Baiju's (Biju Menon) patronizing hijinks are best enjoyed by those who spent a good part of their childhood outdoors, engaging in various sporting activities and keeping the body / mind constantly in high-energy zone, unlike the millennial who prefers an air- conditioned zumba room for their physical unwinding. Baiju is a government employee who still spends more time at their village playground than at his office, along with his bunch of (mid/late 20s) cronies who call themselves Kumbalam Brothers.
What I liked genuinely about the Ranjan Pramod flick is its honest take on sports and physical activity as a whole. The playground harbors all kinds of sports, not just cricket. While Kumbalam Brothers are cricket enthusiasts, they still make room for young footballers and women badminton players too. The camaraderie between the youngsters and Baiju is a treat to watch. The humor is clean, situational and mostly chuckle-worthy. In the absence of a solid plot, the writer/director relies on the cast and the holistic positivity to sustain viewer attention. And for a film that runs close to 2h 45m they manage to pull off a successful feat, for most part.
Deepak Parambol, Aju Varghese, Harish Perumana and a long list of supporting artists keep the movie afloat. Hannah Reji who plays Baiju's wife Ajitha, is perfect foil. The husband-wife conversations are humorously relatable; the soapy vibe that usually comes with poor handling of such characters thankfully doesn't take charge here. Some of the younger romances too are subtly dealt. Menon plays Baiju in his usual relaxed self, cracking one-liners with a deadpan expression that the viewers have cherished since a long while now. A few emotional moments are present in the latter half, although there is the severe lack of a 'major event' that hints at a turning point/twist. Perhaps, it is this uneventful-ness that makes 'Rakshadhikari Baiju' a jaunty, feel-good affair.
Baiju tells the nerds sitting at a bus-shelter to stop staring at their books, and take a peek around once in a while, because they never know what they might be missing out on. There is absolutely no preachy tone adopted while trying to convey the message(s) which makes 'RD' an uplifting experience overall. There are numerous sub- plots (like Manoj's and Unni's love-lives, Hari's cricketing quest which eventually leads him to the IPL, Baiju's sibling rivalry, his relationship with the kids of the block, there's plenty to write about!) and songs that take up a sizable amount of screen-time, yet 'RD' never bores you.
Verdict: Refreshing!
