The core idea of the movie Saturday Night is built around an individual whose everything is connected to his friends. A person who considers his friend’s pain as his pain. And if you look at it, it becomes a relatable emotion as we all might have encountered one such individual. But sadly, this colorful entertainer from Rosshan Andrrews is confused about giving life to the madness in this friendship tale, and this wannabe, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, with a pinch of Hangover, is a cluttered mess that mistakes chaos with entertainment.
Stanley, Ajith, Sunil, and Justin have been close friends from a very young age. But from relationships to business ventures, many things created some cracks in their bonding. At one point, Sunil seeks help from Justin, which eventually escalates into a big problem. Justin needed to find Sunil, who had gone missing, to keep his job. Justin’s attempts to find Sunil with the help of Stanley and Ajith is what we see in the film Saturday Night.
Stanley, played by Nivin Pauly, is a very eccentric person, and there is a reason for that. The movie is ultimately rooting for the idea of taking a break from this hectic life. And at one point, both Ajith and Justin realize that Stanely’s approach toward life works. But as a viewer, it is extremely difficult for us to understand the mind flip of these two mainly because of the poor writing that was looking for only fun till that point. Even in ZNMD, there is a transition happening to the character played by Hrithik Roshan. But it looked so organic, and the screenplay paved the way for that transition smoothly and entertainingly. Instead of creating moments that add to the emotional evolution of the characters, writer Naveen Bhaskar is more invested in creating chaotic moments that can only make it look fun on the periphery.
Nivin Pauly has a signature style of delivering humor which we have seen in movies like Oru Vadakkan Selfie and Love Action Drama. He repeats that here as well, and I must say that it works really well. There was a phase in the movie where Saiju Kurup and Siju Wilson acted like they were also in Stanley’s zone, but the performances looked artificial. As the mundane version of Ajith and Justin, both of them were fine. Aju Varghese was okay as Sunil. But the characterization on a writing level is so problematic that you won’t really feel like rooting for him. The female characters, played by Grace Antony, Saniya Iyyappan, and Malavika Sreenath, are pretty much inconsequential to the movie.
In terms of setting the mood for the film, Rosshan Andrrews has done a pretty neat job. From costumes to art, he uses the craft to show the shift. But because of a scattered and weak script, all these become very evident, and post-interval, the movie is clueless about which part to focus on. The character of Sunil is the one who creates conflicts in the film. The movie wants to justify his behavior as his natural way of interaction, but frankly, in both situations, his behavior was like an intruder with zero socializing skills. They do have the framework of a friendship reunion movie. But like many other movies that didn’t work, they stuffed the screenplay with predictable and pointless moments instead of layering it.
Saturday Night somewhere shows you movies like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara or Hangover are not that easy to make, even on a writing level. Even if the backdrops are alien, connecting with the audience on an emotional level is the key to a movie’s success. Saturday Night fails terribly in that aspect, largely due to its desperation to be festive and vibrant in every frame.
This colorful entertainer from Rosshan Andrrews is confused about giving life to the madness in this friendship tale, and is a cluttered mess that mistakes chaos with entertainment.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
