Apothecary - An Honest & Realistic Attempt ,But A Partial Success As A Movie!

[AfsalTouchriver]

Apothecary
Theatre::Daya Cinemas,Thodupuzha
Date::07/08/14
Show::11:30 AM
Status::20%

~Review~
_________
An Honest & Realistic Attempt ,But A Partial Success As A Movie!

'Melvilasam' was a brilliantly crafted film from Madhav Ramadsan,which failed to receive the applause that it deserves at the time of its release.But this time expectations were sky-high from him & I must say he has succeeded in keeping the expectations,only upto an extent.

The film focuses on the sensitive issue of medical trade,drug tests & medical trials.There's no question regarding the social relevance of the theme & the message that it upholds.We have had movies like 1 by Two & Nirnayam which had highlighted the same issue before,but Apothecary is different as it goes straight & deep into the issue without trying to encompass any element of masala in between.But when unadulterated content is presented on big screen,the most likely result is a subdued experience & the same applies to Apothecary.

The pace of the movie is a major issue & I could see a major section of the audience getting restless because of the snail pace with which the movie proceeds.

The movie was labelled as a medical thriller & the promos too hinted the same,but the elimination of any elements of masala gives the film an ambience of a documentary or rather a docu-fiction.At some junctures I got a feeling that Madhav tried too hard to label his presentation within art-house genre,the reason Apothecary becomes a good reccomendation only for a particular section of the movie-going audience.The realism in the presentation might be the major factor for such an issue,but its obvious that Apothecary is targeting on the festival crowd,rather than the normal audience.Some better trimming could have helped the movie gain some pace & made it a much more entertaining for the major crowd.Considering all these factors,Melvilasam scores over Apothecary for its perfection in presentation & directorial brilliance.If a question arises on whether the theme could have been presented better,my answer will certainly be a yes.

Apothecary can boast off some really good performances from Suresh Gopi,Jayasurya & Asif Ali who have given out their best to make their roles perfect.I particularly loved Sureshettans climax portions where he was exceptionally good.The effort & dedication that Jayasurya took for his physical transformation is notable,but whether the role was challenging in light of the efforts is a big question.

The last 30 minutes of the movie was rather racy & the best part of the presentation.Overall,Apothecary is a realistic movie with a message which had room for some improvement,a decent recommendation for those who can define cinema leaving aside the commercial elements.

Performances
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*Suresh Gopi was brilliant as Dr.Vijay Nambiar.Expecting more of such performances from his side.
*Jayasurya was really good in his role.
*Asif Ali did his part well eventhough the role was minimal.
*Abhirami was ok.
*Indrans,Thampi Antony,Kavitha Nair gave good support.

Some +Ves ::
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*Social Relevance Of The Theme.
*Brilliant Performances.
*Honesty In Presentation.

Some -Ves::
___________
*The slow pace of the movie.
*The art-house feel.
*Editing.
*Repetitious BGM.

Verdict::Apothecary concentrates on the sensitive & relevant issue of medical trade & presents a socially relevant message genuinely,but the slow pace & the docu-fiction aura limits the audience of the movie.

Not a must watch,but a decent recommendation for the message it upholds !

Ma Rating::6.5/10
_Afsal

[Saathan]

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[AfsalTouchriver]

[ClubAns]

Thanks AfsalTouchriver .....................

[wayanadan]

thanxxx afsal

[Jishnu Anand]

thanks....nalla review....

[maryland]

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[KSHERU]

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[Spunky]

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