Aarkkariyam

Shirley(Parvathy Thiruvothu) and Roy(Sharafuddin), a married couple, move to her hometown in Kerala ahead of a nationwide lockdown. They face several challenges and try to overcome their personal issues.

The usual style in crime films - add some twists, there should be a villain who makes everything so tense, and finally the hero overcomes it. Or, solve a murder case, find the culprit.

But in this film - there's a cliche break, the conflict is shown in a very subtle way, there's no villain, and everything goes in a very slow pace. When you hear about the pacing being slow, you may consider not to watch the film, if you do that - you're doing a mistake. Because, here the slow-pace won't bring any lag. Not just the slow-pace, nothing tense is shown on the screen, but still you would feel engaged - How?, This film proves that tension, unsolvable-like conflict, fast pacing - all these are not necessary to make a viewer feel engaged. The question "How?" Is still here in the context, it is done by showcasing the mental state and the internal conflict of the character. In such scenes, Usually a loud and high-toned background music will be used, but here the director chose low-toned music which are not loud at all, by doing this the overall slow-pace, natural and realistic mood of the film was protected.

This film will be well-worth of your time, a different but good experience, a crime-drama which will not increase your heartbeat but something which may keep you engaged.

What if Georgekutty in Drishyam was forced to hide the crime from his family too? This is, in pop culture terms, the question put forward by Aarkkariyam, directed by reputed cinematographer Sanu John Varghese (in his debut), starring Biju Menon, Sharafudheen, and Parvathy Thiruvothu. But it doesn't directly get to this point at the start of the film. Aarkkariyam is essentially a drama that unfurls at an unhurried pace, slowly establishing characters, their relationships, and texture. It remains so entirely, even with that somewhat shocking reveal mid-way. The acoustic guitar score reinstates this in the second half. Writers Rajesh Ravi and Arun Janardanan (alongside Sanu) place the story in contemporary, pandemic times. While the pandemic is what drives certain decisions in the film, it never accelerates the pace or pushes it into thriller territory.

The thrills, if any, are relegated to the characters' inner psyches. Aarkkariyam becomes a study of sorts in the latter half, delving deeper into the characters of Ittyavira (Biju Menon) and Roy (Sharafudheen), with Sherly (Parvathy) becoming slightly less significant as she is unaware of said twisty revelation. What I liked is how the film doesn't turn overly melodramatic (or spiritual) at any point - the emotional transitions are subtle. The cast really elevates the okayish script - Biju Menon rises to the occasion as Ittyavira portraying the right body language of a septuagenarian while Sharafudheen handles the curious scenes with ease. Parvathy is effective but as mentioned, her character occupies a lesser space as the film progresses to its climax.

The character Roy juggles between Malayalam, Hindi, and English (prominently in the first half) - probably in an attempt to picture him as a longtime resident of Mumbai - but the English lines especially come off as jarring. Were these dialogues in English integral to the plot or the character in any way? Not so sure. The locales (just like in Joji) and aesthetics are a definite plus - the house, the tall rubber trees all around, the pond, even the dogs eagerly waiting for leftovers every night - all of it sticks. It's a notable debut indeed, and I'll watch out for Sanu's next!

Aarkkariyam (2021) : Brief Review -

A solemn take on compassion and eternal salvation before eternity. Latest offering from Malayalam Cinema, Aarkkariyam is like a slow poison. It may work on some people strongly but some might find it mild. The main reason behind this is the improper use of leniency. With more virile theories behind the compassion would have worked better for sure. Shirley and Roy in the middle of an impending Covid lock-down and a personal financial crisis, leave their Mumbai home for Shirley's home in Pala where her father Ittyavira stays. Roy soon finds that her home is not what he thought it is. One secret which was hidden deep down by Ittyavira for years is revealed by him to Roy and it makes Roy restless. That's where the actual content begins and sadly it comes too late. The film opens its first card of the main story at the interval point. Can you believe it? Almost after 55-56 minutes we get to know where the film is heading to. The film is powered by incredible performance of the actors. There is a reason to say this. You see, mostly we judge the acting level according to dialogue delivery and expressions but here in this film the actors have more silent scenes than talking ones. It gives them liberty to behave naturally on screen and their presence fulfills the all the requirements of good acting. Biju Menon, Parvathy Thiruvothu and Samharafudeen all three have given fabulous performances. Aarkkariyam is more like an art film, a realistic drama so expectedly the screenplay and cinematography are curved towards the artistic zone. Sanu John Varghese's attempt to leave the audience with an ideal thought of inner burden and mistaken guilt is very much convincing. The only problem with it is, it takes too much time for that and slow pace feels annoying sometimes. Nevertheless, it's an effective sip of a slow poison.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Acting by all the actors is on point

I only wanted to know the backstory of Roy.

The change of languages between Malyalam, Hindi & English was too confusing for me. Although I got the concept behind it that it was set in Mumbai, but Roy's friend who himself was a Malyali was speaking in fluent HIndi.

Very realistic & crisp story with great performances.