Beyond the Sands of Time

Dhyan Sreenivasan and Pranav Mohanlal have done a great job on their part, as well as the other actors. Special mention to Nivin Pauly, he has stolen the show with his brilliant performance. He has done a very good job, laughed my heart out throught his dialogues.

Music was average.

First half was very lagging, got bored. Second half was good, mainly because of Nivin it turned out really well!!! First half had something missing technically, not able to pinpoint at it exactly.

Definitely not among the good movies that Vineeth Sreenivasan has given us before, expecting good movies from him in future.

Movie started with some promise.

Grand canvas. Poetic romance, heart warming friendship.

Nice pleasant ambience. Good art work.

Then the core script started letting down, big time.

Cringe cliche closure to scenarios.

Whole lot of embellishment, but super weak structure.

Very convenient happenstances all along.

Would even put the matching soap box parts to shame.

There are individual scenes that are impressive but the overall offers nothing. Dramatic emotional performance scene - agreed, but for what!

Crux is super weak.

Nothing new to offer. Wasted potential.

Have tried to explore a little bit of the unsung heroes in the movie making process.

What did work for me was very obvious references to what is happening in the industry. Nivin Pauly does deserve credit for letting himself in. That aspect does have some creativity to it.

In spite of that, too many cliches. Not recommended.

Alright ... I've got a lot of thoughts on this one, so I will try to keep it short, keyword try*.

Now, where do I start ... the songs, were meh, some were alright, but we've had better from Vineeth, 'Madhu Pakaroo' is decent though. The BGM and the rest of the soundtrack was apt for this genre in general, and did accompany certain scenes really well.

Now the storyline itself, nothing special, very predictable, and all, the first half you do feel a bit of a drag here and there, (the movie is almost 3 hours) and the funny thing is the first half and second half of this, lowkey felt like two different films, obviously there is a change of setting, new characters and all that are introduced. But like the first half itself had a climax, and that part was concluded so you would think 'oh, it's finished' - and obviously it's not.

Like I'm going to be honest, the Kalyani x Pranav love side-story didn't hit as much as it should've and felt a bit forced, as it didn't really have a significant impact on the rest of the film. And some scenes were a bit ... cringe. OK, now it looks like I'm hating on the movie, bear with me. It's a Vineeth film, and that's his style and it's fine, we already know that and accept it.

Next, performances, this is easily Dhyan's career best no joke (cause all his other individual films are flops) like he was very mature, and his comedic timing was pretty good, now coming to Pranav, he's like (being Mohanlal's son and all there's always been a lot of pressure on him ever since he came into the industry - why is blud waffling) he was alright, like he wasn't bad or anything, and you could feel a bit of vintage mohanlal vibes occasionally; mannerisms and all, but Dhyan did score more than him.

Aju Varghese came, added some humour, then Basil came added some MORE humour, Neeraj Madhav had a hilarious small role as well, and then ...

The man, the myth, the legend, NIVIN PAULY, sorry "NITHIN MOLLY" came, the fact is I went to see this film JUST for him, and see him on the big screen again, and I WAS NOT disappointed. As soon as, he arrived the theatre went crazy and all his scenes were peak, we literally did "get him back", his energy was absolutely amazing, like deadass could not stop laughing. Like his character, was him playing as himself pretty much, and he was trolling himself, calling people out for body-shaming him, all his previous films being flops etc. And like essentially it is 4th wall breaking and quite literally a message to his haters. And that one scene, got so much applause and cheers from the audience, it was lit. A little bit of overacting, but again his character literally demanded it, and it was so entertaining. Oh yeah, and there was so many fun references to other movies, and real life internet personalities. And a lot of cameos. Like the film is lowkey a tribute to malayalam cinema, and a wake up call for this current generation of directors.

Jeez oh, I think you know what I am about to say, NIVIN PAULY carried the film, or at least made it significantly better.

Dhyan did pretty well, Pranav was alright, and the comedy although a bit inconsistent, there was more hits than misses. Again, if you were to watch this at home, you would probably skip through some scenes, and that's why certain movies will only work with a lively audience, and a proper 'theatre experience'.

OK, to summarise, a 'typical vineeth sreenivasan film', definitely a family padam, and yeah, once again, I didn't hate the film or anything, it's a nice feel-good picture, I just didn't like certain aspects, but as a whole it is decent.

Now, if you actually read allat, respect.

The movie follows Vineeth's typical storyline centered around friendship sentiments.

The first half is filled with drama and nostalgic scenes, although it can feel a bit cringy with its emphasis on friendship and its misunderstandings.

However, Nivin Poly steals the show in the second half with his slapstick comedy with a bit of overacting. But his charismatic persona brought much-needed energy for the film.

Dhyan delivers a strong performance, taking on an unusual character role 👏🏻 while Pranav Mohanlal characterized by repetitive mannerisms. This repetition fails to engage the audience and lacks freshness in his acting.

The fun elements and surprise Tamil characters add to the enjoyment & become boredom busters for the movie.

The constant reference to a particular award winning composition in the movie was very irritating.

I couldn't enjoy the composition at all.

Overall, it's a decent movie, but not the best as some claim.

Worth a watch for its artistic value, but don't expect a groundbreaking experience.

Varshangalkku Shesham

Vineeth Sreenivasan has put his efforts to show us the 1980-90's Cinema legacy in Madras through the movie from the stories he heard from his father and his friends.

The plot of the movie is about two friends who accidentally meets and develops a friendly bond through their love for cinema and their reunion after years and the things that happen in between.

The story moves in flashback through Dhyan's narration about their life and the bonding between him and Murali(Pranav).

The intro scenes in the first half where you can find many humour elements that sets background for further development of the movie.

Two close friends decides to shift to Madras to pursue their dream for Cinema from the cinema Paradiso of 80's Swamy's Lodge in Kodambakkam.

When Dhyan tries to pursue his dreams of direction by getting associated with films through small works,Pranav tries to explore his talents in composing by joining in a small recording studio as a violinist. Dhyan's overnight film success and upliftment in career and Pranav's failure to be successful broke their bond and he vanishes for years.

Second half of the movie revolves around the reunion and their attempt to make a new film together.

Vineeth has made healthy criticisms of Pranav,Dhyan & Nivin in the movie and you can see references from Mohanlal Sreenivasan combo in the film.

I should say,Pranav is completely surrendering himself to Vineeth and the way he has moulded the character is impressive. Dhyan has given a subtle performance in the movie and his humour timings and mannerisms worked well. Nivin's intro was simply swag and his humour sense is clearly evident in the second half which would be a laughter treat for the audience. Rebranding of Shaan Rahman in the movie is worth watching. Y G Mahendran as Swaminathan of Swamy's Lodge was a perfect casting by Vineeth.

Aju Varghese,Basil Joseph has made a decent performance in the movie.

Vineeth has given a humble attempt with his same Hridayam team. Amrit Ramnath's music and Background Score worked well in the emotional part.

Varshangalku Shesham is a light hearted watchable festival treat for family audience.

Rating - 3/5.