In a way, Visudha Mejo is a risky film from a filmmaking point of view. Dinoy Paulose as a writer, is entering a zone where he is talking about an insensitive stalker who falls in love with his childhood crush. And the guy is the hero of this movie, and the cinema empathizes with him. These are the perfect ingredients of a film that will be highly problematic. But the movie directed by Kiran Antony never goes into that tricky space, and I think that is achieved mainly because of the neat characterization.
Mejo, our title protagonist, is an introvert who became like that when he lost his mother at a very young age. In those initial days when he found it difficult to socialize, a girl named Jeena and her smiling face kept him happy. This crush gradually developed into unrequited love. When Jeena returned to her place after many years, this unspoken love of Mejo reignited. Mejo’s hesitation in expressing his love and how that eventually affects their friendship is what we see in Visudha Mejo.
Dinoy Paulose as a writer, has previously written Thanneer Mathan Dinangal and Pathrosinte Padappukal. In both those films, the conflicts were very thin, and Pathrosinte Padappukal was actually a movie with zero focus. But in Visudha Mejo, Dinoy is more focused on what he wants to address, and everything is built around that. Even though it is rooting for Mejo in its entirety, Kiran Antony and Dinoy Paulose make sure that the movie never feels like a justification for introverted people to be demanding stalkers.
Even though the movie’s tone will remind you of the TMD environment, Kiran Antony is not making Visudha Mejo a fiesta of mumbling counter dialogues. The priority of the writing is on those open conversations between Mejo and Jeena. If the emphasis on the introvert struggle was a little stronger, I think I would have recommended this movie without hesitation. I think the makers were a bit confused about whether to take the script to such a darker space. The cinematography by Jomon T John tries to keep the movie in that pleasant space. Justin Varghese’s tunes are so catchy. Those tunes, along with the unconventional lyrics by Suhail Koya, really help the film to stay in that pleasant and interesting space.
Dinoy Paulose plays the role of Mejo in this film, and in the initial bits, his portrayal of the introverted nature felt a little gimmicky. But as the story progressed, the performance looked convincing. Lijomol Jose as Jeena has that much-needed charm in her smile. The way she held Mejo as her best friend was also pretty graceful. Mathew Thomas as Ambrose (Interestingly, Dinoy has written a short film named Vishudha Ambrosey) is an accessory character added for the sake of fun. But, I think it was a character that wasn’t usually associated with Mathew. Mano Jose, Shiny Sarah, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, etc., are the other major names in the star cast.
Visudha Mejo is a comedy that takes a very sensitive theme and presents it without too much convolution. The performances and the light-hearted treatment make it an easy watch that never tests your patience. Compared to Dinoy’s last script Pathrosite Padappukal, Visudha Mejo is a much improved and focused script.
Visudha Mejo is a comedy that takes a very sensitive theme and presents it without too much convolution.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
