What I felt after watching Geethanjali!

There are hundreds of reviews about the movie, so no point giving another review. But, here is what and how I felt straight after the movie.

The suspense!

Really, I cannot comment on that because I had read some reviews and comments before watching the movie. All the reviews and comments had revealed the suspense element in the plot. So, knowing the secret from the start, I never felt engaged by the suspense. One request to all reviewers and commenters – please don’t reveal the key plot element of a movie, especially if it is a suspense thriller. It takes away the entire fun of watching the movie. If you feel that you must reveal the entire story, then please have spoiler alerts in your comments and reviews.

The thrills:

Well, Priyadarshan has tried something entirely new to him. Yes, he did direct the Hindi remake of Manichithrathazhu, but all those who have seen the original know that he did not even come close to matching it. Here, he tries to go into the horror track, trying to give us scary moments. One must say that the graphics and visual effects in each of these scenes is top class, at least by Malayalam cinema standards. Horror has never been shown so effectively visualized in Malayalam. But, the look and feel of the horror scenes seems to have been borrowed from many films. Some shots looked like they had been inspired from The Conjuring, and other shots reminded me of various other movies. The lack of originality was a big problem. Also, one could anticipate each ‘thrill’ at least 5 seconds before it happened, and so none of it really scared anyone in the theater. That is a major failure for an experienced director like Priyadarshan. Not a single thrill worked the way it had to. So, Geethanjali failed as a thriller.

Performances:

In a script that lacks conviction, there is nothing much actors can do. Here, only three characters have

any sort of strength in them. Two are Geetha and Anjali. One of those characters is dead when the film begins. The third is their mother, who is in a paralysed state for most of the movie. That leaves only the Geetha/Anjali as the strong character in the movie. She has done quite well. This is a complex character for a debutante and she has proved that she can perform. The others are merely pawns. Innocent tries to evoke a few laughs, but situations are far too weak. His face looks wrinkled, he looks a bit slower after his recovery from cancer, but his signature dialogue delivery is still intact. He can make us laugh again if he gets the right scripts. Nishan has nothing much to do. He gets only one scene where he can prove his worth and the young man has fluffed the chance big time. Mohanlal is completely wasted. He is just an onlooker in most scenes. I wonder whether this is the same Priyadarshan who gave us some of the finest Mohanlal performances. There is just one scene where he gets to take centerstage and he has shown his class there, because he makes a lengthy and boring narration actually look interesting. Siddique has an interesting role which he carries off with responsibility.

Music and BGM

Don’t waste time discussing that, nothing worth talking.

Technical aspects:

Every technical aspect is among the best that Malayalam cinema has seen. Camerawork, lighting patterns, set design, colour patterns, locations and all that are simply top class. If only they had been backed up with a solid script and deft direction; one can only wish.

Overall:

A film that can work only at a visually pleasing level. Priyadarshan needs to understand the grammar of making a good thriller, it’s a completely different style of film making than the one he is used to. But, he must be applauded for raising the bar of visual perfection in Malayalam cinema. If I had not known the suspense element before entering the theater, I might have enjoyed this more. I guess, uninformed viewers might like this a bit more than the others. So, for all reviewers and commenters, you might not like the movie, you might have seen Charulatha, you might have seen many other movies, but please don’t reveal the suspense twist and spoil the fun for people who are watching it for the first time. Let people see that twist for themselves. Restrict your comments to the overall quality of the movie, please!

Geethanjali – classy visuals, but hollow movie!