Vishudhan Review

With his first four films that ended up as big hits, young director Vysakh has carved an image of a mass masala maker. But with the promos of his latest `Vishuddhan', the director has promised something different. After watching Vishuddhan, the changes in patterns of film making is explicit with the director attempting a serious tone and theme. With a heavy loaded, skilfully toned sensitive tale to tell, the director must be applauded for taking up the plot, but how far it has managed to end up as a decent fare is a point of contention. At 132 minutes and with practically no lighter scenes, `Visudhan' offers a demanding, serious watch.

The movie, also scripted by the director, is told in flashbacks , with a lot of Bible quotes in the interludes. The church in the hilly terrain is awaiting an young priest named Sunny (Kunchacko Boban) who is coming to take charge as the vicar. With this first assignment, he soon becomes pretty popular in the area. He is also taking special care to provide better amenities for the old age home `Snehalaya' run by the church. But soon he finds some anomalies in its setup with the local rich man, Vavachan,  (Hareesh Perady) who also runs a medial college,  seeming to take unusual interest in it. Sister Sophy (Miya), a nun in the church, who is an orphan comes up with some clues which provides Sunnychan with what shady activities are actually happening in the name of charity. Vavachan now starts to propagate false stories against Sunnychan. This creates tensions in the life of the young priest as he is forced to renounce priesthood and enter into a family life with Sophie, who is by then thrown out of the church. seminary. What follows forms the rest of the movie .

The highlight of the movie is the fine making by Vysakh. His impressive takings and ambiance, set with the help of cinematographer Shahnad Jaleel, makes it one of the finest visuals treat of recent times. He is also ably supported by editor Mahesh Narayanan and Gopi Sundar who creates some fine scores to elevate the mood of the film. One of the best performances from kunchakko Boban is another highlight of the flick, where he maintains an acceptable realism throughout. Miya and Nandhu also supports the film with their natural performances.

On the flip side, the scripts by the director appear bumpy and the climax  appear overly rushed. The overall serious tone with no lighter moments may not interest an average viewer who may not take to the differences offered in style and takings. Suraj venjaaramoodu and Lal are wasted in silly roles, as the movie seldom moves out of the central protagonists.

In the final analysis, 'Vishudhan' may appeal to more serious viewers, but for the supporters of masala flicks, this may not be appealing.