I have lost faith in Sreenivasan lately. Last time he tortured us with the absurd Money Back Policy (2013), and now it seems like he has decided to continue the vow. Some of the greatest Malayalam films have been written (and directed) by him, but Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njan is nowhere near them, or even his classic drama Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala (1998) which it is being compared to.
Venu (Sreenivasan) is the sole breadwinner of a working-class family. When his daughter tells him that she will commit suicide lest she doesn't qualify for a MBBS seat, Venu's fears start growing. The story follows his attempts at buying his daughter a seat.
The story addresses a lot of issues like the road to poverty, effect of politics in citizens' lives, waste disposal & management, educational expectations of parents from their children, and political power abuse among other side issues. But the prime issue here is a parent's attempt to make sure his daughter passes and if not, gift her an unreasonably priced University seat. And how his surroundings turn weary making the parent's attempt more harrowing.
While the issues are true and successfully reach the audience, there is a big problem with the whole drama. None of the actions the characters carry out make sense. For example, Venu never tries to make his daughter understand about his family's class and that he will have to sell his sole property to get her a seat worth 40 lakhs. Instead, he creates a cover story, trying to hide the truth and making mends so that she stays happy. Maybe its how traditional parents react when one's daughter threatens with his/her own life. But, Venu as a character is shown to be prudent and pragmatic. His subsequent deeds are justified, and the twisted approaches he pursues are examples of a grave reality we live in, especially in Kerala. But, the foundation here is flawed. There are scores of plot holes and goof-ups which, if considered, will rip the whole movie apart. But the makers decided to go ahead anyway, without anticipating the high scrutiny standards Indian audience have reached today.
The whirlpool of issues lose their individual effects after translation, and all we have left with us is tasteless scrambled eggs. It is evident the writers watched Manju Warrier's comeback film How Old Are You? (2014) just before completing this script, because the climax is heavily inspired by it, requesting people to own a land and start farming in it so as to produce organic, non- poisonous vegetables. Per se, the climax cuts the whole drama and establishes itself as a new part in the film, which is further annoying.
Shibu Balan's cooked-up story has all the ingredients for a recipe, but the chefs and their makes spoil the whole broth. Sreenivasan fails at screenplay and falters at dialogs. Even his delivery is poor. Sangeetha and the child artist were both good. Lal and Manoj K Jayan play their parts well. Innocent and Vijay Raghavan provide humor, which seems forced. I still don't understand what Bheeman Raghu was doing here and why. Camera work is amateur and the songs are non-intrusive.
All in all, the film both starts and ends disappointing the gullible audience, feeding them with issues they want only solutions of. Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njan, unfortunately, provides no answers.
BOTTOM LINE: The comeback film of Sangeetha fuses down even before starting, thanks to a cooked-up story and poor imagination. Wait for DVD.
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES
