A still from the movieAlamara qualifies to be a good family entertainer with a lot of situational comedies and easily relatable, real life instances.
Though the movie reasserts a negative stereotype that women are potential conspirators in every family and men, the silent victims, director Midhun Manuel Thomas has managed to keep it interesting with adequate doses of satire and humor to showcase the conflict in an unbiased manner.
Now, Alamara is not the first Malayalam movie of this sort. Movies of the same ilk have been made by Balachandra Menon, Sathyan Anthikkad and Sreenivasan, viz., Karyam Nissaram, Sasneham, Vadakkunokkiyanthram, Thalayinamanthram etc.
Debutante actress Aditi Ravi has done a nice job as Swati, a bank employee who gets married to Arun Pavithran (Sunny Wayne). The couple soon moves to Bangalore where both are employed. But they soon start fighting over a cupboard – a gift from Swati’s parents.
The movie begins and progresses through the soliloquies of the controversial cupboard, which has been perfectly done by Salim Kumar. The voice of the popular comedian makes the audience think in the cupboard's shoes and experience the humiliation it faces all along the movie.
Sunny Wayne, who has done a series of supporting roles, is up with his second movie as a protagonist after Ni Ko Nja Cha. But when compared to Aditi, Wayne's performance doesn't cross the line of average. After the 'Kalipp' political goon in his previous movie Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeeviyaanu, Midhun has brought Indrans back on screen as 'Sreerama Shettiyar', a real estate fraud, who encroaches a piece of land owned by Arun Pavithran and his friends at Bengaluru. Aju Varghese, Sudhi Koppa and Saiju Kurup satisfy all expectations as supporting characters. Renji Panicker is no more a 'heroic dad' as in Premam or Jacobinte Swargarajyam, but a homemaker husband who shuts his mouth before the loud abuses of his wife played by Seema G. Nair.
Alamara runs on a plot, which is very much familiar to the audience through TV serials: dominant, conspiring mother in laws and their passive husbands, interfering in the life of young couples, causing problems among them. The climax is obvious and all expected.
In a nutshell, the movie engages the audience all along and ends with a message. Now what more do you expect from a light family entertainer movie?
The filmmaker introduces a few newcomers to the industry in key roles. Apart from the heroine, Sonu Anna Jacob, who plays the role of protagonist's sister, is also worth a mention.
Sonu engages the audience all through the movie with her distinct looks and unique expressions. Aditi's costumes also have due importance in the movie. This movie will definitely bring in some designer kurtis and salwar patterns into trend.
Rating: 3/5
