Buddy Malayalam Movie Review

Producer- Augustine Jackson, Greeny Jackson

Director- Raj Prabhavathy Menon

Cast- Midhun Murali, Anoop Menon, Balachandra Menon, Babu Antony, Asha Sharath, Bhumika Chawla, Sreekanth etc.

Music- Navneeth Sundar

Background score- Gopi Sundar

Review By : Unni R Nair (Kerala9.com )

‘Buddy’ is good in parts; it’s rather well-made. But at the same time you get the feel that there are indeed some loose ends. The film could have been much better and much more impressive. As of now, Raj Prabhavathy Menon’s debut film wouldn’t leave a long-lasting impression, though it is no doubt impressive on the main…

‘Buddy’ begins as the story of Vishnu (Midhun Murali), who is brought up with love and care by his two ‘mothers’, Meenakshi (Asha Sharath) and Prabha (Bhoomika Chawla). Meenakshi is an Indo-Anglican writer while Prabha is a danseuse. They haven’t ever disclosed to Vishnu as to which of them is his real, biological mother or as to who is his father. Vishnu too hadn’t bothered to probe into this aspect of his being. He is happy being the son of his two ‘mothers’…

On the day Vishnu turns 18, Meenakshi and Prabha tell him that they too don’t know as to who his father is. They tell him that he was born out of artificial insemination. Though they are ready to reveal as to who is his real, biological mother, Vishnu tells them that he is not at all bothered about all this. He is happy to be the son of his two mothers and doesn’t need to know about his father. But then, the inquisitive lad probes into it and infers that one Maanikunju Thaadikaaran from Ootty is his biological father.

Cut to Maanikunju Thaadikaaran (Anoop Menon), who is a rich guy living in Ootty and living a carefree and jovial kind of life, surrounded by his gang. The members of his gang are- Retired DGP Shankaran Namboothiripad (Balachandra Menon), Chandran Singh (Babu Antony), Mathew Kurisumoottil alias Kurisu (Josutty) and Biju Pattambi (Arun). Maanikunju, who professes to be detached and aloof from all kinds of sentiments, is surprised but not shocked when Vishnu makes his entry into the scene, declaring the ‘technically and biologically’ Maanikunju is his father. It’s this statement that surprises and impresses him.  Maanikunju, not at all eager to give in to sentiments, tells him that though he is not interested in the father-son sentiments, he could see Vishnu as his ‘buddy’. From here develops the plot…

Interesting!!- That’s the word that I’d use for the plot. It’s interesting and different from the usual stuff we get to see in the name of cinema. Clichés have been avoided, to an extent and the treatment is also fairly good. Treatment, yes!! Coming to treatment, I feel it could have been much better. There is in the film a reference to the Sibi Malayil-directed Mohanlal-starrer ‘Dasaratham’. Well, that’s the kind of treatment that works for this kind of a subject. A well-balanced and streamlined kind of treatment rather than going into too many hurried references would have made the film much more interesting. Characterisation is interesting, but sometimes we feel some of the characters were created just for the sake of it and their absence in the whole fabric of the movie wouldn’t have affected it in any way. Maybe the director wanted the film to be a bit loud and colourful and appeal to all sections of the viewers, but I seriously have doubts about this. The film may not work out well when it comes to the average viewers; it may also not appeal much to people on the lookout for intellectual stuff. ‘Buddy’ ranks somewhere in between and definitely is worth a watch, or maybe two. But I still say that the film could and should have been better, much much better…

Performance  

Don’t you think you miss seeing Anoop Menon at some places in the movie? For me that was the case, at places it was like seeing a Mohanlal movie. Anoop was like doing a Mohanlal kind of performance at places. But honestly, he does full justice to the role and deserves appreciation for his performance, which is no doubt a highlight of the film. Balachandra Menon excels while Babu Antony suits his role. Midhun Murali is good as Vishnu. Asha Sharath looks good in a very different kind of role though at a place or two her performance, as an Indo-Anglican writer, seems to be faltering. Bhumika Chawla is OK with her role. Sreekanth impresses in his brief appearance towards the end of the movie. The others are all OK with their roles and performances.

Technical aspects

Prakash Kutty’s camerawork is good, capturing the beauty of the locations and the mood of the film in all respects. Technically the film should be given a good rating.

Music

Background score is good. The songs are good and filmed well, but do we need so many songs here. Doesn’t that play foil with the plot and its execution?

Script

Dialogues by Bipin Chandran are good. Coming to the screenplay, by director Raj Prabhavathy Menon, if a bit more of care was taken as regards characterisation and treatment, ‘Buddy’ would have been much better a film…

Direction

Good work! The director is in control, but next time if the script part is taken care of in a better manner, Raj Prabhavathy Menon would be delivering much better and memorable movies…

Verdict- Good in parts; but worth a watch. Could have been better…

Rating: 3/5