After a hilarious take off we wait eagerly for the 'big something' that might take place. There are reasons enough to keep our expectations aloft - the backdrop, the star cast and the aura; everything sets the stage ready for a gobsmacking psychological thriller. Well, the story line too, in the beginning, bares glimpses of a promising course ahead. Thus begins the journey with a gripping momentum displaying potential for an aesthetic standard, which would be class apart.
The sail continues, with run of sequences in bits and pieces and crosses half-time. Amidst skirmishes, confusions, sensual romps and digressions we still wait for the never-seen-before that might happen in the life of Ravi Narayan (Murali Gopi) and Yusuf Marrakkar (Fahad Fazil) after a certain accident. Yusuf, a CI with Bangalore Police is on a trail to nab Ravi Narayan, an architect by profession, who he believes is a psycho maniac and a threat to the society. But soon we feel as if we had landed in the kingdom of lunatics.
And then, things fall apart and the anxiety, the (mood for) thrill all get seeped through the punctures left by poor narrative. The interest that had spiraled on a strong plot structure starts wilting. It's here we realise story telling is an art, which requires artistic traits. Contriving a perfect finish to it is not an easy business either. What we witness there onwards is a staggering struggle to conclude the whole affair engagingly.
The more it is battered to perfection, the more hideous it becomes. All the same, it has to wind up some how, so it is wound up in a sombre, shoddy manner. At the end the castle comes down crashing to the ground. The gory incidents, the multiple personality syndrome, the long drawn out histrionics at a feverish pitch or even the Kathakali theatrics could not come to its rescue. We keep forcing ourselves to the edge of the seat in desperation to give it the feel of a thriller, in vain.
The dialogues could have been more ardent and natural. Even the flashbacks or recounts are portrayed in a manner that seemed amateurish. While some of the conversations looked acutely serious than the situation demanded, certain crucial events are dealt lightly without lending them due gravity or details.
However, the run of scenes has been free and the transitions were seamless. Yet another highlight of the film is the deep delved research that was required for the subject it dealt with. The brilliant camera work by Jomon Thomas is worth mentioning. The background score by Gopi Sundar does support the whole chain of events. Yet, there has been nothing remarkable in the songs that looked outlandish to the theme.
As regards the acting, it is Murali Gopi through and through. Though he stands out as a towering figure in terms of perfecting the role initially, we are pestered with too much of it towards the end that we almost jump out for an escape. Fahad does justice to the role he has been assigned to. Honey Rose as a doctor and Abhinaya as Yusuf's wife do essay their roles meticulously. Debuting as an actor Shyamaprasad too plays his role of a psychiatrist, quite convincingly. To sum up, 1 By Two can be tagged as a film that begins brilliantly and goes overboard for want of artistic finish.
Rating: 2/5
