Avarude Raavukal is a motivational youth movie narrating the tale of three disoriented youngsters who meet in a paying guest center run by a mysterious character christened Scobo Jones (Nedumudi Venu).
The plot takes a trajectory that unravels the destiny of these young men, dotted by unwarranted fears which they themselves struggle to figure out.
Scobo Jones, steeped in mystery, appears to be an abandoned old man with deep philosophical insights. He helps the youngsters to seek their real problem and leaves them amid their journey towards it. Their journey in search of Scobo Jones turns out to be a time of introspection to all three of them, which pushes them to go back to their life and solve their issues all by themselves.
Unni Mukundan appears on screen as an outright flirt for the first time in his career and it ends up as a pedestrian act. Though his physical makeover for the movie - the look with thick beard and messy grown hair - worked well on screen, the otherwise-good-boy attempting to be a ribald failed to light up the screen with an air of artificiality.
Vinay Forrt is back as a teacher with a confused face, reminding us of the much popular 'Java professor' in Premam. Juggling through stress, relief, romance, anguish, love and peace, Forrt does justice to the character.
As a key character as well as narrator, Forrt, wth his subtle way of emoting complex dilemmas through much communicable expressions strikes a chord.
After 'Ozhimuri'' and 'Adventures of Omanakkuttan,' Asif Ali is back as that sweet innocent boy hailing from the value system moulded around the 1980's.
An aspiring actor, his character called Ashik steers the movie through unexpected revelations, realizations and surprises. Ali's typical style of adapting to a peer circle is well utilized, and his loss and gain of self confidence levels all through his journey from an aspirant to a busy hero has the potential to connect with the audience.
A few newcomers have played their part brilliantly in the movie. Anand, who plays the role of Vinay Forrt's demised friend, is a graceful presence. Venu, the fresher who played villain to Unni Mukundan, has also brought the character's typical rage perfectly in his part.
In his very second directorial venture, Shanil Muhammed has tried his best to bring together all elements of entertainment, romance and masala, to attract all categories of audience. Yet, the movie seems out of sync.
Certain scenes like the one establishing a friendship between the three youngsters and Nedumudi Venu went lagging beyond tolerable limits. Yet some parts have been envisaged with deep insight, which could prompt a discerning audience vis-a-vis the need to face struggles.
Most parts of the movie has been shot in Kochi but some picture postcard locations like Wagamon and Munnar infuse a soothing effect. Location selection is one appreciable aspect about the movie, that each place plays a significant, irreplaceable character.
Music has well been integrated with the storyline that we don't find any unwanted waste of time for the sake of music or romance. Having deconstructed the hero-heroine romance culture, the movie doesn't assert importance on a specific female character and every protagonist doesn't flaunt a love story.
The character played by Honey Rose resembles Mamtha Mohandas's role in Dileep movie 'My Boss' and much similarly, the bold and bossy lady takes amusingly meagre time and reason to fall in love with her subordinate (Unni Mukundan).
Keeping exaggerations apart, the movie is a motivational entertainer. Considering the struggles the filmmakers had to overcome to hit the theaters, Avarude Ravukal cannot be rejected outright as an 'average movie.'
It has a well conveyed message, realistic characters and circumstances to relate with and a very practical solution to major dilemmas faced by today's youth.
Rating: 2.5 / 5
