The Painted House

'Chayam Poosiya Veedu' was in the limelight for some time because of the controversy with censor board who initially rejected exhibition certificate for the movie pointing out few compromising sequences involving the lead actress,Neha Mahajan.The makers took it to the court and challenged the censors,ultimately coming out successful receiving an 'A' without any cuts or beeps as such.

The controversial movie was among the most awaited movies in the three day long Malabar Movie Festival and I must say the 101 minutes long affair was worth the wait and the most engaging feature to be showcased in the festival.

Gautam,an ageing writer is living a secluded life that's nothing but a self-created enslavement of lies,regrets,desires and ego in lieu of the masked face of pseudo-intellectual that he possess.Interesting events unfold as he's confronted by a seducing beauty 'Vishaya' who manages to take complete control of him and starts questioning his credibility and brilliance as a renowned writer.The story takes a complete twist with the arrival of the third character 'Rahul' and this embarks the journey of Gautam and his road to re-inventing himself,acceptance of his weaknesses and evaluation of his past mistakes by facing off the inner self.I'm not going into the detail as it may act as spoiler for those who haven't watched the movie.

Nachiketas,the fictitious character from 'Katha Upanishad' who seeked death to find out its meaning plays an influential role in the storyline and the way the director duo intertwined this into the basic storyline and connects them was brilliant and a notable achievement.

Director duo of Satheesh and Santhosh Babusenan makes an impressive debut with this well-narrated drama that's devoid of usual clichés that we come across in mainstream films these days.The technical side of the movie was fine with neat production design and visuals by Babusenan brothers themselves.Sound design,editing etc too were good.

Coming to the performances,noted theatre artist Kaladhran Nair gave a convincing performance as Gautam who's cob-webbed by his own ideologies.Neha Mahajan who made her debut with 'Midnight's Children' directed by Deepa Mehta was really impressive in her role.Akram Muhammad too did his part well. The controversial sequences involving nudity were integral to the storyline and infused with the narration.

Overall,Chayam Poosiya Veedu is a well-narrated drama with some notable performances.

Gautham, an aging writer, pens a new novel centered around the character of Nachiketas, the character from 'Katha Upanishad' who wished to comprehend life-after-death. When the writer is struck by a heart-attack and falls flat on the floor, the ball is set rolling for a chain of incidents wherein the 'good-persona' mask starts to fade.

The director-duo has done a decent job venturing into a tale of awareness of man's inner self that runs for a crisply-packed 100 minutes. The controversial scenes (involving full frontal nudity) are quite integral to the screenplay and weren't inserted merely to raise intrigue (amongst other things). The film introspects the 'paint- coated surface' outlook of men (or people in general, for that matter) that is often projected over the towering sense of hidden motives and deceitful thoughts. All of us possess inner demons which we seldom wish to embrace.

Performances are quite good although one tends to get a feeling of watching a play unfold, rather than a cinematic piece of work. Neha Mahajan plays the role of the seductress to perfection while Akram Mohammed is fine in his portrayal of the uninvited guest (his frequent nefarious laugh is irksome at times). K. Kaladharan has the looks and aura of a writer but his dialogue delivery and expressions are more befitting the 'stage' than 'screen'.

Verdict: Worth a watch for its candid take on the subject-matter!

The couple other reviewers were maybe from the art underground coz what I saw was something radically different. A hour and half of an old writer pervert indulging in his self appraisal and a hot looking woman walking with bare derriere and flashing her udders once in a while. "Watching Painted House Dry" would've been a better title. If nudity is what pulls you to watch the film, see the brief clips on the internet. Give me that Crocin tablet!

Chaayam Poosiya Veedu (The Painted House) starts its inaccessible philosophical drivel right from the start as you follow an aged writer going about his life without disturbing his environment when a young woman with a seductive air comes visiting. A man in the same age group as hers comes visiting next causing disturbance in the writer as he continues to see his life being turned upside down by these two vagabonds; but only time tells him that they have some other plans in mind. It is obvious that Chaayam Poosiya Veedu would take the dull, ambiguous route to end its story but what it does differently is the easy-going narration with straightforward dialogues between the three main characters. It makes for a good one hour before the story takes a turn and makes you wonder what the makers are trying to say. The female frontal nudity, perhaps to denote the sexual desire in human beings, could have been avoided but that does not stop the philosophical drama from losing sight and conveying its message (what I deduced from it, that is): that sometimes it can be difficult to understand or justify why you are living the life. TN.