Njanum Ente Familiyum Review

'Njanum Ente familyum'  is the debut directorial venture of  K K Rajeev,  known for some hit serials in the mini screen that had ran successfully for years. Though the screen size has changed, the director seems to be depending on his wisdom and patterns with soap operas, presenting another heavy dose melodrama centred on  infidelity issues. Scripted by Cherian Kalpakavady, this movie is a tribute to prime time serials, that strictly is entertained by the family audience. The movie liberally takes inspirations from many movies of the past including the Hindi film Dil Ek Mandir(1963), its Malayalam remake  `Hridayam Oru Kshethram' (1976) to the Mamootty starer of the eighties `Muhurtham 11.30nu' to stretch on to a story that appeal only in parts.

Jayaram in the movie is Dr.Dinanathan, a cardiothoracic surgeon known for his expertise in bringing back to life many patients who were written off by other doctors. Living a happy life with his wife Dr Priya(Mamtha Mohandas) and two children, he is once required to attended the case of John Paileykunnel(Manoj K Jayan) at the recommendation of his friend Dr. Easwarmoorthy(Jagathy Sreekumar) practicing at Chennai. Here to his surprise, Dr.Dina finds his ex lover Sophia(Mydhili) who once deserted him, as the wife of John.  Initially Dinanathan tries to evade the situation by prescribing John to other hospitals but is forced to take-up the case on insistence of his wife Priya who is unaware of her husband's past predicament. Dinanathan succeeds with the heart operation of John Pailee, but soon finds him dead of a massive heart attack. His elder sister Jaininte( Mallika Sukumaran) hands over a letter  from John to Dr Dina, which asks him to support Sophie to recoup into life in the event of his death. The movie follows what the future holds for the good hearted doctor who is forced to prove worthy to two loving hearts, at the same time.

The problem with the movie is that the story lines holds no surprises, and the sequences offered are the least fresher. K K Rajeev manages a few sequences with panache, but the rest goes on without any enthusiasm. The hospital sequences that lead to the big tragedy appear out of sync with the normal flow of the narratives. As usual with these kinds of movies, `Njanum Ente Familiyum', also take a male centred approach with the two ladies always at the receiving end. And the overall wait in the climax is for the reformation of one of them to accept the grave situation that the family is on and to save it from further troubles created by their man.

Though the story-lines are not so impressive, the director in K K Rajeev has been able to get hold of the best from his cast and crew .  Jayaram  fits the role Dr Dinanathan like a `T' and gives considerable believability to the role.  Mydhili impresses with a most controlled performance in her career, while Mamtha Mohandas, Jagathy Sreekumar, Nedumudi Venu  and Manoj K Jayan play to the demands of their role. Baby Esther is also laudable in a shorter role.

The technical sides of the movie are good with Vaidhy creating some finer visuals. The songs by M G Sreekumar are average at best with `Kunkumapoo' the best track among the lot.

All in all, `Njanum, Ente Familiyum' is strictly advised to those who had developed a habit to entertain each and every soaps that comes before them on miniscreen.And for the rest, this will be a tedious watch. Rating-4.5/10

Rating-4.5/10