaces Nedumudi Venu. We have the psychiatrist digging the past and similar to the character played by Sudheesh, you can see a girl in Geethaanjali. Even the way Dr Sunny saves Anoop in the climax looked similar to Manichithrathazhu. All these duplications only reduce the smartness of the craziest and charming psychiatrist we have seen on screen. The only thing new when compared to the old one was the inclusion of the idea of twins, but that also seems to be taken from other language films.
On screen I am really sad to say that Mohanlal has nothing to do as Dr Sunny Joseph. The character enters the scene only towards the end of the first half and even in the second half it is difficult to spot the doctor. Keerthy Suresh looks pretty and acts nicely in those pleasant sequences. But those psychological breakdown scenes towards the end were too heavy for her. Nishan disappoints. Innocent’s character manages to crack the audience occasionally. Siddique, Madhu, Nassar, Seema and many others are there in small roles.
Priyadarshan sadly couldn’t create any scariness in the treatment. The used out ideas where repeated and a larger part of the audience were finding it funny. The script depends upon the old classic in too many ways and offers very less to be called as fresh. Edits are nice and cinematography was also pleasing. The music isn’t that great but that theme music was catchy.
Overall Geethaanjali is a concept that could have been better if they offered new difficulties to Dr Sunny Joseph. Too much similarities makes this movie boring and the lesser screen time of Mohanlal will surely disappoint those who were eagerly waiting for the actor’s charming performance on screen after a long while. My rating is 2/5 for Geethaanjali.
Geethaanjali is a concept that could have been better if they offered new difficulties to Dr Sunny Joseph.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
