Spirit

Spirit is yet another brilliant film to have come out from the Malayalam film industry in recent times,owing hugely to the tides of change that has rocked Malayalam movie industry for the past couple of years. The hit duo of Mohanlal-Ranjith returns after 6 years to deliver a film that has got heart and succeeds in conveying the message to the viewer. The film is set around the life of a chronic alcoholic,Raghunandan(Mohanlal) who is a bank employee turned TV host/Writer. His personal life is a big mess and he has been divorced for years.Kaniha plays the role of Meera,Raghunandans ex-wife who is now married to Alexy(Sankar Ramakrishnan). Sankar Ramakrishnan makes a good debut and does justice to the role.All the characters are excellently portrayed by veteran actors like Madhu,Thilakan etc. Nandhu deserves a special applause and this is by far his best film ever. The credit goes to Renjith for knitting a well written story line and giving scope to his actors. All in all, this movie is a Mohanlal classic from the beginning to the end.He takes the center stage and performs like the master he is. And he yet again proves that there's no one else in the world who could do better than him in drunkard-roles.Not even you,Johnny Depp!

I seldom watch Malayalam movies and only got the opportunity to watch the well acclaimed 'Spirit' a fortnight ago on a DVD bought from Keralam on my last trip to India.

Spirit is a movie that has been written and directed quite untraditionally without the cliché like 'lovers, villain and police' depicting social aspects of alcoholism in all strata of community. Apart from essential drama, there is no melodrama or ride on emotional roller-coaster. If drama is taken out, one can only produce a documentary!

All the various people that Raghunandan (Mohan Lal) deals with are in one way or other associated with alcohol or its effects. Role, if any, of hapless government is portrayed in the "Show the Spirit" interview. The character Raghunandan has insight to do logical reasoning and can arrive at rational decisions which are evident through the movie. His discipline within the alcoholism, including studying about a person he is to interview at the TV show, is something one with small brains can't muster. The way he conducts himself before his ex- wife in various phases of the movie show how good his hindsight and foresight are. All these reflect his high intellect though his emotional intelligence seems to trail behind. Having said that, he is basically emerges as a man who loves to love and loves to be liked.

The movie also shows how society reacts to and can deal with alcoholism in a 'lesser' man like plumber Mani (Nandu) who has nothing to hide and also how a well respected man like Capt. Nambiar (Madhu) may carry himself out in his private life.

The apparent incomplete events and characters, which may seem unfinished to people who like clichés, that are dotted along take away any monotony of scenes and contribute to the basic theme.

The songs to me are aptly placed with poetry that impacts deep, the music and voices doing justice to the intended portrayal of moods. They do not use the worn-out words like 'chella kili', 'chella kaattu' and the like. My only gripe is the way Meera (Kaniha) plays the guitar which doesn't quite reflect the score there.

The movie doesn't have any cliché that a layman like me has observed. It just portrays alcoholism and its effects in the backdrop of relationships.

There is not a single scene that doesn't fit.

If I have to compare, I can only compare it with other good movies - like Thanmaathra and Kireedam which too portray some harsh realities of life as it is. It is unfair, I think, to compare with other good movies of Renjith which are set on entirely different platforms.

Spirit doesn't have the push to satisfy moviegoers! Yea we do feel enlivened and rejuvenated at the end albeit having watched an average affair. Appreciable if it does transform some lives, anything above that would be too much an ask.

The performances - and that alone - would be the USP of Spirit, all of them so brilliant. Nandu and Kalpana stands out, complemented well by Shankar Ramakrishnan, Lena, Madhu, Tiny Tom, Siddharth. Not to mention an extended cameo from Thilakan. Lalettan as usual excels, he does the role of an alcoholic with élan. The screenplay is weak in parts - the arrangement and timing is not Ranjith's forte - and at times too dramatic with artful dialogs which would be appreciated by high profile critics. The music sounded like lifts from Indian Rupee :P

Ranjith tries to pull in all social issues, alcoholism in the front row. The medium though used to reach out as shown in the movie never launched well, in fact the chat shows in the movie were dumb. One scene which needs special mention is where the protagonist feels free in the rain breaking loose, thematically showing how he got freed from the menace that is alcohol. The transformation, the preaching, the good ending!! Not unheard or unseen. Just wish had it been made a much better movie, for it had all the stuff to enlighten lives, sadly but staggers at regular intervals :(. To sum it up, Spirit is artistic with a social message, a good one time watch. 6.5/10

Its a movie which transfer a message to the society. The base character Raghunandan was handled by Mohanlal very nicely. The movie having a dramatic touch. In Kerala we need this type of movies. That will help the people to think about themselves. Poverty is base issue in India, but the alcohol usage is very high compare to all developed and developing countries. So the movie giving most wonderful message to the people in kerala. In every celebration kerala is swimming in alcohol. That is not a good thing. Indian had a good traditional civilization. So we are responsible for keeping that good civilization. Here the spirit come with full spirit. Nice work by Renjit.

Spirit is a socially aware movie which takes on the subject of alcoholism. Mohanlal plays a reformed alcoholic TV presenter who decides to make a program on alcoholism. It is a simple movie filled with complicated characters and even more complicated interactions. The main protagonist, Raghunandan, is a writer-cum-TV show host whose alcoholism cost him his marriage. But he has managed to remain friends with his ex-wife and her new husband. The relationship between them is handled tastefully and with kid gloves. A scene where the new husband casually puts his arm around her is a master class in acting from Mohanlal. Very few actors could have pulled that scene off. Then there is the seemingly straight and mature neighbor, Capt Nambiar, played admirably by Madhu. The captain is the epitome of a responsible citizen and family man until his wife goes out of station, when he drops this pretenses and cheats on her. The comparison between the characters is not explored but lies there just below the surface – one an openly admitted alcoholic and the other a closet cheat; one secretly reviled and the other openly admired.

Then there is the poor plumber who is also an alcoholic and as far removed from the Raghunandan character that you can get but the similarities in both of them are striking.

Also contrasted are the two women, played by Kanika and Kalpana. One is educated and aware, so she walks away from a marriage she is unhappy in. The other is illiterate and unaware and stays in a marriage where her life is threatened almost every day.

The movie is a coming together of such personas and their interactions keep the story moving forward.

This may not rank very high on Renjith's list of achievement, but kudos to him for making it nonetheless.

My rating – 3/5 for content and sheer acting displays.