Vichithram

Story: Jasmine returns to her childhood home on her brother's death. Is the house now haunted by spirits or by living beings trapped by emotional bonds?

Review: When Jasmine left Puthenkooru house to live with her love, footballer Paul, she had never thought that years later she would have to walk back to the same house with her five children. The house, according to Chandi, the domestic servant, is haunted by Martha, daughter of Jasmine's brother Alex Puthenkoru. The incidents witnessed by Jasmine and her sons after they start living there are strange and mysterious, as the title suggests.

Achu Vijayan's directorial, written by Nikhil Raveendran and Vineeth Jose, is a fabulously crafted horror comedy that leaves the audience with a surrealistic experience. When humour and terror are blended together in the right quantity, catharsis happens. What's more beautiful than being able to laugh and enjoy in the face of fear?

Screaming and laughing are visceral responses to any stimuli that humans encounter. If the situation is enacted by a bunch of fabulous actors and presented inside a theater on the big screen, it's worth spending time on.

Jolly Chirayath as Jasmine and Shine Tom Chacko, Balu Varghese and three others as her sons showcase amazing performances in the movie to make it more funny and thrilling. Shine magically internalises Jackson and gives the movie a different persona. Jolly is a mother everybody would love to have. Each character in the plot is crafted with interesting features, such as of Balu Varghese (Joy) who is a social media addict or Lal (Alex), an obsessed father.

The narrative gets darker as the house, butterfly, bonsai trees and the rabbits eventually join with the central characters of the movie. The crisp cuts by Achu Vijayan, art by Subash Karun, cinematography by Arjun Balakrishnan, sound by Vishnu Govind and music by Jubair Muhamed make it a perfect entertainer. However, the lyrics of the song that reveals a crucial element in the movie could have been given a little more attention.

Watch into theatres to get chills and giggles out of you.
- Anjana George