Director Shaiju Anthikkad’s new movie Scene 1 Nammude Veedu is a sincere effort from the crew. But the resemblance in the situations used by the makers to navigate the story with its ancestors makes this movie not so appealing in terms of freshness. Director Padmakumar made Vargam as his version of Devasuram. And I think this movie is Shaiju’s version of Udayanaanu Thaaram.
The plot revolves around the central protagonist Ottappaalam Unni. He is a highly talented associate director in the industry. He is looking for a break to begin his own cinema. His selfless attitude and sensitive nature spoils his career and he lives in the shade of his wife’s salary. After a lot of emotional struggles, producer KK decides to make his movie. Faith wasn’t that great for Unni and the movie got shelved. How Unni manages to complete his unfinished first movie with the help of his well wishers from the industry, how he manages to release this movie and how it becomes a success is the basic plot of the movie.
Personally I felt the story as a creative mix of Udayanaanu Thaaram and Best Actor. While Unni’s situation and family setup reminds us of Best actor to a level, the struggles he faced reminds us of Udayanaanu Thaaram. The movie has a feel good environment. But the lack of freshness stands in the way of total entertainment. The combination scenes of Lal and Navya were really cool with both actors giving their best. There were also a few scenes that showed the limelight on the backend of the industry.
On screen I think Lal has done his part in a satisfying manner. Navya’s comeback is really promising. I really loved the ease in her performance. Thilakan impresses us for the final time with his scattered lengthy role. Shobi Thilakan’s dubbing for him was a smart move. Lalu Alex did his part smoothly. Sudheesh, Kalabhavan Shajon, Harishree Ashokan and Urmila Unni also did their roles neatly. Asif and Shritha did a special appearance along with Veteran actor Augustine.
In the making, the direction is satisfying with a typical old fashioned Malyalam style of movie making with usual mix of family drama and humor. As I mentioned earlier script isn’t that fresh. It has a smooth pace. The dialogs are quite natural. Cinematography is satisfying and the music of Ratheesh Vega is good but not that catchy compared to his previous works.
On the whole Scene 1 Nammude Veedu is a sincerely made average film. I am giving it a generous 2.5/5. If you have compromising mindset and if love typical Malayalam family dramas this one could well be a pleasing watch.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
