Aviyal is a popular Keralite recipe which includes a mix of various vegetables cut to slender slices. The term is also used as a metaphor to denote something that is haphazard and orderless in nature. The Malayalam movie 'Aviyal' directed by Shanil Muhammed and starring Sirajudeen Nazir, Joju George and Anaswara Rajan in the lead imparts a similar impression by panning a series of romances of the protagonist right from his schooldays.
The narrative is featured as the flashback of a dotting father communicated to his daughter, going through a breakup.
When Krishna, a talented singer, was naive at communicating his love to a classmate in school it was his friendly father who lent him support and encouraged him to pursue his romance in a mature and dignified manner. Krishna's journey in the undulating path of romance has been tumultuous thereafter.
The sequences have been drafted as realistic as life could be. However, the incoherence of script that encompasses the long journey of Krishna and his search for true love makes the narrative really haphazard. While the movie thrills you at many places, it leaves wide chinks with cliches and banal dialogues and episodes. Meanwhile, the movie survives the test of aesthetic standards towards the climax by presenting a more genuine and relatable tale of a man who lost his mind and track of life.
Joju George, featured as the seasoned and the now-settled Krishna, simply appears as a vehicle to transport the tale back and forth in the movie. He, naturally, doesn't have much scope to perform in the drama. So is Anaswra Rajan, who doesn't have much to speak about apart from being an instrument to pull the lever to steer the tale ahead.
Meanwhile, debutant Sirajudeen Nazir, showcases a stellar performance in driving the character in all the forms and through all the stages of his life quite convincingly. Nazir has been able to employ the transformation of the character at various junctures with elan. By excelling both in loud theatrics as well as subtle nuances he provides a glimpse of a rising star.
Athmiya Rajan, Prashanth, Anjali Nair, Kethaki Narayanan, Shafeer Khan, Swathika Vinod, among others play crucial roles in the drama.
And the winner is obviously the music and the songs. The song, 'Manjil Thooval', composed by Sharreth and penned by Nizam Hussain is beautifully rendered by the Chitra and Unni Menon. The songs and the background score by Sankar Sharma too elevate the psychedelic aura in the movie. Manu Manjith, Maathan, Jis Joy have also penned songs for the movie.
'Aviyal' is produced by Sujith Surendran under the banner Pocket SQ2 Productions. While Sudeep Elamon, Jimshi Khalid and Ravi Chandran manoeuvred the camera, make-up is by Amal Chandran.
As a story presenting a complicated philosophy offering a messed up or a blurred view of life, 'Aviyal' can be watched once.