Traffic Review

'If you are consistently going on saying 'no', then this day will just end like any other day, but if you are ready for a committed yes, then it will be a fervent support from many others to continue with saying 'yes' in similar enterprising situations'- reminds two different characters in two different points of time in this indisputably remarkable film 'Traffic'. After watching this movie, this dialogue line seems to be a reminder for the  regulars of Mollywood cinema, who keeps on forgetting the quality stuff and  go on to promote the formulaic ,cliched material.Yes, this is high time to say 'yes' to  movies like 'Traffic'', that travels through rarer pastures, not often attempted in Mollywood cinema.

A fascinating movie that will remain with you much long, the movie is based on the actual 'Chennai traffic incident', which is exceptionally written to suit the screen by Bobby-Sanjay.The young director Rajesh R pillai, who debuted years ago with a forgettable 'Hridayathil Sookshikkan', make the best of the opportunity and display his amazing maturity and technical wizardry in realizing a demanding script, in fact one of the very best, ever written for a Malayalam film.He balances the emotional conflicts of characters and other panicking situations with panache and  needed subtility, which is another highpoint of this bold, stark  and unpredictable 'Traffic'.

The movie has almost all its main events in a single day, a 16th of September, where two friends Raihan and Rajeevan travelling in a bike is hit by a speeding car driven by a beautiful lady, who is trying to evade hooligans following her for long. Raihan, a TV reporter was getting ready to make it big with the interview scheduled on the same day, with a megastar Sidhharth Shankar, whose big film "Ishwar'was hitting the screens on the same day. The day was also the one when Dr Abel (Kunchakko Boban) was planning to make a celebration for his wedding anniversary by presenting his wife(Remya Nambeeshan) with a brand new car.It also happened to be the day when Sudevan, a traffic Constable, suspended from service for accepting bribe, was to rejoin his duty. The accident that happens at the Traffic signal intertwines with the lives of everyone in a very  unforeseen manner.And now suddenly it  becomes a matter of fight between emotions, time and distance to make the maximum gains of the situations, which makes this 'Traffic' viewing an unforgettable one.

The promising purview is supplemented with immersible twists all the way. The loopholes in the narratives are so less that the journey is never a shaky one. Following the patterns set by 'Amoress peros', 'Babel' and 'Crash', the multifarious presentations which never annoy you, makes the movie rise up to internationals standards.

Another person who seems to have worked his heart out seems to the editor Mahesh Narayanan, whose tight editing has never let your interest slip a minute, from the ever pacing proceedings on screen.This is the best work from the young technician till date. So is the killer background track by Mejo Joseph, whose lone song in the movie is also appreciable.

 In the acting front, the movie has present a Mammoth cast in the most adorable and appropriate way with most being part of some unforgettable scenes on screen. Be it   in Rehman who never had an opportunity in recent times to play such a mature and complicated role of the helpless superstar father, or that of kunchakko boban, who is struggling to come over his personal tragedy of betrayal, the movie offers moments to everyone.  Sreenivasan make a cake walk as Sudevan while Lena, Asif Ali, Saikumar,Anoop Menon and Sandhya also comes up with sparkling performances.                                                 

Young star Remya Nambeeshan and veteran actor  Jose Prakash is back to screen in impressive short roles. The cinematography by Shyju Khalid and works by other technical departments are also topnotch.