Aavasavyuham

Aavasavyuham from Krishand, which won the state award for the best screenplay, is an original thought that looks very peculiar. It is very much a genre blend. We have a supernatural element driving the whole plot from the beginning. Then it takes the form of a mockumentary. And it eventually reaches that “educative” cinema trope, but not in a very loud and preachy way. While blending all these contrasting genres created curiosity, I felt the movie couldn’t reach that point where it felt like a fascinating idea.

The whole film is presented as one mockumentary where multiple people talk about one man who had a significant role in their life. One girl who was in love with that man, a guy who lost his brother because of that man, a man whose life changed for the better after his entry, etc., are among those who share their perspective on the guy. By tracking this man, whose origin is a mystery, Aavasavyuham tries to become a satiric commentary on the socio-political reality of our society.

Doing some youtube research on the IOC plant issue in Puthuvypeen will be a good thing to do before watching this film. A significant chunk of the movie is set in Puthuvypeen, and the environment is a crucial player in this film. The central character can attract fish and frogs, and we see the other characters using him for their own benefit. Rather than taking the side of the protestors, the movie looks at the Puthuvypeen issue holistically and mocks the greed of human beings.

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Using the Green mile-ish central character and this multiple-character narration, Krishand is trying to expand the movie’s scope. We have the moral policing thing happening in the beginning, then it slips onto greed, and then the flaws in the policing system are also exposed sarcastically. The research details we hear parallelly in the film have this metaphoric nature with what happens in the movie. You can’t blame the film for trying to expand its scope, but somewhere I felt that decision diluted the impact it wanted to create.

Karikku fame Rahul Rajagopal plays the role of the central character, who is a mystery to all. More than the scope to perform, I think his physique made him a perfect choice for the role. Nileen Sandra, as Lissy, handled the character’s dialect and attitude pretty neatly. Zhinz Shan as Susheelan was pretty effective, especially in those narrating sequences. Sreenath Babu, whom I recollect delivering a memorable performance in the 2018 film Nonsense, got a good character in this film. Geethi Sangeetha, Sreejith Babu, Sanoop Padaveedan, etc., are the other names in the cast.

The Arbit Documentation of An Amphibian Hunt: Aavasavyuham is the film’s title, and it is indeed a strange and unique experience. Krishand is definitely not convoluting his idea to serve it to a niche audience. Even though it felt like a movie that needed one more round of refinement, the approach makes it an appreciable effort.