The unconventional off beat style used for AKAM is not something new for us. But the question I found asking myself is how appropriate that style was to this kind of a theme. Based on Malayattoor Ramakrishnan’ famous work “Yakshi”, this film from Shalini Usha Nair is something that lacks clarity. The vague memories of watching the film Yakshi in my childhood was the only thing that helped me in connecting the scenarios in this reinvention of the classic.
The plot here has a young architect Sreenivasan. While he was in a relationship, Sreenivasan met with a road accident and his face got badly damaged and it severely influenced his mental health as a lot of inferiority complex started to build in his mind. But after a while he meets this girl Ragini who regardless of his imperfections in looks loves him. Soon after his marriage with Ragini, Sreenivasan’s inferiority complex starts to play and he starts to believe that his wife is a Yakshi. The drama that happens in Sreenivasan’s life that in a way justifies his doubts is basically the core of Akam.
Well, what is missing in this film is the agonizing factor. The mystery and the circumstances demand the canvas to be a bit scary or curious. But sadly the long shots without any intercuts cant make that impact on the audience and leave you waiting for the screenplay to press the accelerator. The intriguing performance of the main protagonists is what makes this movie a watchable one. Even in a self re edit, Akam fails to find a proper rhythm.
On screen, Fahadh Faazil once again performs exceedingly well as the complicated young man. His psycho shades were quite natural. Anumol on the other hand performs in a silent tone. The lesser dialogs of her character makes her role challenging and she has given an impressive performance. Sajitha Madathil proves her talent within those limited number of scenes and Prakash Bare also did his part neatly.
In the making, as I said the director could have done something to make the plot more engaging. The efforts to make the frames realistic take away that super natural feel from the movie. As the film is narrated through Sreenivasan’s view, I think they should have kept the tempo on a higher level. The dialogs demanded a bit more sharpness and even the existing sharpness is lost due to the sync sound. DOP has done a convincing job.
Long shots without intercuts, practical pauses and uneven slicing takes the charm away from Akam. Acknowledging the performances, I am giving it a 2.5/5. It’s not a bad attempt, considering the urban color they have added to the original plot; but the treatment is something that will annoy you for sure.
Long shots without intercuts, practical pauses and uneven slicing takes the charm away from Akam.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
I disagree completely with this review. The unique (for malayalam cinema) techniques adopted by the director, that this reviewer believes to “take the charm away from Akam”, actually helps further shroud the narrative in mystery. The sense of eeriness created by these very techniques were extremely satisfying to me.
This review reminds me of the initial reaction that Terrence Mallik’s masterpiece “The Tree of Life” received. Similar techniques were initially interpreted to take the attention away from the movie. More patient viewing has since celebrated this great piece of work.
Anybody willing to be a little more patient with “Akam”, is sure to have their patience rewarded with a visual and emotional treat like no other in recent Malayalam movie history.