After seeing the documentary R S Vimal made about Kanchanamala’s eternal love and also the emotionally high trailer, I was expecting an extended extremely dramatic visualization of the love story. But the movie surprised me by adding life to the melodrama and also by having a fair enough amount of humor in the narrative. With almost everything Kanchanamala mentions in the documentary getting visualized in a very heartwarming way, Ennu Ninte Moideen manages to make its audience applaud at the end.
The story is about the love affair of a Hindu girl and Muslim boy at a time when the orthodox mentality among the people was on its peak. Moideen, a socially active young man who had a strong political disagreement with his father expresses his love to Kanchanamala. The religion was a big task ahead of them and the determination of the couple to be together made them wait for the opportunity to get married without causing much trouble to their families. The arrogant and orthodox families tried their level best to separate them and the movie shows us how Moideen and Kanchanamala fought for their love and showed remarkable patience.
From first scene itself, we can sense the kind of drama the movie is going to have. I feared it would become excessive as it progresses, but much to my surprise there were a lot of subplots in the film narrated through that day’s political and cultural atmosphere which kept the movie humorous, emotional and lively. If you haven’t seen the documentary, some of the scenes may look too cheesy but Kanchanamala and B P Rasheed has talked about most of the scenes we see in the movie in “Jalam Kondu Murivettaval”. The Moideen-Kanchanamala conversation were she tells him about her concern about the future of her sisters, the interval sequence, the scene were Appu apologizes and a few more scenes had that emotional depth with proper dosage of melodrama.
Prithviraj has done a striking job in portraying B P Moideen. The actor had that attitude and physique to represent a determined Moidheen. The contact lenses do make him look really intense in some sequences. Parvathy also delivers the pivotal role of Kanchanamala neatly. Her voice at a few points disturbs the theatrical feel. Saikumar and Lena were super solid in their supportive roles. Tovino impresses as Appu. Bala and Sudheer Karamana also perform very nicely. Many other actors are there in the star cast who has done their respective roles neatly.
R S Vimal treats the movie in the dramatic shade. The frequent rain that symbolized the nature of Mukkam was used as a theme similar to the documentary. The only negative of the movie was its slight over dose in mixing drama at certain occasions. Otherwise it has built the timeline very impressively with exciting and relevant events happening in the love story. Scenes were there where protagonists question the hypocrisy of the elder generation. Dialogues are striking. The visuals from Jomon were terrific, personal favorite was the top angle shot were Moideen lies in the ground after getting stabbed. Edits was nice and Gopi Sunder makes a strong comeback with his background score. Music of the movie is damn good and the placing of the songs was also quite smart. The boat accident scene was visualized neatly. The art direction also needs to be appreciated for recreating those old days.
Overall, the real life story of Moideen and Kanchanamala is visually a treat. The over sentimental drama may have disturbed the rhythm slightly, but still there is enough to keep you excited about the rebellious romance. The rating for Ennu Ninte Moideen is 3.5/5 along with thumbs up. The sad part is when you realize that the society hasn’t really changed and a separation caused by religion is still there.
With almost everything Kanchanamala mentions in the documentary getting visualized in a very heartwarming way, Ennu Ninte Moideen manages to make its audience applaud at the end.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
