Ever since Sathyan Anthikkad had made a mark in the Mollywood industry ,his forte has been soft, satires peppered with quality humour. Recall some of his best from Nadodikkattu to Sandhesham or Vinodhayathra; he always has a point of critical social commentary to make, that worked well with the audience.
Also a smart director to pick the right names for his films, his new ''Bhagya Devatha'' definitely is another winner, which doesn't need much luck to emerge one.Here the director revisits his strengths with a sweeping effect, in one of his own best scripts. With the brilliant camera work of Venu, the movie stands out as a well made,well narrated movie that also makes a stunning visual statement of Kerala backwaters. The story of Bhagya Devatha by Rajesh Jayarman, is pretty predictable and old as the hills ,but mirrors the universal truth about greed and overambitiousness that ruins all relationships. But Sathyan has managed to weave one captivating movie, with his stock village characters and sequences, that really does justice to the central thought. Jayaram plays Benny, a diploma holder, who runs the franchisee of a local cable TV channel in a kuttanad village .
After the death of his father, he had to shoulder the responsibilities of his large family consisting of his mother, grandmother and two sisters. A little bit ambitious, Benny thinks of varied ways to make it big, with short cuts. According to the advice of Sadanandan, a tourist guide and Benny's friend, he decides to marry Daisy, with the belief that he can raise substantial amounts as dowry, with which he can buy a fishing boat. He gives advance for the boat but after the marriage, he is totally disappointed as Daisy 's father Anto fails to get the promised amount at the right time from the bank. Benny's dreams get a severe blow and as a result he throws away his wife and engage into bad words with her father. But Benny suddenly fall prey of wrong doings as Daisy wins an amount of two crores in a lottery .
The movie belongs to the director and the the entire cast who delivers a natural, believable performances through out. Right from the protagonists played by Jayaram and Kaniha to K P A C Lalitha , Mamukoya and Rugmini and a number of new faces,every one in the frame has lived up their best to give reality bites to the environment. Ilayaraja also bring in some of the hummable tunes for the movie. In fact his very differnt backgound scoring for the movie, is really a treat to hear. All others in the technical crew is in perfect sync with the mood of the theme, that really needed to be addressed in this impact.
Verdict:
Altogether ''Bhagya Devatha'' is a perfect prescription for the families of the state, who always loved to enjoy the sathyan stamp of quality narratives.
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