Innathe Chinthavishayam: Review




Cast: Mohanlal, MeeraJasmine, Mukesh, Innocent, Sukanya, Mohini,
Mammukoya

Director: Sathyan Anthikad

Producer: Aashirwad Cinemas

Lyrics: Gireesh Puthencherry

Cinematography: Alagappan

Editing: G Rajagopal

Art Direction: Santhosh Raman

Screenplay: Sathyan Anthikad

Let's get a few things straight here first. It's a world cut out in black and white out there; the women clad in white and the men in black to be more precise, and there just aren't any grey souls around. Sathyan Anthicaud's Reflection for the Day dwells audaciously on a rather infantile notion of women's lib that would regrettably find very few allies among the fairer sex.

Tresa (Sukanya) has crossed swords with her husband-with-the-roving-eye Dr. Murali (Mukesh), since the dentist has repeatedly displayed a tendency to lug at frail women hearts than their teeth. Pramila (Mohini) has to deal with an exceedingly domineering and distrustful spouse Peethambaran (Vijayaraghavan), who simply refuses to let his wife vanish beyond his sight. Noushad (Ashokan) is the typical MCP on the block, who would be tremendously glad to have his erudite lawyer wife Rehna (Muthumani) wield the broom than her books.

It's a fine night, when into their disruptive lives rides in GK, short for Gopakumar (Mohanlal), a fabric exporter and a smooth dealer in human relations gone kaput. Along with his sharp-witted designer damsel Kamla (Meera Jasmine), GK sets about tying up the loose ends.

It's indeed true when they say that it doesn't rain, but it pours. Here is a director who has been toying around for the past few years with more than a few fraught strategies to recreate the yesteryear magic that has been waning with time. With Innathe Chinthavishayam, Sathyan Anthicaud has hit the bottom, and misses the mark by a mile at his attempts to convincingly convey the 'deliberation' across. It seems more plausible that a story or something that resembles it was forcibly woven around an iota of an idea, a passing remark or perhaps a fleeting comment.

It would forever remain mysterious as to why Mohanlal gives the nod to a script as the one in question. GK offers him little scope to be the actor we so much love; the mediator role is merely a flawed extension of the innumerable guy-next-door roles that he has donned to perfection. Supposedly the female lead, Meera Jasmine has nothing much to do expect mouth a few idealistic lines and look sober and silly at once. Kamla should be an amusing coffee break for the actress from the grave stuff that she has been grappling with, lately. The supporting cast does a competent job as well, despite being caught up in embarrassingly tricky and illogical sequences.

Barring the protagonist, men in Innathe Chinthavishayam would fall into three categories - lechers, chauvinists and psychos. Women, who bear the brunt of it all, hence spend their lives on their own, fending off unsolicited advances from sex maniacs and tolerantly waiting for their errant companions to turn up remorsefully at their doorsteps. You see then, that there isn't a character around with a bit of life; they pop out of aberrant conditions like deviant androids and continue to prance around for a while before biting the dust.

Innathe Chinthavishyam has a hastily conceived feel all about it. It doesn't move much beyond those tear-jerker soaps that harp on and on about marital discord and remains as foreseeable as the tides. And it's just too sad that so much of the film is clumsy, manipulative and unnatural, or simply so hard to believe.

Sorry, but this simply ain't enough food for thought.