An International Local Story

If any of you have plans to go for the movie An International Local Story even if you read this particular review, I have information for you. In the first 15 minutes of the movie, you will see a diamond episode set in Malaysia (shot in Kochi). That subplot has nothing to do with the plot of this whole movie. This Harisree Ashokan directorial is pretty much a friendship story with a lot of deviations created just for the sake of comedy.

I don’t really know how to arrange the minimal summary of the film as there are so many pointless distractions. So let me just say that it is the love story of Rahul, a young doctor. He has a gang of four friends and they are very close to him. And he is also in love with a girl named Lakshmi. But somehow Rahul ends up in a scenario where he commits to another marriage. When everything was all set for that marriage, a series of problems happen and the movie An International Local Story tells us how the hero and his friends surpass all of that.

A movie like Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan or Amar Akbar Anthony worked mainly because the frequent jokes in those films either contributed to the buildup of a certain character or the progression of the story. I am saying this because the success of those films has lead to the creation of a particular kind of Malayalam cinema where people believe that a series of skit jokes woven into an okay kind of story is the recipe to create a blockbuster entertainer. An International Local Story is a “local” story by all means. They had a plot where one guy loves a girl and he is forced to marry another girl who was in love with someone else. In to this very ordinary one line, instead of creative additions, Harisree Ashokan and his screenwriting trio decide to squeeze in jokes. They decided to make the movie look like an ensemble by developing subplots that have no significance in the movie at all. And at the end of all that, they reached the climax in a way that was duller than one expected.

It is one movie where the space given to actors is very much equal. Maybe someone like Dharmajan or Bijukkuttan may have got the larger screen time here and they are not even the most important characters in the film. Rahul Madhav is fine as Doctor Rahul as the major requirement here is to look like a stereotypical hero in a gang of friends. The other members in the gang include Deepak Parambol, Dharmajan, Bijukuttan and Ashwin Jose (Queen fame). Manoj K Jayan, Tini Tom, and John Kaippallil play the roles of a brother trio. Harisree Ashokan is their eccentric uncle and Nandhu plays the role of their father. Surabhi Santosh is the heroine here and she meets the requirement of being pretty in a role that offers pretty much nothing for her to perform. Harisree Ashokan has tried his maximum best to include one actor from the mimicry field in every scene.

It is one movie where the space given to actors is very much equal. Maybe someone like Dharmajan or Bijukkuttan may have got the larger screen time here and they are not even the most important characters in the film. Rahul Madhav is fine as Doctor Rahul as the major requirement here is to look like a stereotypical hero in a gang of friends. The other members in the gang include Deepak Parambol, Dharmajan, Bijukuttan and Ashwin Jose (Queen fame). Manoj K Jayan, Tini Tom, and John Kaippallil play the roles of a brother trio. Harisree Ashokan is their eccentric uncle and Nandhu plays the role of their father. Surabhi Santosh is the heroine here and she meets the requirement of being pretty in a role that offers pretty much nothing for her to perform. Harisree Ashokan has tried his maximum best to include one actor from the mimicry field in every scene.

After the entire Malaysia episode, the movie slips into a song that shows the growth of the three brothers played by Manoj K Jayan, Tini Tom, and John Kaippallil. What’s so baffling is that the movie at that point felt like the story about these three and then suddenly takes a detour and disconnects totally from these brothers. Then Harisree Ashokan tries to make it a story about friendship and sacrifice which really makes it a boring and unsurprising experience. In the midst of all this, we have characters coming in and out of the story just for the sake of skit jokes and poor Nandhu is walking around waiting for something to fall on his head. The background score is excessive. The music isn’t really making any impression in this chaotic screenplay as most of the songs aren’t really blended with the movie.

An International Local Story is tailor-made for the editor of the programs in channels like Surya TV Comedy. Because it is skit comedy one after the other and you won’t remember any of it once you come out of the theater. This movie isn’t annoying, but it is flat out boring.

Rating: 1.5/5

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By Aswin Bharadwaj

Founder and editor of Lensmen Reviews.

View all of Aswin Bharadwaj's posts.