Basheerinte Premalekhanam

Basheerinte Premalekhanam from Aneesh Anwar had the potential to be a romantic satire as the premise of the film had the elements of such stories. But due to the signature melodrama we see in all the Aneesh Anwar films and with a story that doesn’t seem to be interested in investing in a particular bit of the content, this roughly two hour long movie has discrete jokes, but no real juice in the making.

It is set in the mid 80s where TV was a rarity and even a radio was only there in rich houses. So our protagonist Basheer is a diploma holder who knows the mechanism of TV. So when a TV arrived at the house of Panchayath President, Basheer got the chance to make it work and the movie is about the love bond between Basheer and Suhara (Panchayath President’s daughter) and how the obsession of the people around there about the TV plays a key role in that love story.

Remember Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu? When you watch Basheerinte Premalekhanam chances of you remembering that film is there. I am not saying Basheerinte Premalekhanam has achieved the cinematic beauty of that Sathyan Anthikkadu classic. In fact, it is nowhere near that. But when you see enormous number of characters, polarized ideologies and obsession for fame, you will somehow remember the characters we have seen in Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu. Where Aneesh Anwar and team have failed is in nurturing those characters. At certain points the movie isn’t even about Basheer and Suhara. That aimlessness and the sort of track comedy feel some of the subplots have ruined the structure.

Farhan Faasil who made his debut in Njan Steve Lopez was an apt choice in that film as his inherent innocence was something that suited a character like Steve. But here almost all the characters are caricatures. And the actor in him is struggling hard to attain that level of eccentricity. Sana Althaf is a pretty face and her expressions were also lovely. But when it comes to dialogue delivery she fumbles. Joy Mathew’s typical Calicut slang helps him in being that character and same was the case with Kanaran Hareesh. Sheela’s old school acting wasn’t that convincing. The elaborate cast has names like Manikandan Achari, Madhu, Indrans, Sivaji Guruvayoor and many others who were all okay in their respective characters.

In his past films, Aneesh Anwar has shown us his obsession for extreme melodrama and slow motion shots. Here may be because of the humor tone of the story, the director has reduced these aspects considerably. But his presentation of characters lacked depth this time. The screenplay isn’t giving much time to any character and the narrative has various focus points at various times. Because of that we don’t get to see neither a beautiful love story, nor a satirical village story. The back story involving Manikandan Achari was too cheesy.  The dialogues have zero impact on us emotionally. Frames and cuts were pretty average. Music from Vishnu Mohansithara isn’t that absorbing and the music director isn’t trying to do anything fresh.

Basheerinte Premalekhanam is a wannabe romantic comedy with very less romance and a lot of unbaked comedy. It won’t be a test of patience due to the fair enough pace it has, but because of the same pace it won’t stay in your heart.

Rating: 2/5