Based on an unexplored chapter from the life of Nilambur Ayisha, Ayisha follows the story of a protagonist who migrates to the gulf in order to work as a house help at a palace wherein she forms a warm bond with an old lady, the owner of the palace. The story has an interesting premise that almost guarantees a heartwarming watch. But the screenplay standing at 150 minutes is a bit of a mixed bag. It is slightly meandering and patchy with respect to the writing.

The drama does open on an indifferent note with the introduction of the protagonist. And I say indifferent because usually Malayalam films do follow a template of world building and character development which are the key ingredients of the drama. But here, you aren’t given any information about the protagonist, nor provided with any baggage that the protagonist is carrying in order to be in the situation that she finds herself in. Even the events featuring her foothold in the Gulf in what was eventually a dream location for her does back itself with some patchy moments which are stray and inconsistent with the drama. Having said that, the drama is well intended and that does make some of the sequence work individually in parts.

The proceedings are quite decent but the highlight of the drama is primarily the bond that the protagonist does share with the ‘Mama’. It is through the second act that the writing begins to start middling the ball with the drama getting interesting with respect to a few characters. A shocking turn of events though, reveal the true identity of the protagonist which was interesting and frustrating at the same time. And I say frustrating because the identity of the protagonist could have been introduced as a part of the world building because the stage at which it is revealed, it does complicate the equation with the viewers too. And that is when the writing strays again!

The drama momentarily loses focus when it heads back to Kerala from the Gulf. That portion didn’t quite contribute enough to the screenplay because about two and a half scenes later the action again shifts back to the Gulf. I just wished that the focus was always on the relationship of the protagonist with her ‘Mama’ which could have further been pronounced through some heartfelt moments. The final act is heartwarming but the emotions don’t really land due to some loud performances early on that don’t lay the foundation for the drama leading to a lesser payback. Overall, the screenplay was well intended but it did falter with its patchy writing.