North 24 Kaatham

One of the great things about Malayalam cinema is that it keeps on experimenting with different genres and comes up with various story lines unlike other industries.

North 24 Kaatham (N24) is road-rom movie, which shows how a single journey can change one's outlook towards life. Protagonist of the film is 'Hari Krishnan', a software engineer who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, is portrayed convincingly by Fahadh Faasil who undertakes a journey to attend a conference in Trivandrum.

First and foremost, the great thing of the film is its subtle depiction of the problems faced by people in Kerala like 'Harthal' strikes and carefully highlighting the perennial issue of politics. Debutant director Anil Radhakrishnan Menon has skilfully managed to incorporate such elements in the movie, with which every Keralite will relate to, but avoided a preachy tone or overemphasis on a particular subject. Menon has been able to unravel each character layer by layer until one reaches the center.

Fahaadh Faasil's character's transformation and his outlook towards life is aptly portrayed with subtle scenes that you cannot but appreciate his acting, which shows why Faasil is among the best in today's young guns. 'Nani', played by Swathi Reddy, is a carefree character who enjoys life and has a 'ready to help' attitude. The thing worth mentioning here is, the portrayal of her character by director Menon, he skilfully avoided to show scenes involving alcohol or to showcase unnecessary 'helpful act' scenes, but still is successful in putting across the message. Acting by veteran actor Nedumudi Venu playing as Gopalan, is like having a dessert after a course of a meal. Even though there is no relationship between Nani and Gopalan, you still see glimpses of father-daughter love between them, delighting the viewers.

The technical aspects of the film like direction and cinematography is really good and music by Govind & Rex adds to the film's good quotient.

Nutshell: If you had a bad day and wish to end it with a good feeling, you got to watch N24; with no love or fight scenes, it still captures your attention manages to show that love doesn't need words to express, emotions is enough.

This movie is almost flawless. Iam quiet astonished that it have not received an 8+ rating. Perfect picturisation and background score. Its fast paced and eventful with comedic moments. Fahad portrayed his character with OCD to absolute perfection. Its all about his expression. Must watch film.

Fahadh is an amazing actor. He just gets into the skin of the character which makes the role lively and highly accepted by the audience. He plays an OCD person who is particular about his own way and is not a social person. This movie shows the change in the person by the situations he faces while on a journey and how 2 people had an impact in his life. Enjoyed the movie which was simple and something to which we could relate to.

This is a must watch for anyone who loves travel/road movies. You will have a feast of beautiful Kerala, visualize the life changing events of a man, experience the mastery of a travel story telling. The cast was so perfect with their flawless acting. Definitely a keeper. The movie portrays the everyday life of Kerala people in most places of the state. The strikes, shutdown of public services, travel hassles are not something that would be surprising for a Malayalee. If you are in the look out for a feel-good movie, experience an adventure in the most beautiful way, discover Kerala (Southern state of India), understand the emotions of strangers who you may meet during travel (India), see the heights of a clean freak - then this will be a worthy movie to watch. Malayalam language is a beautiful dialect (I do not speak Malayalam, but understand it well) - and will not be a barrier to watch this movie (there are sub titles available).

The more you watch him. The more you love him A movie which makes you angry on the lead actor and also makes you sympathize with him. A feel good movie which great actors.