Ariyippu - Declaration

We're clapping for the cast and crew for a splendid job! They achieved so much with so little, well done😃

-Watching Ariyippu's trailer, we thought it was going to be one of those films about society bashing women. But Mahesh Narayanan used a different and better approach through a heavy inclusion of symbolism

-The film was extremely quiet, the passive atmosphere was due to the story taking place during the pandemic lockdown. The serenity was necessary to analyze and reflect on the narrative.

-The handheld camera was very appreciated to demonstrate the feelings of uneasiness, anxiety, and tension hovering over the characters throughout the story

-So many symbols made the screenplay rich and full of layers, however, we're just going to zoom in on the reason why a glove-making business was at the center of the film as opposed to any other.

We usually use gloves to keep hands free of dirt, fingerprint tracks, contamination, etc. Bottom line is to keep ourselves clean and this was the objective of the factory, Hareesh, and Reshmi.

In the end, they all unknowingly adopted the glove mentality for good and bad reasons

-No need to talk about performance when we had pros on set!

-Ariyippu is a hidden treasure that has so much to offer, a good example of how you can achieve a lot with a simple cast, locations, and production.

The first Malayalam film which was premiered in the competition section of the prestigious Locarno Film Festival. An Indian film that premiered there after 17 years. These are the acclamation for the new film of Mahesh Narayanan's Ariyippu - Declaration. The film was also seen at the International Film Festival of Kerala in the competition section and received great appreciation. The film is now streaming on Netflix and let's talk about the movie. Malayalam Cinema got a new dimension through Mahesh's first directorial movie Take Off. Mahesh begins his career as an editor and when he wore the shirt of a director we get class films like Take Off, C U Soon, Malik, etc. Mahesh is the writer, director, co-producer, and co-editor of this film. Kunchako Boban and Divya Prabha are the lead actors. Ariyippu is not everyone's cup of tea. The film goes at a very slow pace and it details everything so profoundly. Mahesh shifts the camera to a gloves factory in Noida and he just portrays the lives revolving there. The office, Hareesh (Boban) - Reshmi (Divya) house, and the outskirts of Noida were the main locations. Hareesh and Divya are a couple and they are working in that gloves factory. They are about to leave for the Middle East for better job opportunities so they are doing their temporary job there. They are waiting for their Visa. At that moment the film got its deviation when some kind of a problem beheads Hareesh and Divya. From then on the audience get into a lot of assumptions and conclusions along with Hareesh. When all the problems get solved there remains something that is ambiguous for us. Mahesh builds the character arc of Hareesh and Divya so deeply. We can find different dimensions in each character. Reshmi is a normal, simple woman who gave predominant consideration to human values and emotions on the other side Hareesh is some sort of selfish and has a misogynistic approach internally. Both of them look forward to their issue in two different ways. Their divergent visions are the basic element of values and politics that the movie urges. Migration is an important theme in many of Mahesh's works. We find that in his debut movie, Take Off. We can see the intensity of that theme in Ariyippu too. Along with the life of Hareesh and Reshmi, the film also gives consideration to the things (corruption) that happen in the gloves factory. That portion of the film gives a documentary type that looks so real in the context. The cinematography in the movie is like a brilliant kind of work because it stood along with the actual path of the movie. We can't find colorful visuals, or beautiful frames rather the ordinary lives of people were roughly captured in that intensity throughout the film. Hats off to Sanu John Varghese, the cinematographer. We can find the top-notch performance of director brilliance when some areas seem to be more dramatic but look so ordinary when it comes to execution. Kunchako Boban, who consequently looks for different roles so fits into the character of Hareesh. Divya Prabha, we had seen her as a supporting actress but delivered an exceptional piece of acting through Reshmi and I think there are more Reshmis left in her acting career. The film also declares Malayalam films are far away better than other industries because of the wonderful content.

