There is enough material in this sentimental drama to help its audience cry a river and then swim their way out of the cinema hall in search of a better feeling.
Rukmini (Meera Jasmine) is a young woman who lives with her affluent parents. Since she is a descendant of an ancient royal family and because there is a fault on her horoscope, Rukmini's marriage with a man from an equally honorable family is not coming through. This has put her parents in a state of uneasiness. However, Rukmini is nonchalant about her prospects because she is already in love with Karthikeyan (Riyaz Khan), her father's driver-cum-secretary, and intends to run away with him. That happens, and eight years forward, Rukmini finds herself with two daughters, living a lousy life in borderline poverty.
It is not clear what period the story takes place, but it's apparently in the early twentieth century. The plot focuses on the poor decisions made by a young woman, Rukmini, as she transforms from an adolescent into an adult. Inability to calculate the risks of eloping with an unemployed chap or ignorance mixed with feelings of love is what causes Rukmini to lead a life that she later comes to regret. With no one else to turn to, the film shows her plight as she tries to make ends meet, dealing with selfish people and simultaneously taking care of two kids, one of whom cannot speak. It is, however, clear that the sole intention of creating such a film was to make its audience shed tears for a character whose actions are definitely not rational. But, it does not mean that such incidents do not happen in real life. Gullible, guileless women are often courted by wealth- or lust-loving men and are then deserted when the thirst is quenched. "Inthinumappuram" tries to make us understand that, but takes a tender and contrived path. Towards the end of 120 minutes, it even looked like the writers had exhausted their content and were just dilly-dallying to climactically end the show with a speedy turn of events.
Jasmine is decent in her portrayal as the hapless woman, and it was a delight to see her on the big screen after a long time. Khan and supporting actors like Sidique and Lalu Alex have better characters to portray, and they do a fine job. Overall, the film is well-made with decent performances, but the only problem is its novelty factor, which is just few notches above null.
BOTTOM LINE: Manoj Alunkal's "Ithinumappuram" is a well-meaning film with decent performances and a straightforward narrative. Watching it on DVD may help you reminisce some similar stories that we have previously seen or read somewhere...
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES
