Director : Lijin Jose
Cast : Fahadh Faasil, Manu, Ann Augustine, Nedumudi Venu, Seema G Nair, Dinesh, Tiny Tom, Vijayaraghavan etc.
Music : Roby Abraham
Background Score : Rex Vijayan
Producer : Sandra Thomas, Thomas Joseph Pattathanam
Review By : Unni R Nair/ Kerala9.com
I’d prefer to be honest. If you ask me if I liked ‘Friday’, I’d come out with a clear and loud ‘Yes’. Yes, I liked the film. The reasons? Well, it’s simple. I liked it as it’s well-made. There could be flaws, but I guess those, if any, could be overlooked. This is a good attempt and the debutant director (Lijin Jose) has succeeded in making use of the medium called cinema in an effective way to draw a very realistic picture of human life. Critics may seek to find fault and similarities, but I’d prefer to discuss the positives of a film that conveys some positive messages too, in addition to the narration.
So, ‘Friday’, as the title suggests, sketches the happenings on one single day, a Friday. Different people from different walks of life move about in the Town of Alappuzha, each with a purpose and intention of his own. There is an autorickshaw driver (played by Fahadh) who, when he starts the day off with his auto-rickshaw, knows that he has to make lots of money. He has so many things to be taken care of. There is another young guy (played by Dinesh), whose wife has delivered a baby the previous day and who couldn’t make it to the hospital to see his baby that day as he had lots of things to take care at home. He is a farmer. He has come to town by the morning boat to see his baby. There are two college students (played by Manu and Ann Augustine) who are in love and decide to spend the day at the beach as it’s a holiday for them. There is an old man (played by Nedumudi Venu), who has come to town with his two daughters and his granddaughter to buy garments and ornaments for the granddaughter’s wedding. There is a couple (played by Prakash Bare and Asha Sharath) who don’t have a child and who have come to Alappuzha from Bengaluru to adopt a child. The lives of these characters and some other characters are intertwined as things happen on that one single day in the town of Alappuzha. The story culminates in a boat journey at the end of the day in which some of these characters are brought together and which could prove very decisive for all of them.
It’s the narrative that’s the highlight of ‘Friday’. The way the characters and incidents are carried forth, the way the incidents and characters are interconnected and interwoven to construct and work out the fabric of the movie and the way it all progresses is what contributes towards the totality of the movie. Lijin and team deserve to be appreciated for the effort taken. It’s life that we see in ‘Friday’- life as it happens and life as we make it happen. It’s destiny that we control and that part of destiny on which we don’t have any control that we see depicted on screen. It’s the innate goodness of human nature that the film portrays all through. I feel this is a film that we all should see, appreciate and discuss. Well done, Lijin!!
Performance
Fahadh, Dinesh, Nedumudi Venu, Vijayaraghavan, Seema G Nair, Prakash Bare, Asha Sharath and all others fit into their roles perfectly well. Manu and Ann Augustine portray their roles convincingly well and Manu, who had earlier acted in ‘Tournament Play Replay’, could get better offers after ‘Friday’. All the others in the cast do their respective parts quite convincingly.
Technical aspects
Jomon Thomas as the cinematographer and Manoj as the editor have rendered able support to director Lijin in making ‘Friday’ a movie worth reckoning.
Music
You feel the first song, the romantic duet featuring Manu and Ann, could have been avoided. Yes, in fact that song and maybe all the songs could have been avoided. But let’s give the makers some concession; they got to sell the movie and songs do play a key role in selling movies at the box office. But the songs could have been better.
Script
Najeem Koya, who’s in charge of the script, has done a clean job. The way the whole fabric is woven, the way the parts sync with one another and the characterization aspect deserve special mention. There are some sequences that could have been handled better, but still, Najeem Koya has done a good work.
Direction
Lijin Jose, who has made many short films, seeks to narrow the gap that exists between short films and full-length feature films with ‘Friday’. The duration too is somewhere in between, just about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The structure, the narration etc too fall somewhere in between the two genres. So, that’s a positive thing to happen to Malayalam Cinema. Let’s hope Lijin is followed by many others who’d experiment with film-making in other ways as well and give us many other good films.
Verdict: Appreciable venture; totally different mode of narration and making
Rating: 3.5/5