Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan

In the title and the promos of Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan, they have projected Jayan as a guy who once used to be a goon. And if you have seen the trailer of the film, you might feel that his past has something to do with the drama happening in the movie. But the whole build-up around him being a goon is just a lame distraction to drag the viewers into watching a situation that never demanded this kind of convolution.

Jayan, who once used to be a goon, is now living a normal life taking care of his own family and his sister’s family as well. The movie Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan revolves around the drama that unfolds during the wedding of Jayan’s niece. She was in love with another guy, and her lack of interest in the marriage was giving a headache to Jayan. How it all culminates is what you get to see in Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan.

After Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam and Archana 31 Not Out, this one is yet another comedy set in the backdrop of a wedding. But the problem with Arun Vaiga’s film is that even though it wants to be chaotic, it doesn’t know how to achieve that. In the Senna Hegde movie, every character had a purpose, and everything we see on screen was relevant to the story. But in the case of Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan, they are clueless on how to create characters and how to maintain them. You can easily chop off some of the scenes in the film, and it won’t have any major impact on the narrative.

A twist at the end was definitely on the cards, but when that inevitable twist happened in Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan, the logic for such a master plan didn’t make any sense. Arun Vaiga’s last movie Chembarathipoo also had this caricature-like representation of characters, and here also that style continues. The script is struggling to create genuine humor. The characters played by Hareesh Kanaran, Sudheer Karamana, Biju Sopanam, Sabumon, etc., are just there for the sake of squeezing in poorly written comedy. I think they narrated the story to someone, and they guessed the climax quickly. And thus, instead of creating a better climax, they decided to delay the twist by adding too many sequences with “humor” in them.

Saiju Kurup, as the grumpy Jayan, was fine. It doesn’t feel like a challenging character. But the occasional stubbornness and the overall confusion in the character’s mind were portrayed neatly by him. Vrinda Menon as Jayan’s wife was memorable. Shabareesh Varma as the helpful neighbor, and Siju Wilson as the suspicious friend of the bride were okay in their roles. Hareesh Kanaran, Johny Antony, Sudheer Karamana, Sabumon, etc., were supposed to be funny. But they ended up being annoying and a burden to the film.

Jayan’s OCD towards a clean toilet has a role in the development of the plot. If they had used that idea to the fullest and made a comedy out of it, Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan would have been a fascinating entertainer. But Arun Vaiga and writer Rajesh Varma play it safe by creating a dull film with twists that will disappoint you rather than surprising.