916 Malayalam Movie Review
Producer- K.V.Vijayakumar Palakunnu
Director- M. Mohanan
Cast- Anoop Menon, Malavika Menon, Asif, Mukesh, Meera Vasudev etc
Music- M.Jayachandran
Review By : Unni R Nair (Kerala9.com )
Director M.Mohanan has been saying that ‘916’ is about relationships and the purity of relationships. He has also been saying that it’s a simple film. But watch the film and you’d realize that it lacks both purity as well as simplicity.
‘916’ would have been simple and ‘pure’ if M.Mohanan had handled the script a bit more carefully. There are some unwanted elements which, if done away with, would have made the film much more enjoyable.
‘916’ revolves around Dr.Harikrishnan (Anoop Menon) and his daughter Meera (Malavika Menon). After being separated from his wife, Harikrishnan had brought up his daughter with utmost care and love. He is both a father and mother to Meera, who in turn takes care of her father like a loving mother. She makes sure he sticks to his diet and does his exercises and other things on time. But all this goes wrong when a young guy named Prashanth (Asif) enters their lives. Prashanth gets close to Meera and very soon Dr. Harikrishnan finds that his daughter has turned secretive and indifferent. From there develops the plot.
M.Mohanan’s earlier films ‘Katha Parayumbol’ and ‘Manikyakallu’ had messages delivered loud and clear and were thoroughly watchable movies too. But with ‘916’, the message element seems to get sort of blurred due to a script that’s not up to the mark. Some elements, like the Pizza song and the Kottayam Nazeer sequence seems totally out of place and there is some amount of lag too. Other than these, ‘916’ is a film that conveys a message that’s very much relevant in our times of strained and complicated relationships.
But with the flaws that have hampered the flow of the film, it’s doubtful whether the audience in Kerala would accept the film. As such, the message element goes totally irrelevant; it won’t be conveyed unless people come to see the film. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen.
In short, ‘916’ is just average stuff, though it’s a film made with good intentions.
Performance
‘916’ won’t be remembered for outstanding or memorable performances. Anoop Menon, Asif, Malavika Menon, Mukesh etc have done justice to their respective roles, but there is nothing that could be called remarkable.
Technical aspects
The technical aspects are all in tune with the mood and tempo of the film.
Music
Songs composed by M.Jayachandran are not bad, but may not have a lasting impact. The background score jells with the theme and the mood.
Script
M.Mohanan should have worked on the script a bit more carefully. That would have made the film much better.
Direction
Nothing much to say, except that M.Mohanan should have seen to it that the film is packaged well. There are elements that doesn’t sync with the theme of the film and which have been handled in a poor manner. The Pizza song for instance. Seems like M.Mohanan was either in a hurry to finish the film or was a bit confused as regards putting in elements that he though were needed to ensure a ‘decent run’. That however seems to have misfired. Let’s hope ‘916’ gets a decent run, for the sake of the theme, which is relevant.
Verdict- Not up to the mark; no ‘916 purity’…
Rating: 2/5
