Diamond Necklace Review

Malayalam cinema is truly evolving. More and more film-makers are realizing the importance of narrating a new story every time when they make an effort. Laljose, the maverick director , had been doing so from his very first projects, which helped him to be in the top list of Mollywood. His new film, `Diamond Necklace' is such a different attempt with the most adorable and lovable actor from the new generation, Fahd Fazil, (If this statement seems biased, just watch the movie and have a say) unleashing an incredible experience. The film may not boast of any big stars or may not be very huge on hype and hoopla, but it is a movie that should be watched for its powerful plot and terrific execution of the written material.

Youthful love stories in particular are eagerly lapped up if they satisfy at least a few from this list- a charming lead pair, a romance quotient that is just right, some tuneful songs that are easy on the lips, some bright cinematography and sweet and warm moments that can stay fresh in your memory even after you've made an exit from the screens.  You have got every such luck here, which is nicely integrated with nice family moments and essential ingredients of a new generation flick, to create another movie that you may relish for long.

`Diamond Necklace' is all about Dr Arjun, (Fahd Fazil) an young oncologist from a small town in Kerala, adjusting to the lifestyle in Dubai metropolis. The movie narrates his life hitting the ebb due to his spendthrift, easy going manners and then his attempts to crawl back again. A successful doctor, he is currently sharing a flat at the world's biggest and expensive building in Dubai, Burg Khalifa. Addicted to getting into relations and chasing anything with the money he has on his more than a dozen credit cards, Arun finally falls for Lekshmy (Gowthamy Nair), the new nurse who joins his hospital from a local village in Tamil Nadu. He starts a live-in relation with her, but soon falls into the traps laid by his over spending attitudes,  nose-diving  himself into a travel  ban. One top official named Narayanan (Manian Pillai Raju) helps him to get out of the crisis for the time being, helping him to visit his ailing mother at Kerala. But once he is into his home land, Arun realizes that all is set for him to enter another relation, as his mother and the relatives are already up for his marriage with Rajshri (Anushree), a girl who is also a classical dancer trained at Kalamandalam. It is at this point that another modern girl; Maya, a fashion designer by profession enters his life. The movie goes on to tell how the life of Arun intertwines with that of all these three girls and how a costly diamond necklace' makes him realize about the finer aspects of his life.

Iqbal Kuttipuram has penned a nexcellent story taking the essence of  the typical structure of Laljose movies and the new generation styles to make one that works at many levels. And Laljose is back to another best, handling a complex story with amazing maturity, as expected of him. A strong melodramatic theme about Middle East life with some terrific moments that stay with you, the story is attention-grabbing.  The writing and dialogues are relatable (also you find some terrific Tamil lines) and credible with that atypical, feel-good conclusion, making it one that is not to be missed.  But `Diamond Necklace' slips a bit in its post-interval portions. The promise that it showed initially dries up in this hour, as some sequences are a bit bland, melodramatic and dragging. The screenplay could've been more engrossing in this hour, where relationships appear too subtle or unadorned camaraderie or as just feelings for each other.

`Diamond Necklace is embellished with top notch performances, with Fahd Fazil scoring brownie points for his inimitable talent. Playing a stylish, sensible, sharp-witted guy, Fahd has the right look for his part, and it does take a lot of observation to portray this intricate role. He surprises you with his range of emotions and on-screen presence in an author backed role and it is one portrayal that single-handedly carries the film with his very refined rendering.  Samvrutha Sunil surprises you with an inspiring role while Gowthami Nair is endearing as a Tamil lady. Anushree in her debut just manages fine in the role of a vivacious chatterbox.  Srinivasan is type casted while Rohini is impressive as Dr. Savithri, the colleague of Dr Arun.

Laljose, as usual, brings in the best from the technical departments. Sameer Thahir is impressive behind the camera, giving a virtual tour of the spectacles of the Dubai city. Ranjan Abraham in editing could have applied his scissors more sharply. The other highlights of the movie include the great songs by Vidhyasagar, who always treasure the best for his favourite director. All the songs pictured well are hummable though our picks are `Thottu Thottu' and `Nilamalare', which are sure shot hits.

`Diamond Necklace' is definitely a prescription for an onetime watch, which may be an able transition for the family viewers to the world of new generation flicks and actors. Watch it for Lal Jose, Vidya Sagar, Sameer Thahir and an undoubtedly the best so far from   `Fahd Fazil.

Rating -7/10