For someone like me who has been widely and wildly influenced by classic as well as modern Malayalam cinema, Aaram Thamburan felt like a trite little story. A mysterious man, played charmingly by Mohanlal, arrives at a village with some ulterior motives and gains control of a historically important heirloom house. His strong and condescending ways to influence the naive yet devout villagers come off as something an evil lord would pull off, and Mohanlal does that with every single cell in his body. No doubt that the character is as charismatic as the actor who plays it, because the problem likes in the staleness and predictability of the story. Perhaps watching it in 2018, more than 20 years since its conception, may have caused this experience, but I honestly could not connect with the character. His ways are never in conjunction with his motives and that was the biggest issue for me. The periphery, however, is lit with some great performances and production. Manju Warrier may have crossed the line of overacting, but I think the blame is on director Shaji Kailas for sugarcoating her character. Supporting cast, most notably Narendra Prasad, do a very good job at keeping the viewer hooked, even if they are irritated by the 'thamburan'. With the eclectic song "Harimuraleeravam" sung with natural finesse, and a compelling soundtrack that uplifts certain sequences in the 160-minute long drama, Aaram Thamburan can very well be described as a film that you need to watch but not for enjoyment. The influence that it has on Malayalam pop culture is enough to consider it, but don't bite me if you get bored a bit. TN.
