Aattam

Aattam (The Play) blew my mind and gave me so much to think about that I don't have to watch any movies for the rest of the year. I caught this at the 2023 MAMI Mumbai Film Festival yesterday and I'm still thinking about the irony of the plot where 10 men get together to discuss an incident befallen their sole woman colleague of a theatre troupe. It starts by building tension and giving us a peek into the characters and their idiosyncrasies and dynamics. Then it pulls you in with what seems like a group discussion with lots of talking and arguing. I don't know about you, but conversations in films always have my full attention and Aattam, above all, succeeds in doing that. It's so well written and directed that you feel you are part of the discussion. Absolutely seamless, that it also reminded me of Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa, another film with the same vein at the fest. It's basically a study of the feeble human nature. The final 30 minutes are sure to blow your mind too. Watch it.

I decided to see this movie because it has got the national award for best feature film even though I don't know the language. I was surprisingly kept engrossed and riveted for the duration of 140 minutes despite the fact that the movie was dialogue heavy and with hardly any action. The narrative with the help of subtitles was spell binding and all credit should go the director for creating world class cinema. Comparison with the English language movie " 12 Angry men " is natural and fair. Twelve male stage actors discuss a possible course of action after their female colleague complains of being molested by one of them while she was sleeping after their get together. Discussions among them continue for a long time with each putting forward his views and suggestions. At one point it is unanimously decided to expel the wrong doer but then unexpected developments take place.

Director Anand Ekarshi does a superb job with some fine storytelling and keeps the tempo and suspense going. He is helped by a well knitted screenplay, some artistic cinematography and brisk editing. All actors have done exceedingly well and it is difficult to say who is the best among them. Definitely a movie with all round excellence which needs to be on your" must watch" list.

A Brilliant attempt with great attention to detail to the screenplay, laced with natural performances providing a real insight into the society and their biases which get exposed when selfish motives are in question A must watch for all movie lovers

The lead actress Zarin has portrayed the emotions of the character in a very subtle yet convincing manner All the cast did justice to their roles

Kudos to the director and writer who keeps up hooked and personally I felt the ending was real good

The name "Aattam" does justice to the whole concept of this movie and it is commendable how each and every character is well written and detailed During the first half you may feel a lack of pace however this is absolutely essential and is balanced by a gripping second half

Overall one of the best movies produced this year by yet again from the Malayalam Industry which is known for its unique, real and heart touching stories !

A fantastic movie that really takes the dark, self-serving, materialistic human nature and puts it out in broad daylight. This is a great commentary on virtue signalling, hypocrisy, trust, betrayal, hierarchy, and human values.

The writing and the direction are really well done - the movie feels real, and you find yourself getting emotionally invested in the plot. The relatable subject matter also helps in the engagement, and while a movie of this sort often runs the risk of coming across as quite preachy - Aattam never falls into this trap.

But what sets this movie a class apart from the rest is the quality of the acting. Every single cast member has done a phenomenal job. I found myself hating, sympathising with, and being disappointed in the characters at different points through the movie - and the fact that this movie brought out such strong emotions from the audience is testament to the skill with which each actor portrayed their characters.

Overall, this is a movie that makes you think long and hard about what you would have done if you were put in a similar situation, and this leads to some good introspection.

What a movie and what an experience! I can write thousand things about this movie, it was very engaging for me. The climax gave me goosebumps and I admire the courage of the creators for taking the movie in a new and unique route rather ending it plainly.

There were lots of tension going on throughout the movie and the creators take us through a long journey which never ceases to amaze us. I was constantly focussing on the dialogues of each and every characters to find something but the last few minutes take the movie to a different level which we could never expect and that was pretty surprising for me. This is because we are used to movies ending in a plain manner.

All the characters were fine tuned for the movie. Expecting more movies like this from Mollywood in the future.