The intention of the new Malayalam film Lurk, directed by MA Nishad, may well be to talk about the human versus animal conflict, which is a recurring news story these days. But what it eventually looks like is an unwarranted acting showreel of the director who thinks he can pull off a convincing Casanova on screen. Looking at the opening sequence of the movie, I thought even though MA Nishad has not managed to get good actors for all roles, the political themes of the movie might be relevant. Well, my hopes only lasted till the introduction of Mr. Nishad’s character in the movie, which was his version of a mass entry, with us hearing build-up about his sharpshooter character from the minister, collector, and other top officials. With the animal atrocities being shown redundantly and MA Nishad’s womanizing acts being shown hilariously, Lurk feels like MA Nishad’s official application to be featured in the universe of Appooppan and the Boys.
So as you can imagine, the story is set in a hilly area near a reserved forest. The people of that village are fed up with the attacks of elephants and tigers in their area. Their protest eventually results in the arrival of this veterinary doctor who is also a shooter and has expertise in tranquilizing wild animals. What happens after this character’s entry in that village is what we see in Lurk.
This is a highly debated topic where people who are away from the forests have criticized the situation for human encroachment, and people who are living in those areas have defended, saying it is their survival. So I was curious to know how a movie made based on such a conflicted theme would address that issue. But rather than having any creative approach, MA Nishad just adds all the commonly known information as some fresh take. His character is giving a speech and says that animals will attack only if you attack them. Dude, those people are not tourists; they live there, and they know that. And when it comes to depicting those who talk about the issue of human encroachment, instead of addressing it, he decides to please the gallery by caricaturing animal lovers.
The problem of terrible characterization is throughout this movie. There is one subplot featuring Naxals, and the depiction of those characters can either make Naxals come to the cities seeking revenge for humiliation or commit suicide out of shame. The police characters in this movie seem to have bunked classes from the police academy and gone for movies featuring police personalities as heroes. It is that outdated. The way this movie forces top officials in the story to speak in English in highly intense situations can make you laugh out loud. I mean, MA Nishad is still stuck in that old filmmaking sensibility, and in a recent interview he claimed that he has given the film a treatment that would make even Gen Z like this movie. I am pretty sure he said this before the Jantar Mantar chapter.
The story idea here is the most basic one can imagine. The script written by Jubin Jacob, based on a story by MA Nishad himself, basically shows multiple events of elephants and tigers attacking villagers. Since they don’t have an interest in taking a proper stand on this issue, they decided to make a cinematic narrative that creates a parallel between humans and animals. The thing is, this idea of showing humans as more dangerous than animals is also not that fresh. The overall structure of the story pretty much shows how desperate the makers are to give it the stamp of a socially relevant movie despite its extreme mediocrity. The movie has been selected for almost four film festivals, and just like how the NEET topper who said students should go and study instead of protesting recently proved that rank doesn’t mean common sense, Lurk basically shows that entry in film festivals doesn’t necessarily really mean it has quality.
In a print interview, I read that MA Nishad decided to do the grey-shaded main character because the actors whom he wanted to play that role had date issues. Well, I have heard various actors have various ways of saying no, and MA Nishad should have understood that off-screen method acting and shelved the project. He also said that he has got awards for his performance in a few other films. Well, as someone who has seen Lurk and his previous film Oru Anweshanathinte Thudakkam, I have a request to all those trusts and associations who are giving out awards. Please double-check before encouraging. The character Jayaram, played by MA Nishad in this movie, is a grey-shaded character who is a womanizer. And watching the wannabe KP Ummer expressions on his face itself can make you feel violated. The playboy tactics and the seducing poetic dialogues are peak examples of delusion. “Kaattil chellumbol kaadayi maaranam” “Aduthekk chellumbol oro maravum ottakkaanu” “Pappan mosham aayal ethanayum pizhach povum” are some of the T-shirt print-worthy dialogues of this environmental classic.
Anumol is an underused actor who deserves more exposure, and if you have any doubts about her potential, just look at how she stays in character when MA Nishad romances her on screen; true professional. At one point, her character says “Kamam bhayathekkal meleyanu,” and looking at the way MA Nishad was showing lust, the dialogue felt like a performance review. Poor TG Ravi is given a stereotypical character, and they have used the specs-on-the-forehead joke with his character. Manju Pillai plays the role of the collector, and she was struggling to say the English dialogues Jubin Jacob wrote to show off his vocabulary. Saiju Kurup plays the part of a minister, and it may have been 2-3 days of shooting. Alexandar Prasanth’s character has a space in the story, while it rarely demanded anything special from him. God knows the purpose of Aju Varghese’s character in the movie. Poster demands, I guess. Neetha Manoj plays the part of the police head, and it clearly shows that this is her first movie. Jaffer Idukki, Muthumani, Prasanth Murali, Sohan Seenulal, Saritha Kukku, Sminu Sijo, etc. are the other prominent names here appearing in small characters.
I really think that, just like reviewers, filmmakers should also try to watch at least three movies every weekend in theaters. If you watch other people’s movies with an audience who has a clear judgment, you might get to know how outdated your thoughts are. Maybe you will know how torturous it is to sit through movies that have the same depth and craft as your movie. Maybe you will experience the high of a good movie, and that would push you to rewrite or even scrap the idea you wanted to make. The extreme basicness and self-obsession one has to endure in this movie might well be equivalent to the suffering of all those who are living in forest areas. And that’s a director-brilliance even MA Nishad didn’t plan.