What a great movie after a long time. Cheers to the simplicity in making the movie. Story of making things right no matter what. Movie portraits how fragile our relations have become that anyone can cause turbulence. Yet if you are true from within you can keep your back straight and chin up. Cheers to the makers of such a fantastic movie. Keep making such movies. The hand held camera throughout the movie, the close-up of tears falling from Rashmi's eyes while performing the medical, emotions of Hareesh, all were to the point. This is a movie with a message. Hope everyone gets the message.

Kindly note that it is an adult movie, a slow movie, movie with strong emotions of anger, betrayal, revenge. Not everyone might like it since it is not a commercial movie but by far a great movie in recent time.

"ariyippu". Raw, slow and brutal.

This making of this movie is very realistic, very raw as if its shot in a phone, making me think i am in between these characters. The performance by all the actors were amazing. Divya prabha just shines in her role. Especially the scene where she is taken for medical inspection in a hospital, her eyes were communicating the pain and humiliations she has to go through. Kunjako boban was amazing in his role. The writing of some scenes were really good, especially the scene where both kunjako and divya get into a fight or the scene where kunjako forces himself on divya. The opening credits shots were so satisfying and trippy.

The issue i had with this movie is its pacing, the second half felt a bit slow and dragging. There were mainly two issues discussed in this movie, a problem caused by a leaked video and a problem happening in the industry that the characters are working, the two things did not gel properly according to me. I think the writing in the second half could have been made a little more interesting.

The film was a great one to watch. Mahesh Narayanan as a writer-director crafts a fine film. This is a story and a type of film which we have never seen from Mahesh and isn't something that falls in the usual form of filmmaking from Mahesh. It was quite refreshing to see Mahesh try his hands at an arthouse film. The writing of the film is rock solid. There is a believable plot that takes its time to unfold. Though there isn't any element of thrill or suspense, the way in which the tale progresses builds an intrigue amongst the viewers to know what can happen next. The plot may seem to be slow and dragged out. However, it is necessary to build the tension and the environment for the tale to unfold. Mahesh does a superb job with the writing, by keeping the screenplay as authentic and genuine as possible. He also has put in efforts to make sure that the happenings of the film is believable and adds a local flavour to it, to up the naturality of the film. Mahesh's brilliant writing combined with the spot on execution makes Ariyippu a superbly crafted film. Looking at the acting performances, the film boasts of some stellar performances by the cast. Divya Prabha as Reshmi Hareesh deserves a lot of praise. She is phenomenal in her role and the way she slips into character and portrays it with utmost conviction and precision is highly commendable. Divya has made proper use of the opportunity she has been handed with, and delivers one of the most powerful performances of the year. Kunchacko Boban is absolutely brilliant as Hareesh. This role is perhaps one of his finest performances in recent times and is surely worth a lot of accolades. The remaining supporting cast members too deliver good performances. Looking at the technical side, the cinematography by Sanu John Varghese is great. The shaky camera movements and the steady shots for almost the entire film gives the film a rustic and realistic feel. Editing by Mahesh Narayanan and Rahul Radhakrishnan is crisp and tight, making the film a good one to watch. The background score by Sushin Shyam is pensive and intense, which is unlike most of his work. It was quite a surprise to see such a pensive scoring being orchestrated by Sushin. Special credits has to be given to the production designers, set designers, art department, costume designers and sound designers for their valuable contributions.

As a whole, Ariyippu is a film that is what the general public would call "a typical arthouse film". However, if you watch the film a bit closely, you will realize that this isn't just another arthouse film, but a film that showcases a very relevant topic in the guise of an arthouse film. What makes Ariyippu a film I loved watching is the approach and gamble Mahesh Narayanan took to try his hand at an arthouse film, that pays off, superb making, spectacular acting performances by Divya Prabha and Kunchacko Boban as well as the score by Sushin Shyam. I personally found the film to be something which you all should check out to see a very different Kunchacko Boban and also to realize the filmmaking skills Mahesh Narayanan possesses. The film is slow and would test your patience if you aren't a patient viewer of films or expect a grand climax. This one is surely worth your time. Do check it out!