Avarude Raavukal Review : Its a too long story

Director Shanil Muhammed tries a partial experiment with the narrative style of his new movie Avarude Ravukal. The mix of conventional style and the experimental style sort of muddles the entire movie in to becoming one complicated process of storytelling thus making it very tough to digest for us as a viewer.

Aspiring struggling actor Ashiq, a lazy goal less Sidharth and a trainer Vijay are our main protagonists. The three have their own personal struggles. The movie is apparently about a phase where they all met and sorted out their issues under the influence of an old man who provided the home and shelter.

It is this complicated screenplay that screws up this could have been breezy entertainer. For you as audience it is quite difficult to figure out at what phase of their life a particular scene is happening. Avarude Ravukal has a haywire narrative that goes back and forth to create an intrigue that doesn't exist. Conflict and resolution has always been the structure of cinema and in this movie the conflicts in front of each character is so weak that you will blame the buildup for giving a false hope.

Shanil Muhammed seems to love the slow motion a lot. From the songs to normal scenes, the abundance of slow motion is clearly visible. The problem is that this slow motion and excessive drama doesn’t feel like a style of narrative. Only the character of Vijay in the story seems to have some ground to claim a valid conflict. The issues of the other two don’t have that substance to make it look like a real struggle. While Ashiq was lost in translation from, Sidharth was flat in written format. Cinematography is average and the cuts are too sharp and uneven. The Ethetho Swapnamo song was my favorite among the songs.

The portrayal of Ashiq by Asif Ali has flaws. The theatrical shade to his emoting takes away the charm one would expect in a wannabe actor. Unni Mukundan has always struggled with his diction and here also the actor is struggling with a poorly written character. Vinay Forrt delivers a controlled performance and was the best among the three. Nedumudi Venu was good. Mukesh, Aju Varghese, Lena, Honey Rose and many more are there in the lengthy star cast.

Avarude Ravukal feels like a very tedious movie even after being a just above two hour long cinema. With complexities in the narrative causing high hopes about a climax playing the villain, this movie fails to move you.