Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

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Balagopal "അവസാനം വരെ പിടിച്ചു നിൽകും." ("I will hold on till the end.") is how Prasad -- a small-time thief with a self-certified expertise in chain-picking -- describes his temperament. In Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, it is an attribute not just of a character, but one that is deep-rooted in the film per se. The movie came out when people had not yet stopped complimenting Maheshinte Prathikaaram. To follow-up and meet expectations that high is not an easy task. Nevertheless, it more than manages to elude all that burden and tenaciously fly high right to the end, often gently rattling our cage of presumptions about what is going to happen next. And it just might be the best Malayalam movie of this decade. Dileesh Pothan's body of work is evocative of an era when films were a world unto themselves. A well-constructed cinematic setting, irrespective of its scale, complements the development of the characters in it, convincing us that they have been going on about their lives long before the events we see on the screen. Maheshinte Prathikaaram is a great example of such a film and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, furthermore. His focus is purely on storytelling, and he has the ability to sense stories within the lives of ordinary people - in the decisions and unexpected consequences of their simple routines and the resulting reactions, being perceptive of the their emotions which is apparent in a handful of perfectly timed cinematic moments - like when Prasad gazes upon the distant lights at a temple fair through a window at a Police Station at night, and the brief silent pauses during the tussle in the canal. Rajeev Ravi's camera work portrays such scenes without glitz, instilling in them a beating heart. While not necessarily ground-breaking or genre-defining, Pothan's films are a breath of fresh air at a time when original stories are in short supply. They are explicitly stimulating, like a tune from a forgotten song from long ago that repeatedly plays in the back of your head that you cannot fully recollect; reminiscent of the films of the 80s and 90s that we never get tired of watching. And by the end there is the bliss of an itch well scratched. His effort to steer films back into such high standards is sincere, and his obsession with nostalgia is truly a blessing. I am certain that we all have the appetite for whatever he has to deliver next. Also on https://screengazingape.wordpress.com/2018/03/26/thondimuthalum-driksakshiyum-and-dileesh-pothans-nostalgia/ Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

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