'Saturday Night 'directed by Roshan Andrews and starring Nivin Pauly, Aju Varghese, Siju Wilson and Saiju Kurup, traces the story of four childhood friends whose priorities are quite different, but stick together in need.
The equations change when a slew of incidents happen in their life and create a wedge among them. This affects Stanley (Nivin), who is the glue in the relationship. Their friendship and escapades in the first half remind you of Hollywood movie 'Hangover' starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Todd Philips and John Bartha, but it loses track after they part ways in the plot.
The dialogues and the theatrics of the friends are humorous, but some scenes are not organic enough to keep the audience hooked. It seems Roshan Andrews – who directed 'Prathi Poovan Kozhi', 'Notebook' and 'Salute' – wanted to deliver a pure entertainer, without caring much about the depth of the characters.
The makers, especially the scriptwriter Naveen Bhaskar, fail to keep the plot from drifting. Probably, the gaps could have been filled if the storyline had focused on building a narrative depicting the depth of their relationship rather than on their escapades alone, which is also not convincing enough. We are unable to feel the depth of friendship even when Stanley is so glued to it.
The second half brings clarity to the film, as the friends come together again, not out of love, but circumstances. Their journey they undertake then form the rest of the story. The music, including the English tracks by Jakes Bejoy, aptly captures the essence of the story. Getting to see the Nivin-Aju Varghese combo back on screen is promising, though it is Siju Wilson, who surprisingly brings more comical elements to the film. Nivin takes time to get into his character, as the film demands him to be more quirky than funny, but he is in his element soon.
Saiju Kurup and Grace Antony, who plays Ajith's wife. also contribute to the humour. Saniya has done a neat job. Prathap Pothen makes a brief appearance in the film – his last movie before his passing a few months ago.
