19 (1) (a)

I watched on Hotstar the Malayalam film (w/Eng. Subs) : 19(1)(a)

For quick reference: Art 19 The Constitution Of India 1949 19. Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc (1) All citizens shall have the right (a) to freedom of speech and expression; ....

However other than brief sundry mentions of "communal forces" trying to curb the "freedom of expression" of Indian citizens, the film does not convincingly convey any great message in this regard.

The film meanders too much into art frames and great cinematography coupled with two beautiful songs but the narration does not do very much else vis a vis the above cited Art.19(1)(a).

In brief, an ordinary young lady (Nithya Menen) whose father has lost interest in everything, takes over the running of his photocopy shop. An unknown customer (Vijay Setupathy) turns up one evening leaving a sheaf of handwritten notes to be copied. He says he will definitely pick them up later. She asks if she should bind them and he tells her to do whatever she feels is necessary. The customer fails to turn up late into the night and Nithya goes home. Breaking news reports a killing in Nithya's locality of a Tamilian author Gowrishankar who has been targetted previously by communal forces. Nithya recognises the man as her customer. Now come endless frames of Nithya in a trancelike state, almost meditating on the series of events. She starts getting dreams about Gowri getting shot. She looks for his published books and tries to meet his publisher (Indrajith) which she manages to eventually. A side plot narrates how Nithya's best friend Fathima (Athulya) who works in the next door shop, reluctantly agrees to get married as per her parents choice. Nithya attends Fathi's mehndi and bethrothal ceremonies (the two beautiful songs are in these segments). Nithya becomes obsessed with getting Gowri's last work - the handwritten sheaf of papers - to his publisher. She befriends a TV reporter Jenny (Arya Salim) who takes her along to meet Gowri's sister Saroja (Sreelakshmi). Several meaningless stretched "arty" frames later, Nithya hands over the last work of author Gowri to Indrajith.

Watch if this holds your interest to find out how the narration goes on and on and on to convey nothing very much other than beautiful cinematography. Not even any particularly defining message is conveyed about the serious attacks on Freedom of Speech & Expression that one sees in India these days.

Not to deprecate the actors, all of them who essay their respective characters convincingly. But what can you do when the plot stretches endlessly to convey nothing very much that could not have been achieved in half the time.

Come on, everyone knows this is what Malayalam cinema does best; a minimalistic effort, mostly set in the same lush locations that supplements the simplicity of the storyline and characters. In recent times, Malayalam cinema has taken advantage of the OTT space and churned out so many films and few have been a clear reflection of the political, economic, social and cultural crisis. Here we have another film, a slow burn drama chronicling the events that follows after the murder of Gauri Shankar (Vijay Sethupathi), a writer and human rights activist. The name rings a bell, right? If you have no clue, look up Gauri Lankesh online!

But trust me, there is so much to say which is both the positive and negative of this film. There are directors who entertain or exacerbate or educate (maybe all the e's in equal parts) when handling a controversial theme. Take for example "Gargi" which deals with a sensitive theme, constantly challenging the audience with good writing.

Well, 19 (1) (a) doesn't hold up or belong to none or any of the aforementioned categories. There is more to this as the film rubs shoulders with subplots, existential themes, political contexts and this mixture tries to alternate with flashback, visual motifs, with very little backstory for each character, including Nithya Menon and her dad, their relationship and the past. Amongst all, I really liked the sequence of Gauri and his friend, who are two opposites and don't agree on the definition of writing. Gauri is a writer who found his passion during his childhood while he sat down under the tree and scribbled his thoughts, like the artsy ones you see in a writer-esque mood with glasses, books in a sophisticated coffee shop.

Coming to the performances, Vijay Sethupathi is here in his usual naturalistic forte that never hits a false note. Nithya Menon role is a layered one as she slips inside a state of fear. In the middle of the silences, pauses and worried moments, she somehow manages to switch between emotions accompanied by different tones.

Although I liked the movie in parts, I see many problems here. The film doesn't quite flow and in several scenes, including the songs, there was no need for it. The idea sounds great, but unfortunately, it doesn't add anything. This might have benefited from better writing and Direction. I really wish the director would have taken an Ivan Ayr or Sajin Baabu approach in the writing process. I wished for an experimental approach like the works of Prathap Joseph, Ekta Mittal, Payal Kapadia and Udita Bhargava, it might have been a satisfying watch.

Regardless, it is an average watch and for the masses, this will be a total sluggish and a boring film. I liked how the director manages to connect the bike sound bgm in the initial title drop of the film and the same is used in the end. It literally grabs you,when you guess the outcome by just hearing the sound of the bike.

The movie has a very relevant socio-political references , though it fails to develop from anything more than a mere reference. VJS and Nithya Menen have done their best , but the roles are nothing challenging for them. Nithya dubbing sounds terrible.

The political reference had so much opportunities to create an impact . How ever the story is stuck around nithyas uneventful life getting tangled with something very important. It's not just her life, the whole movie is quite uneventful thru out.

When the police team ,especially when Indrans , stepped in I had high hopes that the movie would now lead to something more. But it then goes back to same path. Why did they even have Indrans name in poster and his role ?

Super slow movie, only 1.45hrs but it felt like taking ages to finish. I wouldn't recommend watching even for the good cast.

The casting was great for the most of the major roles. Love to see Nithya Menen back. Missed her movies in Malayalam. Good directing and lot more to see in future. Story line is very thin with a small concept that could have done as 30 min documentary/art film. There is a 15% story in the movie and the rest 85% is to be figured out by the viewers by their own which is the similar concept which we have seen in other movie in the similar category. There was more room for the characters to build, especially for the Nithya Menen character. Felt that this movie had a flat line pace till up the end.

Big fan of Vijay sethupathi movies in this movie the director didn't give him importance this movie had that potential only Nithya menen dominated but her dominance couldn't up to the mark.