Ullozhukku

Saw this film today.  Lost both money and peace of mind. Could spend some time with Jomy, Thanks to Sini.  While it's a good movie - well scripted, competently directed, and with stellar performances from Parvathy and Urvashi - it's not in any way exceptional, the way the praise it's getting on social media would make you think.

Anju, trapped in a loveless marriage to a sick man, is carrying on with her sweetheart. While her husband is on his deathbed, she learns that she is carrying her lover's child. Her mother-in-law Leelamma naturally thinks this is her son Thomas Kutty's child and is overjoyed.  In the middle of the lashing rains and waterlogging,  Thomas Kutty breathe his last. However, during Thomas Kutty's final rites she learns the truth. 

In the process, long buried secrets are revealed, and the undercurrents are too strong for the principal players to handle especially since there are more people around – Anju’s parents (Alencier and Jaya Kurup), her ex-boyfriend Rajeev (Arjun Radhakrishnan with some good dubbing by Roshan Mathew), Leelamma’s younger sister who is a nun, Thomaskutty’s sister Sheba and her young daughter etc. 

Anju's determination to unite with her lover against all odds leads to a huge meltdown.

The slow disintegration of a traditional Christian family on the banks of Allapuzha backwaters against rising flood waters is evocatively picturised. The movie raises valid concerns about traditional morality and women's autonomy; and does it without unnecessary histrionics. But that's it. The story moves along expected channels towards its highly predictable ending.

A good movie - but nothing pathbreaking.

Christo Tomy writes and directs “Ullozhukku” (“Undercurrent” in English) that was in the news since the screenplay won the Cinestaan India’s Storytellers Contest in 2018 pushing the script of another recent, well received film – “Laapata Ladies” - to the second place. Coming from the maker of the documentary – “Curry & Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case” – and headlining the talent powerhouses – Urvashi and Parvathy Thiruvothu. The movie is Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Honey Trehan and Abhishek Chaubey

 The constant rains, the waterlogged house and surroundings and the principal characters that carry a sea of emotions within them with Sushin Shyam’s minimalistic but impactful background score helps the narrative soar and Shehnad Jalal’s cinematography deserves a special mention – from the dimly lit interiors of the flooded house to the aerial shots of the backwaters, this is one cinematographer who understands exactly what the director is trying to convey. Kiran Das’s editing, Ronex Xavier’s make up and Dhanya Balakrishnan’s costumes complement the director’s vision and intention. 

There are no songs in the movie. It is not everyday that you come across a movie that is carried forward by its female protagonists – Urvashi and Parvathy have proved themselves multiple times in the past, but they approach their respective parts with the hunger to make a mark and play off each other so well that it is difficult to conclude who is better than whom. 

“Ullozhukku” is another shining example of what Malayalam cinema can achieve with minimum spend and drama. On the flip side, the first half is extremely slow and could have been trimmed by at least 10 minutes without diluting the impact. Rajeev’s characterization seems to be more convenient than convincing to get to the climax that the filmmaker wanted. 

Though there are great appreciation for the movie and I loved the cinematography and female lead characters,  may be it was too much of hype and expectation or my inability to reconcile with the story which do have all possibility to be true; that let me down.