Nadikar

The story, few scenes, cinematography all were promising, and acting and commitment of Tovino was commendable - but writing, screenplay and direction wasted the opportunity!

There was considerable buzz around the movie and I admit, my expectations were a tad high going into the movie; which could be why I felt that much more disappointed.

But in all honesty, the writing was really poor and lazy - a good filmaker shows and never tells ! And for drama telling totally spoils the experience and you end up not connecting or feeling what the scenes are intended to say.

Supporting characters including Bhavana, Soubin were under utilized.

It is sad that Tovino's acting and basic interesting premise was wasted.

This movie is much better than many movies made these days. I think it might have been more popular if it had added more mass appeal and followed a typical formula. For me, it was thoughtful and deeply emotional. This movie is much better than many movies made these days. I think it might have been more popular if it had added more mass appeal and followed a typical formula. For me, it was thoughtful and deeply emotional.

Nadikar

In one line,a story that could have been made better with a good script but lacked enough strength in the screenplay to keep the audience emotionally connected to the movie.

The story is about an actor who becomes an overnight sensation with his initial movies,gets obsessed to the stardom,fame due to his immature nature and arrogant attitude towards his colleagues losing track in career and his deliberate attempt to regain it back.

The first half of the movie takes us through the stardom, popularity of the cinema fraternity. We can see Tovino getting lost in the world of stardom,booze,drugs,girls and he loses his girlfriend Ann Bhama,played by Bhavana due to his immature attitude. He gets into ego clash with a senior filmmaker and got tagged as a trouble maker in the industry now wants a industry hit somehow. His Personal Secretary/Manager seeing his situation advises him to take help of an acting groomer but he initially opposed due to the stardom factor on his head. Unwillingly he shakes hands with the character played by Soubin Shahir,a theatre actor with accreditation from international circles. His attempt to coach Tovino was a failure due to his arrogance and dominant behaviour towards the groomers ideology of All are actors and there are no superstars.

Second half of the movie shows where David Padikkal reflects on his past and tries to make consensus with the ones he had issues with and takes a determined effort to improve his career rather than sticking on to the stardom. We can see director taking the audience through his broken childhood and trauma he had faced which have led to the formation of an arrogance and carefree attitude in David Padikkal.

All actors have performed their part but there is nothing excited in the story at all. The movie is very well predictable and has cliche dialogues. Bhavana has only few shots in the movie and no avenues to enhance her performance. Tovino and Suresh Krishna's outlook and appearance was interesting.

Rating - 2.75/5.

I like the plot of the movie, which is cinema inside cinema, and we have witnessed such films before, but this is slightly different. I see a lot of resemblances to multiple movies like "Thallumala," "Driving Licence," "Saroj Kumar," and "Udayananutharam." Since the movie deals with a superstar sensation and their lifestyle, they successfully portrayed it on screen. The first half of the movie is very engaging; I liked it. A shout out to Ekta, the costume designer of the movie. She has done a brilliant job. There are a couple of scenes that went below average in the first half, especially Ganapathi's scene. I felt like he couldn't pull off the character. Talking about Bhavana's character, it was neutral, which didn't give any impact to the movie. In the climax of the movie, they were trying to communicate an emotional story between real and reel characters, which didn't work out for me personally. If they had switched the climax to something else, it would have been much better. You won't regret watching this in theaters.

Nadikar Movie Review: Tovino's acting elevates this passable entertaine.

Jean Paul Lal's Nadikar starts off with the lavish and extravagant life of a 'superstar' David Padikkal. There is humour and some foreshadowing, some of it effective and some so hard to catch. Interestingly it's not as angsty as one might expect with such a subject.

There is a casual approach to the subject that reflects in how the film turned out. It was a mixed bag with some very interesting moments and let downs in some places. Tovino's David Padikkal is so petulant that it is hard to feel contempt. In fact, one might end up rooting for him. Even his womanizing ways didn't invoke any sort of anger but a calm acceptance and the way he treats his one-night stands are almost respectful even though the theme in itself is very cliché. There are no melodramatic monologues which is definitely a plus for this film. The general theme is not very relatable since there aren't many superstars but some of the issues he faces are part of human nature. Some hit the mark while others missed.

The choice to end the film the way it did was probably to portray David's growth and the idea behind it was excellent but the execution failed a little. It dragged on a bit especially given how the film's pace was a bit different till then and David doesn't manage to claw his way into the viewer's heart thoroughly by then. Balu Varghese was very consistent and Suresh Krishna's role was a pleasant surprise. Soubin rocked the nail polish and the hair, but even more so in the way he handled a very charged situation in the second half. The way David's transition happens was almost organic and the way he finally accepts help was planned well. Almost, because there were moments where the 'coaching' didn't happen and what Soubin's Bala brings to the table is not very evident especially given the build up. Bhavana had very little screen time and she is the wronged ex but there is this 'done with him/her but not ' air about their relationship which is sort of relatable.

The writing is very sloppy in places and some minor details were off putting. There is this one scene where they were filming something where Indrans plays the parent's role. The costume was so glaringly out of place. The feeling of artificiality crops up in some of the scenes that requires more naturality. A lot of behind the scene elements were covered well. Most of the drawbacks are saved by the screen presence of the suave man on screen. The film is by no means a masterpiece, but it is an entertainer.

Verdict: Below Average.