Neelavelicham

We have been putting up with white saree clad ghosts who are always sad, singing and out to get their revenge in soulless movies for decades. Neelavelicham brings back the original white saree clad ghost. There is a back story which explains why she is what she is.

The protagonist's monologues addressing the ghost which he only half believes in is heart warming. Tovino brings to life the essence of Basheer. He is depressed from a recent break up, broke financially and still manages to crack jokes to himself. The master storyteller of Kerala was portrayed with lots of love and care.

Rima's Bhargavi is hated by most of the male characters in the movie. It beautifully paints the picture of a patriarchal society where a rebel young woman walked with her head held high. Her character arch and backstory were beautifully told.

Other actors like Roshan and Shine also did justice to their roles. The roles were portrayed a bit theatrically paying homage to the original. The recreation of songs was also well done. It has subtle differences from the original but the essence of the songs and the emotions are preserved. There are a few jump scares. Tovino's expressions when his character experiences the supernatural is the best thing with this movie. All blood drains from his face though he believes the ghost to be not malevolent is the best portrayal of human kind reacting to the concept of unknown.

In short, beautiful movie worth watching. Subtitles on Amazon Prime are decent, so non Keralites can enjoy it too.

I admire Aashiq Abu for making this aesthetic treat.

It is a risky step, to remake an old time classic and adapt a known story to the present-day audience.

The music is mesmerizing and the frames are aesthetically supreme.

There are problems with the casting, especially the lead actress, they could have cast an actress with more talent and versatility perhaps.

The dialogues could have been adapted better for the present times, some of Basheer's cheesy lines could have been modified to give it a relatable feeling for the present-day viewers.

But, I cannot take anything away from the tremendous effort of the director in recreating the time-period and experimenting with a movie that looks beyond just commercial success.

To watch the new version of the movie I was taken aback by how the editing quality was not as good as the original version. The music is mermerizing and the frames are aesthetically supreme the sound effect are not really to make some one scare with that. On the performance tovino did well rest were forgettable partly due to lack of character development the protagonist monologue addressing the ghost which he only half believe in is heart warming . The master story teller of Kerala was portrayed with lots of love and care. Other actors like Roshan and Shine also did justice with their character.

Director shows a house with no electricity in the movie . Hero always carries a kerosene lamp. But the house has electric fan, switch board and electric lights shown in the movie . Why don't the director switch on those electrical device rather than giving a kerosene lamp to the hero. Director has gone to 1960 without giving any attention to minute detail and completely ruined the plot . The actress selection for the ghost also ruined the movie . It's a complete goof up in every sense , right from direction to casting. Tovino and shine tom has done a good job . Movie is boring , don't waste your time.

When watching the newer version of the film, I was taken aback by how the editing quality was not nearly as good as the original version. The cuts between scenes felt disjointed and awkward, and the flow of the story was not smooth. Additionally, I felt that the lead actor, Tovino, was not up to the task of handling the main role. His performance lacked the charisma and energy that the previous actor, Madhu, had brought to the character.

Furthermore, I also noticed that the characters in the newer version of the film seemed to be much older than their counterparts in the original version. However, their acting skills did not seem to be up to par with their seniority. They appeared to be struggling with their roles and emotions, especially in comparison to the original performances. Overall, I was disappointed with the newer version of the film as it could not capture the charm, vibrancy, and energy level of the original version.