What Is the Story About?
Sara (portrayed by Anna Ben) is a brilliant, young filmmaker who is on the verge of directing her first ever film. She has just turned 25, and like in most Indian cultures, that means it is “time for her to find a husband”. Despite not being interested in “settling down” right away – due to her budding career in the Malayalam film industry, she agrees to meet with eligible men to appease her parents. But she has one major rule when it comes to finding a husband – no kids. Will she find a man with this condition?
Performances?
Anna Ben and Sunny Wayne take up most of the screen time in his movie. The characters they portray are extremely relatable and funny, and they make it difficult to take our eyes away from the screen. Their on-screen chemistry is so good that it makes their dialogue seem improvised rather than scripted (which it wasn’t, credit to the screenwriter). There were some memorable side characters too, portrayed by Mallika Sukumaran and Benny P. Nayarambalam.
Analysis
Two things have to be acknowledged in this film first – the script and the direction. Sure, both Anna Ben and Sunny Wayne are brilliant, but even in the rare scenes without them; the film manages to keep our attention focused to the screen – and that is the work of some good writing and editing.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s dive into the film. The film starts off with a flashback into Sara’s high school senior days. The film subtly foreshadows her love for storytelling in a brilliant way, which many people may have missed. She had already decided that she didn’t want to have kids at a young age and that feeling never changed as she grew up and started working in the film industry. She is now 25 and at a marriageable age and her family wants her to get married as soon as possible. She however is not ready as she has just completed her script and is on the verge of directing her first film. And finding a man who is interested in her while not wanting children is going to be difficult. This is the film’s plot.
The movie is surprisingly progressive, which is rare in a Malayalam feel good movie. Then again, ‘Bangalore Days’ did change the perception of “social progress”, at least as depicted in films and we get a note of it early on, in this movie. Sara’s father asks her to find a man for herself, or he will start sending men her way for her to choose from. Which is very progressive compared to films which were released a decade ago.
Enter Jeevan (Sunny Wayne), who has left his job in Bangalore to return to Kochi to take a break from “corporate slavery”. After a month of staying with his sister and taking care of her kids, he has had enough. After his sister’s oldest kid pranks him one last time, he vows to marry a girl who will never want a child. You can see where the film is going at this point.
The movie has a predictable ending but here is the “surprise” in the predictability. We expect the more progressive thinkers to not be all that surprised by this film’s end (they might laugh for a bit or be shocked though), but a few old timers and some conservatives might not see this ending coming. Which is fine – this movie is supposed to be delivering a few key social messages after all – “Your body, your decision” and “Plan for parenthood” among others, and this ending will definitely make people talk about the film.
That’s the thing though. The first 75% of the movie makes the message clear. A woman’s body doesn’t belong to the husband, even if she gets pregnant. The bit about the “Planned Parenthood” and the reversal of “Sex is not a promise” still manages to be a part of the overall message of the movie, but towards the end, our on-screen couple’s communication breaks down. And instead of talking about their feelings like a proper couple (which they were doing very well all this time), they let it fester unnecessarily, which then became a huge argument, which needn’t have happened. This argument also didn’t have much of an impact in the movie or its ending (which was predictable).
But the film does manage to keep us entertained with some brilliant comedy and some Malayalam film references. If you are not a frequent Malayalam film watcher or (the language) speaker, some of the jokes will go over your head and you will miss out on a few references. One such reference made in this movie was Mallika Sukumaran’s late husband (who was the famous Malayali actor Sukumaran) who makes an appearance on screen in the form of a photograph who appears as Mallika’s character’s late husband on screen. A brilliant nod to a legendary actor, but that reference will be missed by many. The subtitling didn’t help matters either (with the references).
Still there are plenty of comedy and feel-good moments for people who do not watch South Indian movies regularly (or at all) and we feel many would enjoy the film. Surprisingly, there is a “post credit scene” in the movie which features a funny cameo and comedy sequence as well.
Overall, Sara’s is a decent feel-good movie with quite a few important messages. However with important subject matters like unplanned pregnancies, abortions, a woman’s right to choose, etc., this movie had the potential to be something much greater. Still, as it stands, the movie is quite funny and entertaining.
Other Artists?
Mallika Sukumaran is a force in this movie. She acts as the “antagonist” in this film, but she is so much more. She gives depth and perspective to a very common, every day character we all know, but never really like to talk to. Anna Ben’s father, Benny P. Nayarambalam, plays Sara’s father onscreen and he is funny in almost every scene he appears in. Benny is a scriptwriter by trade so him being on screen is something new for all of us, him included, but he manages to shine in a role which gives him barely 10 minutes of screen time.
Music and Other Departments?
Like we mentioned earlier, the film’s script is brilliant (Good work, Akshay Hareesh). The dialogues are good and the feel-good story keeps us invested. The film’s direction and editing is another plus. Jude Anthany Joseph did a good job directing this feature film. The movie has only a couple of songs, but it manages to stitch seamlessly with the film. Composer Shaan Rahman does good work. Also, Vineet Sreenivasan makes a special appearance and we appreciate that (along with his voice).
Highlights?
Anna Ben And Sunny Wayne’s On-Screen Chemistry And Performance
Very Relatable Dialogues
Feel-Good and Funny
Drawbacks?
Semi-Predictable Ending
Couple Of Plot-holes Towards The End
Unnecessary Crisis In The Movie
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes
Sara’s Malayalam Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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