June directed by Ahammed Kabeer is
The movie shows us the transformation of our main protagonist June from a teenager to a mature woman. Slightly introverted June opens up during her plus two days and the movie shows us her concepts about romance, her heartbreak, her family and ultimately how she learns life from all these chapters that happened in her life.
Like I said in the beginning, the first half of the movie is a mixed bag of good and bad. Ahammed Kabeer and his writers are trying to establish the bonding between the plus-two gang of friends within an hour of screen time. For the movie to work in the climax, this bonding has to be achieved and what was problematic for me was the over-emphasis on being cool and chill. But there are moments of lighter and relatable laughter like that land phone ringing teaser which kept the movie in an engaging zone. Where the film really scores is in its second half where the conflicts are more on the practical side. The openness the movie has about the significance of the correct relationship in life, the way it respects the individuality of a female and the less judgmental approach of the movie towards its central character etc. reduces the cheesiness considerably.
Rajisha Vijayan is the one who is carrying this whole movie in her shoulders and I have to say that she is the best when it comes to crying on screen. Usually, when actors sob on screen, there is a tendency for the audience to howl as it isn’t convincing. But Rajisha Vijayan in both Anuraga Karikkin Vellam and June manages to deliver exactly what the script demands. We laugh at June when she is being ridiculous and we feel for her when she is in pain. And there is a gifted realness in her behavioral acting which also helps her in making June a lovable character. Sarjano Khalid was graceful and real in being Noel who gradually shapes up as an individual with confidence. Both of them shared a nice rapport and the fight inside the car sounded sensible and real. Arjun Ashokan as the government school guy is also likable and there is a fluency in his performance which wasn’t utilized in his other movies. Joju George and Rajisha Vijayan as this father-daughter duo are so nice to watch on screen. Even in that okay kind of first half the energy and chemistry of these two becomes a saving factor for the movie. Almost all the youngsters in the plus-two gang manage to create an impression.
Ahammed Kabeer has an idea about how to present things without much cheesiness. He and his co-writers Libin Varghese and Jeevan Baby Mathew know the need to be rawer and cool as they are exploring the story of a girl from the point of view of the girl. As I already said, the film is a bit too eccentric in the first half and slowly gets into a rhythm only when it approaches the halfway point. Post intermission there is a lot more clarity and energy in the narrative. The relationship struggles, the individuality, and independence of the title character etc. get explored here and I loved the way they used the character played by Arjun Ashokan, Anand to loosen up the tension. Because he was a stalker, I sort of found the ending pretty convincing. The visuals are really pleasing and I must say that the opening visuals were so good and it really creates a positive impression in front of people who are in for a movie made by debutants. The music from Ifthi is also pretty sweet and effective in depicting the character of June.
In a recent interview, the makers were asked whether this is the
Rating: 3/5
The movie is from the female perspective and never tries to ridicule its male characters and I would say that is something some of the other filmmakers should look at and learn from these debutants.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
