Malayalee From India

Dijo Jose Antony's Malayalee From India is a well intentioned film with the makings of something that could have done wonders in terms of political commentary or even addressing the root of some of the social issues. But, somewhere the control over the story and the scale of it is lost, leading to an underwhelming climax which was more for the gallery than anything. That said, Nivin Pauly has once again given a good performance which was wild and unhinged when necessary and grounded when that was required.

The songs are catchy and add to the vibe of the film. Jakes Bejoy has clearly sensed the energy of the film and manages to amplify it. Dhyan Sreenivasan, retaining his typical mannerism, manages to play a character that is an example of senseless youngsters who ruin their lives and in turn others. But, he got written as the clown towards later parts and be it the performance or the writing, both fell short. The bromance in the film cannot be missed but, it's not all sunshine and roses. It is more like a toxic friendship that keeps getting used for some comic relief towards the end. The cinematography by Sudeep Elamon is stellar, especially the desert sequences are shot well.


One major gripe about the first half is that Anaswara Rajan's character and the entire track was unnecessary and could have helped in making the first half crisp. The story telling loses focus in many places and the script seems like a patch work job in some parts. What seemed like an interlude turned out to be the entire second half of the film and goes on and on and gets preachy towards the end so much that it loses its intensity. It felt like the writer lost control of the script towards later parts. The message of the film is clear but it goes to deliver it in such a roundabout way that one would feel like they watched two different films.