Aarkkariyam

Aarkkariyam (transl. Who Knows) is a Biju Menon show through and through. A shaky, half-baked script with not enough depth is held together and made watchable purely due to his compelling performance as an ageing patriarch.

Sharaf U Deen and Parvathy star as a down-on-their-luck couple who relocate from Mumbai to Kerala due to their financial woes. The trials and tribulations they face as they try to sell off their ancestral property forms the rest of the story.

While the first half is a fun, aesthetically pleasing watch with enough intrigue, the second half reduces to a damp squib due to poor writing, leading up to a mediocre conclusion.

Much like Manju Warrier in the Priest, Parvathy's role is barely noticeable and criminally under-written. More screen time for Biju Menon and a tighter, edgier screenplay could have made this interesting premise into a thrill ride.

Watch it for a top performance from Biju Menon. He plays an aged man with grace and nuance, nailing the mannerisms, body language and even the tonality of a stereotypical 'Pala achayan'.

The movie overall, however, is very average.

Acting by all the actors is on point

I only wanted to know the backstory of Roy.

The change of languages between Malyalam, Hindi & English was too confusing for me. Although I got the concept behind it that it was set in Mumbai, but Roy's friend who himself was a Malyali was speaking in fluent HIndi.

A good movie with some incredible perfomances.

Aarkkariyam was a slow paced realistic movie, The major highlight of this movie was the role of Ittiyavara played by Biju Menon. He just nailed it. Parvathy and Sharaf-U-Dheen also gives an impressive performance. Cinematography and Music are nice, But it would have been more better if the writing had been improved. That would have made the film even clearer.

Who Knows??

Just God Knows It All.

Personal Recommendation.. Go for it.. Detailed genuine drama.

It is the solid attention to details and the lack of spoon-feeding that impressed me in Aarkkariyam (Who Knows), a slow-burning drama with a hint of mystery thrown midway. Biju Menon one-ups (as he seems to be doing after every other film) as he shines in a character at least two decades more than his real age, playing a father to a daughter who he loves to the moon and back. Both Sharafudheen and Parvathy play their parts really well, and together the performances enhance the overall appeal, not to mention the vivid shots. 7 stars.