The USP of the latest film, Nadanna Sambhavam from Vishnu Narayan, who previously made Tovino Thomas starrer Maradona, is its relevance. The perspective of the antagonists in this movie is something that is very prevalent in our society, and an effective mockery of that is something that is very essential. Written by Rajesh Gopinadhan, who had previously written movies like Kali and Djin, Nadanna Sambhavam would give you a feeling that they sort of stretched a short film theme into a feature film. But the humor and the pertinence of the themes the movie brush upon makes it an enjoyable watch.
So, the story is set against the backdrop of this posh residential colony. Almost all the houses in that colony follow the conventional power dynamic between the husbands and wives. To this equation comes Sreekumaran Unni, his wife Roshy, and their daughter. The bond between them was very warm, and there were no insecurities in that relationship. The openness of Unni and how the women in that residential space enjoyed his company made him an eyesore for the chauvinistic men there. An event that happened due to their fragile male ego and how it transpires into something big is what we see in Nadanna Sambhavam.
There are no major surprises here. Once you watch the promos and once the movie begins, it is pretty evident that it is a movie that is going to mock the people who do moral policing. The first half is the setup, and we have a predictable series of events that are designed to irritate the fragile male ego. Post the inciting event, the movie is in a tricky space. The humor is consistently helping the movie to be engaging. But at the same time, we as an audience would feel that the writing is kind of stretching the theme a little too much by using certain unnecessary characters. Because these unnecessary add-ons are happening along with some hilarious conversations, you sort of forgive the bloated nature of the writing.
Biju Menon has the grace and swagger to be Unni, who is very open to talking about sensitive things and, at the same time, is aware of the other person’s personal space. The character is very safe in his hands and just doesn’t feel like an unreal man with toxic positivity. Suraj Venjaramood, as Ajith is actually playing a tweaked version of his character from The Great Indian Kitchen. For a larger part of the movie, Ajith is not that comical, but his reaction to the police officers after the final fight sequence is just hilarious. Lijomol Jose, as the suppressed wife, was fine in her character. Shruti Ramachandran shares a warm chemistry with Biju Menon, and the pairing effectively portrays how an ideal couple should look like. After a small break, Sudhy Kopa is back in his typical home wrecker avatar. Johny Antony was hilarious as the SI.
Even though it is designed as this simplistic sarcastic comedy that wants to tease the Sanskari men, there is an attempt to push the boundary in terms of conversation through the key elements in the script. Ajith, in one scene, proudly says that he is not the kind of guy who would sneak into the kitchen to understand what his wife is talking about. Unni becomes a relief for most women in that place because Unni doesn’t have such petty male arrogance. Also, there is an emphasis on the need for an active and happy sex life for a relationship to move forward. The only issue is that all these relevant themes that need to be addressed in popular cinema are happening in between certain humor that is kind of unnecessary. The other characters in the police station, the Tender Coconut Chicken cooking of the CI, etc., were unnecessary distractions that rarely contributed to the movie’s plot.
Nadanna Sambhavam is like watching a skit without sexism or racism. Comedy movies have a wider reach among the audience, and it feels like a sensible decision to include all these timely topics in a film that uses humor as a tool to keep the audience engaged. With some genuine laugh-out-loud moments here and there and a compact runtime, Nadanna Sambhavam is a passable comedy.
With some genuine laugh-out-loud moments here and there and a compact runtime, Nadanna Sambhavam is a passable comedy.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
