Samshayam, the latest Vinay Forrt starrer, is a movie that tries to address the extremely sensitive aspect of parenthood in the attire of a comedy. While it is managing to make its statement towards the movie’s final moments, the decision to treat it as this borderline eccentric comedy is a tricky one. Because I found myself thinking that they are overdoing a slim and straightforward plot for the sake of generating goofy comedy around an ignorant person. With the movie ultimately becoming a critique of a lot of social stigma, Samshayam is appreciable only on a thematic level.
The movie is set in Vadakara, and our main man, Manoj, is an Indian Coffee House employee who is married to Vimala. After almost three years of marriage, the couple was blessed with a boy child. The family’s happy life went into a concerning space when a doubt arose about the child when he was one and a half years old. What was that doubt, and how things changed after that is what we see in Samshayam.
At the beginning of the movie, they have written that it is based on a true story. And in the initial humor driver portions of the film, you can sense that something like this could happen in our society. Like how certain half-knowledge can mess up people’s headspace. The challenge for the movie is actually in heading towards the climax after establishing this premise. Because there are no major hurdles in reality for such a case, and hence the writing is trying to find obstacles in the path of Manoj to make it a difficult journey for him. There is a scene where Manoj gives up on his legal battle for closure, and he confesses to the policeman that this case has made him a fool in front of others. His ignorant efforts are so comical that the audience won’t really feel bad for him.
Rajesh Ravi, who has co-written and directed this movie, wants to keep it in a subtle space largely because there is an emotional element to the story. The creative decision to accentuate the ignorance of Manoj and his wife Vimala, is where the movie fumbles. And certain actions and behaviour of Manoj are a bit too much that it feels like they have designed the character to add comedy to the basic story. The overdependence on the humor created using Manoj’s insensibility and ego sort of exposes the creative void in the minds of the writers to give a middle point to this script. The warmth and drama they have managed to present in the lives of the second couple, Harris and Faiza, were very effective, and that track was in sync with the sensitive element in the story.
Even though he is getting the aid of fake teeth and all the hair and makeup, I am kind of getting a feeling that Vinay Forrt is somewhere getting repetitive in how he performs these insecure male characters. In the case of Samshayam, I feel that he was asked to perform this character in that caricature-like pitch, and at times, this goofiness of the character is getting into your nerves. Lijomol Jose, who plays the role of the wife, who shares the same doubt, is luckily not asked to play that character in that loud pitch, and for that reason, it felt like a decent performance.
My favorite performer was Sharafudheen. That character is an optimistic guy who understands his partner, and there is that grace in the performance. What makes his portrayal of Harris really solid is the way he transitions into that comical space and the vulnerable space without necessarily making a drastic switch. Priyamavada Krishnan’s performance in this movie has a lot of ease, and looking at the kind of characters she has done before this, there was a sense of freshness to the whole thing.
I am not divulging the central idea because the makers have kept it a secret from those who wish to watch this movie. As an idea, Samshayam has all the scope to be an interesting cinema. But the problem with this movie is the inability of the writing to control its urge to be humorous. And there are phases in the film where the key character’s journey is so absurd that we won’t be able to show empathy towards him for his insensitive deeds. In totality, Samshayam feels like a wasted opportunity.
