Neena : Bold Indeed; But, Bold Enough?

[yodha007]

Neena : A Parallel Cinema?
Popularised in 1980s by legends like MT, KG George, Mohan, Bharathan, Padmarajan in Mollywood, "Parallel Movies" followed a "middle" in film industry striking a balance between art & commerce.... Within the commercial format, they explored bold themes, often avoiding the so called "hit" formulas, cliches & melodramatic excesses......This movement had a great impact on popular film makers, inspiring them to experiment, resulting in quality products in our industry.

Coming from the hit maker, Lal jose after "Neela Thamara" and "Ayalum Njanum Thammil", "Neena" does resemble Parallel Cinema of yesteryear in its theme and treatment.

Neena: Theme
Laljose, in Neena, explores man-woman relationship in modern life outside the wall of marriage.... Films like kattathe kilikkoodu, Thuvanathumbikal, Meghamalhar, Ore Kadal had dealt with similar themes in the past with great success, gaining a cult status...Usually in such movies, an outsider (Male/female) enter into the life of a married/engaged couple, disrupting the balance and the resulting drama move the story forward.....Neena is no different.

Neena: The Plot
Vinay Paniker (Vijay Babu), with his small family, shifts from Mumbai to Kochi, where he heads an advertising company. Vijay develops admiration and sympathy towards the extremely talented Neena (Deepthi Sati) at Office.... Though completely different in life style and temperament, Neena develops fascination towards her boss, leaving Vinay and his wife (Ann Augustine) in dilemma.....

Bold Characterisation
Though "Neena" comes with a tag line "Tale of Two Women", it's actually thestory about Neena & Vijay. The script writer, Venu Gopal has showed tremendous boldness in moulding the character of Neena in manner never seen before. Addicted to smoking and drinking, Neena leads a boyish lifestyle with fewer friends in upper class society. The film makers does deserve appreciation for daring to tell a story with such a character in title role in Mollywood, where such characters seldom gets centre stage...Deepthi Sati has delivered an impressive performance as the title character.

Vijay Babu: Big Break
In a meaty role, Vijay Babu delivers a fine performance
The character looked tailor-made for the actor for he breathes life into the characte of Vinay with remarkable ease.

Script: The Drastic Change of Pace
The first half is very much engaging, focussing on Neena, her encounters with Vinay and friends. Even the chilhood episode, told in flash back is neatly done ....Some of the impressive moments in the film comes in first half. However, the pace drops alarmingly in second half with the film makers deliberately trying to make the movie "feel good" by taking the movie on the safe route.

Compromises Made
In a formulaic entertainer, nobody questions the logic and complains about cliches.....However, in an offbeat format, one expects boldness from film makers to experiment....The problem with " Neena" is that after a promising build up, things go the predictable way with the makers are eager to "cure" the "abnormalities" and restore domestic order...The "deaddiction" eposode doesn't help the matter either. As a result, the much of the charm of the first half is lost and a potential great movie ends up as another feel good movie from Laljose.

Feel Good Climax
Despite the shortcomings in the second half, the film makers have succeeded, to an extent, in putting together some decent climatic portions involving Neena & Vijay Babu. Excellent performance from the lead pair make it feel like the best moments in the movie....This might help the Movie appealing to families in its quest to become a "sleeper" hit.

Final Comments
The standard of Malayalam Cinema in the first decade post 2000 dipped alarmingly, due to the lack of quality products in mainstream cinema. Towards the end of that decade, many film makers like renjith, shyama prasad, Kamal have tried to reverse the trend with films like Kayyoppu, Paleri Manikyam, Artist, Celluloid etc, rehashing the once popular Parallel Cinema format. With "Neena". Laljose joins the party.

Neena is a welcome change amid formulaic pot boilers, released so far this year. In such a context, "Neena, though lacking in artistic perfection, " is a winner, being a realistic, feel good entertainer, exploring man-woman relationship outside the marriage with boldness : Whether it's bold enough to impress the New Gen Viewers?....Debatable!

Verdict: Decent Watch for serious movie lovers.

[bhat]

Thanks...enikum ishtamayi padam....padatinte visual appealne kurichu koodi ezhutamayirikunnu.....padatil eduthu parayenda oru vibhagam aanu..

[Mayavi 369]

Thx Yodha Machane ; Another Gd Rvw Frm U

[PEACE THRU WAR]

thanks my dear......

[BASH1982]

Thanks yodha
Nalla revew

[kannan]

Thanks 4 d rvw . . .

Silma kaanal season aano ? LOL, Neena . . .next ?

[yodha007]

Thanks 4 d rvw . . .

Silma kaanal season aano ? LOL, Neena . . .next ?

April muthal silma season thanne.....5-8 movies ayi.....hopefully, "premam" next....

[sali]

Thanks yodha007 macha

[kannan]

April muthal silma season thanne.....5-8 movies ayi.....hopefully, "premam" next....

Pakkarane kanda

[BONY THOMAS]

Nalla Kidilan review...super write ups...surely one of the best reviewer in fk...

Just an opinion of differ...ithokke off beat film aano...pazhaya offbeat inte pace and approach okke aano ethinu...bhai thanne paranja pole oru middle level genre alle ethokke...a very much satisfying level than offbeat...