Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal, directed and written by Sharan Venugopal, is mostly narrated from the point of view of two cousins who are not shy to express their feelings and are entirely different from the rest of the family. Their observations about each of the family members, their lack of inhibition in expressing themselves, etc., give this funeral drama kind of film the form of a mix of social critique and character study. Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal is not your typical three-act structure drama that is adamant about having a purpose. It traverses through real characters, and some of the conversations in it really stay with you.
As the title suggests, the film revolves around the three sons of Narayani, Vishwanathan, Sethu, and Bhaskar. The equation between Vishwanathan, the eldest, and Bhaskar, the youngest, wasn’t that great as Bhaskar chose to marry a Muslim woman and settled in the UK against the wishes of the family. Sethu, the middle one, is an unmarried guy who lives by running the family-owned shop. What we see in the film are the events that happen in the house of Narayani as she is on her deathbed, and Bhaskar also comes to see his mother for the first time after his marriage.
Some movies really allow you to view it from the perspectives of multiple characters, and you can sort of create a philosophy of your own from the lines those characters say, the history we get to know about those characters, etc. Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal, in my opinion, is one of those films. The dynamic between the two cousins has a certain level of intimacy, which our default morality would find hard to accept and understand. While watching this movie in a fairly occupied theater, I could sense the restlessness in the audience, who were totally not okay with it.
Even in the movie, there is a category of characters who can’t understand the root of that connection. And somewhere, I felt the three sons of Narayani represented the various evolution levels of individuals in understanding that relationship. Sethu, who had a dyslexic childhood and is constantly looked down upon by the two brothers, is actually the only one who has a broader worldview. The scene in the trailer where he talks about the meaning of the word ephemeral, felt like subtle guidance to his nephew and niece to have a border to protect the warmth they were experiencing in that moment.
The family drama track of the movie is, in a way, a modern-day version of what we saw in Padmarajan’s Thinkalazhcha Nalla Divasam. The progressive and regressive elements in each character make them very real on screen. Sharan is not really trying to paint anyone black or white. Vishwanathan is easily the most regressive and old-school one in the lot, but in a scene in which he bargains with another man with an unreasonable amount for a land deal, we get to know what made him such a harsh guy who respected his father for what the father had to go through. The mutual comfort in the equation of Athira and Nikhil, the loneliness in the life of the frequently disrespected Sethu, and the equation between Bhasker and Nafeesa are all very lovely to watch.
Sharan Venugopal is not really trying to push the drama to an extremely theatrical level. When a key event sparks a rift in the family towards the very end, it is not followed up by the usual melodrama. Except for one or two characters, we can see the story trying to address the whole thing in a more mature manner. Appu Prabhakar’s cinematography compliments the gentleness of the storytelling here with beautifully framed static shots. The lack of verbal overdose really makes the equations between characters a lot more authentic. Rahul Raj’s music and background score respects the tone of the film. The usage of sync sound with minimal intrusion of background score also puts the audience in the middle of the drama.
Garggi Ananthan, who portrayed the part of Athira in this movie, was my favorite performer. Since the movie is not a dialogue-heavy one, almost every performer has the task of giving us an idea about their characters through expressions and gestures that come along with those excerpts of dialogue, and I thought Garggi did a fantastic job. Thomas Mathew, whom we last saw in Anandam, makes a comeback in this movie with a character named Nikhil, and the guy carries the traits of an NRI very gracefully.
Coming to the title characters, Alencier Lay Lopez plays the part of the orthodox elder son Vishwanathan, and he performs the mood swings of that character very convincingly. Joju George as Sethu, the cool single uncle of the family, is easily the most likable character in the film, and it is amazing how he makes each character in this feel-good zone distinct. Suraj Venjaramood is the youngest son, Bhaskar, and from being very natural in the initial scenes and the sequence where he takes Nikhil out for a walk to those emotional sequences featuring the elder brother, Suraj also performed his part very effectively. Shelly Kishore was pretty convincing as Bhaskar’s understanding partner, while the dialogue delivery of Sajitha Madathil felt a little bit stiff in certain scenes.
The ambiguous ending of Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal somewhere gives you an idea that the film isn’t trying to be a story about a particular incident. Within the runtime of 113 minutes, we get a deeper idea about the three sons of Narayani and her grandkids. When you look at the story from Sethu’s perspective, the lonely soul who wanted to keep the family together, we can see that he had the most mature response to every situation, and yet he was considered a fool and a failure. Watching Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal was like observing real characters saying sensible things without inhibitions.
Watching Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal was like observing real characters saying sensible things without inhibitions.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
