Hadiyya

Watching certain movies would end up in making you search for synonyms for words like cliché, outdated etc. Hadiyya, directed by Unni Pranavam is one such torturing melodrama that has an extremely lame writing and a making that can be called outdated even this movie was made 10 years back. With a screenplay that tries to embrace secularism in the most futile way, Hadiyya is that unwanted gift.

Brahamah is this architect who has great knowledge in almost all the religions. Sarah is a nun who was forced to choose that path. When Brahmah met Sara he immediately liked her character as she was a kind person with compassion. Circumstances force Sarah to leave the nun life to take care of her father and things eventually ended up in the marriage of Brahmah and Sarah. After making a lot of buzz about their marriage, the couple is now facing an issue with conceiving a baby and the film’s prominent conflict is about solving this problem.

I am sorry if I spilled out too much of content, but that’s the only way I could comprise this movie in to a synopsis. If you look at the politics of this film, it is very much a laughable one. Our lead pair decides to get converted into Islam to attain a neutral ground to get married. I don’t know why the writer was forcing them to choose a particular religion when they have already realized that religion was only creating barricades. At one side they are talking very progressively and at another side they were becoming more of a slave to the religion. Even if you just avoid the political debate, the sort of writing this movie has will only give you headache because of its high dose of melodrama. Surrogacy is something that becomes a main element in the movie and there also we can see the preaching and artificiality of scenes spoiling everything. The way it subtly promoted polygamy was something really pretentious in my opinion.

Nishan off late hasn’t been a great success in Malayalam and here also we get to see a half hearted performance from him. Dubbing wasn’t done by the usual guy and that really causes trouble. Ragini Nandwani is only a good looking heroine here. Her acting chops were poor and the dubbing was terrible. Leona just can’t handle the enormous melodrama. There are plenty of characters in this movie and nobody really stays in your head. It was interesting to see Ameer Niyas as a lively character.

The making of this film is mediocre. Unni Pranavam seems to be stuck in the style that his senior Shaji Kailas followed. The melodrama and clichés we get to see, only makes things more painful. The way Unni has visualized religious opposition to the wedding of our lead pair through a song is really funny. There is a sequence in the film where a young man decides not to go for rented uterus and thanks Brahmah for enlightening him on that. You have to see it; unintentional comedy at its best. The conflicts Abdul Razak has created for the story is way too peripheral and filmy. Except for the hummable tunes from music director Sharreth, all the other departments in the technical side were poor.

Hadiyya has a butt-numbing length, terrible execution of drama and a pretentious endorsement of religion. Actors like Sajitha Madathil, Alencier Lay and Sujith Shankar are there in the movie, those were the baits that trapped me.

Rating: 1/5