Vairam - A hard hitting movie with its heart at the right place..

Movie - Vairam (Malayalam)
Director - Nishad MA
Producer - N Sivarao
Cast - Pasupathy, Suresh Gopi, Mukesh, Jayasurya, Meera Vasudev, Samvrutha Sunil, Dhanya Mary, Thilakan, Ashokan, KPAC Lalitha, Harisree Ashokan.
Music - M Jayachandran
Cinematography - Sanjeev Shankar
Story - Nishad MA
Screenplay, Dialogues - Cherian Kalpakavady
Release Date - 19th September 2009.


The director of Vairam, Nishad MA, has made some offbeat movies and an action movie (Aayudham) before this one. Here, he chooses to take a very relevant issue and make a hard-hitting movie about it. The movie takes up the issue of the increasing number of rape attempts on young girls in our state and tries to explore the consequences of such incidents. The movie has a good star cast and a superstar like Suresh Gopi has given his support for this movie by appearing in a small, but significant role. 


The story is about Sivarajan (Pasupathy), who gets sentenced for life imprisonment on the charge of murdering Josekutty (Jayasurya). But right after the sentence was passed by the court, some people try to kill him. This creates a curiosity about this case in the mind of a reporter, Annie Jacob (Samvrutha) and she starts investigating what had actually happened and why did Sivarajan murder Josekuttty, with the help of Advocate Ravi Varma (Suresh Gopi). After trying several times, she finally gets Sivarajan to speak. The story then goes to flashback mode and tells the story of bank manager Sivarajan and his daughter Vairamani (Dhanya Mary). Some shocking events are revealed, and we are gripped on to the movie by then. 


Though the movie has no suspense and surprises, the way the screenplay has been written is good. The writer, Cherian Kalpakavady managed to hold the interest of the audience till the end. The senior writer had disappointed in his last movie which came earlier this year, Bharya Swantham Suhruthu. But he has written a good script this time for the director's story. 


The whole cast has come up with great performances. Especially Pasupathy, who plays the lead role. We know what he is capable of, from Tamil movies like Virumandi, Veyil, Kuselan, etc. and a short role in the Malayalam film Big B. He plays the honest bank manager who has to go through a great tragedy brilliantly. His reactions after he finds out what happened to his daughter, and after he commits the murder are stuff that only amazing actors can pull off. Though those scenes were a little long, it is his performance that keeps you hooked in those scenes. 


Suresh Gopi is the star attraction of the movie. He plays Advocate Ravi Varma with ease, and shines in the court scenes with his trademark English dialogues as well. His flirting with Samvrutha could have been avoided, though. Mukesh comes in the second half as the crime branch officer with a good sense of humour. Mukesh and Suresh Gopi, as we know, hail from Kollam, and they make inside jokes about their college days in Kollam Fathima College and all, in one light moment, where they meet each other. Me, being a person hailing from Kollam, could enjoy those dialogues especially. Mukesh also was good, except the fact that he was using his usual term 'Dey' too many times in each and every dialogue. Jayasurya played the negative role with full intensity. His look, especially the contact lenses, suited the character very well. The ladies, Dhanya Mary, Meera Vasudev and Samvrutha Sunil have lesser screen space, but they do a fine job as well. The romantic angle between Samvrutha and Suresh Gopi doesnt work at all. What was the writer thinking when he wrote that? And finally, the veterans Thilakan and KPAC Lalitha. They are living examples of how great actors should be. KPAC Lalitha is a delight to watch in a scene where she complains to Mother Mary about the problems in her family. Thilakan also puts in a solid performance in the short role he has. Harishree Ashokan wasnt irritating thankfully. Ashokan, Sayikumar and others in short roles were decent. 


The movie has 2 good songs and one okay song by M Jayachandran. The song by Yesudas, 'Vennilavu Kannu Vecha' comes at the right place and leaves you touched. Cinematography by Sanjeev Shankar is decent. Though there is nothing new in the making of the movie, the director is successful in engaging the audience and tells the story well, thereby touching the hearts of each and everyone seeing this movie.


Vairam is a movie which has come along with another good movie in Malayalam, Loudspeaker. Such movies are a sign that good cinema can still be made in our language. And they deserve a really long run because such movies come very rarely in Malayalam these days. I sincerely hope that this movie does well because it is about a very relevant issue in our society and is a film with its heart at the right place. 


Rating - 3/5