Sakhavu

Sakhavu directed by Sidhartha Siva is indeed a commercial film. But the ultimate intention of the film is definitely beyond the mere sensationalism of the inclination of the majority towards the left ideologies. Within a predictable storyline, Sidhartha Siva manages to convey the thought of being a selfless social worker with elements that are necessary for a typical entertainer.

Krishnakumar is this young leader of SFK who isn’t that enthusiastic about being a social worker and he eyes for future positions he would get. One fine day he gets this call from his seniors to go and help someone in Kottayam Medical College. Who is that patient and what influence that person makes in Krishnakumar’s life is what Sakhavu telling us.

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Recently we saw the movie Oru Mexican Aparatha which only utilized the commercial marketing factor of the left wing thoughts. What is good about Sakhavu is that it isn’t that peripheral. It isn’t trying to be totally apolitical about the need of politics in the society. There is a very nice scene (the best in the movie in my opinion) where Sakhavu Krishnan explains to a teacher about the relevance of being political even at a young age through the example of the color of pen. Through such balancing scenes, the politics of this movie looks positive. There is a fight sequence towards the end of the film to show the strength of Sakhavu Krishnan which should have been reduced to make it sensible. The predictability in the story of Krishnan’s life is a demerit, but I liked the way SIdhartha Siva adds small positives in them through dramatic dialogues that conveyed the attitude and ideology of a communist.

Nivin Pauly is easily likeable when he is Krishnakumar. It is the typical style of the actor and we can see that he is much more fluent now. When he becomes Sakhavu Krishnan, his method sort of becomes a little too dramatic. It does work occasionally because he looks like an influential leader, but the dialogue delivery could have been better. Aishwarya Rajesh looks perfect to be the better half of Krishnan while the dubbing sounded a bit odd at some areas. Aparna Gopinath did a really good job. Althaf, whom we have seen in Premam is there in the film and him along with Nivin manages to offer a lot of fun moments for us. A special mention to Binu Pappu who performed the role of a retired police officer very effectively. The cast includes names like Sreenivasan, Gayathri Suresh, Musthafa, Sudheesh and a few more in small yet important characters.

Sidhartha Siva isn’t that desperate to make the film a left boosting cinema. His idea is pretty simple. Create a modern day character that needs a lot of rectification and show him a perfect example of how he should be. The risk in such a story thread is that you might go flat or preachy. But Sidhartha Siva uses natural humor in the present day portions to keep the audience interested in the cinema and then he introduces us to the past which should have an ideological influence. The apolitical nature of the general society, the power oriented political foul plays etc. are criticized here. George C Williams has handled the cinematography of the film and he has done it very neatly. The cuts were good. Prashanth Pillai’s music adds more energy to the narrative. Ranjith Ambady’s make up also deserves appreciation.

Sakhavu is not an entirely well made film. There are portions like that fight sequence I mentioned above, which could have been reduced. But ultimately this film succeeds in being that pleasing cinema which isn’t merely trying to monetize the communist enthusiasm.

Rating: 3/5