Nanpakal Nerutha Mayakkam, which literally stands for ‘An Afternoon Nap’ or ‘Like An Afternoon Dream’, follows the story of a theatre group who are returning from Velankanni, Tamil Nadu back to Kerala where the leader of the group suddenly disappears, only to reappear as a different man. The story is touted as a comedy with a lot of layers and subtexts that made my brain run riot and in all directions, long after the film has ended. The runtime of a shade under 110 minutes was crisp and did not overstay its welcome. But the film did have a lot to pack in and so this section will contain major spoilers, so viewers discretion advised.

The fun in a twisted LJP film lies in the fact that you enjoy decoding the film long after it has ended. And you have to do that in phases, bit by bit, from start to the end as there would be clues thrown in the narrative. So you are introduced to the protagonist James, who is a miserly Catholic who is also agnostic. In a discussion early on in the film, he expresses that he is a Christian but knows how much to invest in it and where to draw the line(paraphrased). He is a bit of a joykill kind of a person who doesn’t enjoy his theatre group singing out loudly in the bus. Additionally, his love for Tamil Nadu isn’t the best, although he can be termed as ‘tolerant’. In an instance, he does criticize the food from the state, terming the tea as ‘too sweet’. But the reason why he maybe tolerant is because he doesn’t flinch an eyelid at the Lodge that has pictures of Hindu Gods along with symbols of Christianity.

Now if the bridge was a gateway to another ‘world’ in Churuli, it is the phenomena of ‘sleep’ that changes the course of the film. One of the major clues is right at the beginning, wherein a verse is written on the lodge wall, a quote from Thirukural(one of the best Tamil scriptures) that reads, ‘To Fall Asleep Is Death And To Wake Up From Sleep Is Birth'(with frames of ‘Gods’ staring at the protagonist). This line perfectly symbolizes the events to follow. After a heavy lunch on the way back, all the passengers including James do fall asleep, only for James to wake up suddenly and request the bus to be stopped. What did seem like a routine pit-stop does turn out to be a long wait wherein, in an absurd turn of events, James enters a household and begins behaving like another man Sundaram. At one point, in a hilarious sequence, he takes the bike and disappears around the village, with all the residents(including the bus passengers) after him. What does make things interesting is that none of them recognize him!

The characteristics of Sundaram(former James) has now changed completely. He is no longer a miser, often seen cracking jokes and being very friendly with the people around him. Also, he is shown to be a staunch believer in Hinduism, with a point of reference being the village temple. Soon we get to know a startling fact about Sundaram. The man had disappeared 2 years earlier, only to return(in the form of James) on the same date. This does make things interesting where the plot minutely introduces a bit of a social commentary through the character of Sundaram at the half-way mark in a terrific interval block. The argument being that no one can be termed an outsider and everyone can stay wherever their heart lies. A reference of it being, all the world is a stage and I can dance wherever I wish to.

In between, there is a terrific meta reference of Mammootty(who is Sundaram at that point), chanting out and enacting dialogues from the television at an eatery. The interesting bit being that the television was playing the 1990 film Parampara that had Mammootty essaying the roles of both father and the son! What a legend! These elements add to the humour and was met with a round of applause by the members of the crowd. While the focus is on the character(s) of Mammootty, the other characters are well etched out too. You have a person that needs to rush back to Kerala to open his ration shop in time that adds a bit of urgency to the otherwise ‘sleepy’ narrative. Another character involves a nurse who the residents of the village term as ‘mad’. And we have the characters of two wives who are surprisingly cordial to one another.

The rest of the story involves the residents and bus passengers trying to sedate Sundaram and coax him to be James again. The dynamics that is created within the group is interesting given that the wife and family of Sundaram have secondary thoughts on letting him go. This includes the blind mother who ‘watches’ TV the whole day yet loves her ‘son’ around her, who often sleeps in her lap. While the films meets with its end and it may seem abrupt, there are many lingering questions about the ambiguity of the drama. Why was James behaving in a sudden manner? What happens to Sundaram? And it is here that I shall be giving out a couple of conspiracy theories.

The film ends with a writing on the bus – One Stop Take Directed By Thilakan(a legendary playwright). This opens a possibility of this being a film within a film with the thing to remember is that this was a theatre group afterall. Another possibility might be James simply reflecting on himself and his sins while taking a nap. Remember, the theatre group were on the way back after visiting a Church and so self introspection could have been a natural phenomena. Lastly, this could have also been a case of things unfolding in the mind of James given his belief and perhaps a plot for his next play(or an adaptation). Whatever be the reason, the drama is a slow burn and moves at a leisurely narrative just like its title signifies. Yet, it is engaging and engrossing and a rather fulfilling experience. I really appreciate films challenging the viewers to think beyond the ordinary and that is when my creative juices begin to flow. And strangely enough, this was a consecutive Mammootty starrer that was twisted yet it felt so organic. A brilliant display of writing!