Movie Review : Anarkali

Title : Anarkali
Language : Malayalam
Year : 2015
Director : Sachy
Genre : Drama, Romance
IMDB Link
Watch trailer on Youtube
Lead Role : Prithviraj Sukumaran, Biju Menon, Miya George, Suresh Krishna

Many of us might be familiar with the tale of Anarkali, the court dancer who was supposedly Jahangir’s secret lover. But when a debutant director announces the title for his directorial venture, one is not very sure what to expect. Is he gonna portray the Mughal times? Or is he planning to base the plot on the ageless tale of love? One fine day, the trailer releases and doubts are put to rest.

Anarkali, as the team behind it described, is a romantic drama with feeble elements of thrill sprinkled here and there. The storyline is not very gripping or deep, and it is compensated by the beauty of the breathtaking visuals. Cinematography is the soul of the movie, and Sujith Vasudev deserves an applause.

Prithviraj Sukumaran is apt for the role of Shantanu, our mysterious wanderer. With the right looks, physique and voice, he keeps the viewer hooked. Both Prithvi and Sujith Vasudev learned diving to provide the underwater sequences authenticity. By the end of the shoot, they had obtained their Grade 1 certificates too.

Biju Menon and Suresh Krishna stands out with their performances. The climax, which would have turned ordinary, was notched up a level by the former’s impeccable comic timing. Though the heroine looked real pretty on screen, I had wished for a Prithvi-Miya combo.

Sachi may be new to direction, but we are familiar with his writing in films like Robin Hood, Seniors, Run Baby Run and the like. To be honest, this is not his best work. If some care were taken to edit out certain sequences, the drag factor would not have arisen.

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