Innale Vare
Introduction
The weekend is a day away but the new content has started pouring from today. And after a while, we have a Malayalam film which is out and I jumped at the opportunity to watch it almost immediately. With that I finished watching the new Malayalam film Innale Vale streaming on SonyLiv. SonyLiv as an OTT platform seldom disappoints thereby quietly churning out some good content week after week. And to top it a Malayalam film! The trailer of Innale Vare promised a thrill a minute ride and I was really looking forward to watching it. So then does Innale Vare manage to impress, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
Innale Vare is the story of a fading superstar whose life changes for the worse when he gets into a rather unwanted situation. This is all which I can reveal from the story as anything else which I say would act as a spoiler. But all.I can say is that it is a hostage drama! The screenplay standing at around 135 minutes is definitely gripping and it holds your attention. The screenplay opens with the introduction of the protagonist which does give you an impression of the world around him. His stardom is on the decline and he is debt ridden although his attitide of being cocky is quite evident. The setup is pretty good leading up to the hostage situation making it a thoroughly good watch thus far! You are sure to be shocked in the manner the hostage situation transpires and you are definitely invested in the drama.
The issue in the screenplay starts from this point. After a string of good twists and turns, the sequences start to get repetitive. While the use of technology is good in the thriller, I felt the writer seemed to run out of ideas as to how to take the film ahead. While the proceedings are most definitely gripping, the story is stalled for a long period at the same spot.
Another drawback of the screenplay is that the drama is predictable. Being a cinephile myself, I was able to decipher the reason almost immediately as yo what the mystery behind the hostage situation actually is. When you go from point a to point b in a screenplay, quite often you need to hide that point b from the audience. But here, it is fairly predictable. The journey to get to point b is quite decent filled with twists and turns including a decently engaging climax but when it does get to point b, you do get a sense that you were right all along. In other words, the screenplsy is gripping but fairly predictable.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are cerebral with quite a few meta references provided which is a value addition to the drama. The BGM is good although not the best which I have heard this year. The cinematography is likewise good with some slick shots captured. Director Jis Joy does a fabulous job in constructing this thriller which I found it refreshing. But his direction is rough around the edges, primarily due to a predictable screenplay. Perhaps, a better written screenplay where not too much is revealed early on would have been an ideal approach.
Performances
The performances are absolutely brilliant. Rony David Raj as Jomi has his moments to shine. Athulya Chandra as Karthi looks pretty and has a good screen presence. Reba John as Aishu is such a natural onscreen and she does a fabulous job. Antony Varghese Pepe as Sarath had to internalize a lot of his emotions and he delivered a well measured performance. Nimisha Sajayan as Shani is very impressive. She has been doing quality work since The Great Indian Kitchen(when I started following her actively) and since then she has been a part of quality projects one after the other. She is simply terrific here. But the show belongs to Asif Ali who is absolutely brilliant as Adhi. There are so many shades to his character and thereby he has a plethora of emotions to play with. He really takes you on a roller coaster where you empathize with his character but don’t feel very sorry given the baggage he has been carrying around. Nice to see him shoulder a film so well!
Conclusion
Innale Vare is a fairly predictable but gripping thriller which makes it a good one time watch. Available on SonyLiv.