Lalitham Sundaram

 

Lalitham Sundaram begins with a drone shot of the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link.  After introducing a family there, we move to Bengaluru. The landmark used to establish this new city is Vidhana Soudha. The next set of characters is introduced. Then the camera reaches Kochi with a bird’s eye view shot of the city and its metro route. As the title suggests, the film is definitely lalitham (simple). Lalitham Sundaram has Sunny (Biju Menon), Annie (Manju Warrier), and Jerry (Anu Mohan) as siblings, who are all busy with their respective lives. 

Upon their dad’s (Raghunath Paleri) request, all of them visit their native for their mother’s death anniversary. As they land, we learn that the once close-knit siblings have now grown apart and are not really eager to be under the same roof. But to fulfill their mother’s last wish, they agree to spend a few days together.

During this stay, they disagree, fight, realise and reconcile. Manju Warrier’s Annie is a high-flying corporate professional and a mother of two. Her husband Sandeep, played by Saiju Kurup, is the husband of dreams. A retired Merchant Navy Captain, Sandeep is now the happy househusband. Manju Warrier does well in playing the bold and bossy Annie, who is unafraid of standing up to anyone, even if it’s her elder brother, Sunny. In another character’s words, she is the perfectionist who thinks she is leading a perfect life, only to learn later that she has her flaws as well.

Biju Menon as Sunny is a failed businessman, who carries with him a lot of insecurities and complexes. He has a troublesome relationship with his siblings and prefers to stay detached. The reasons for his insecurities are only revealed at almost the end of the film. Similarly, Jerry too has a backstory, the villain in which is Sunny.

All the realisations dawn only towards the final few minutes. Zarina Wahab’s character makes an occasional appearance, She is the doting mother, who passes away after battling cancer. Sudheesh as Rajesh is the local do-gooder, who is close to the family and has always wanted to be a part of it. Right from the moment, it is established that Rajesh is a loner, it’s easily predictable that he’ll get an emotional monologue about the importance of families and relationships. The film ends with the family burying all their differences and happily gorging on their mother’s favourite mutton curry.

Lalitham Sundaram is a pleasant film for the whole family to enjoy, with good songs, and a message to value relationships.

Manju posts in FB and I agree:

We made it simple, you made it beautiful. Thank you! ❤️

#lalithamsundaram streaming on #DisneyPlusHotstar now!!!