Nunakkuzhi takes it time to unfold with its world-building. There is a considerable amount of buildup even as the makers choose to i troduce the principal characters and their character traits bit by bit while slowly branching out the multiple tracks by introducing a few more characters along the way. But if I were to be honest, what I really missed here was the eccentric vibe exuding either in the universe or through the characters that definitely had a streak of silliness running as an undercurrent while always threatening to explode. So you are introduced to the protagonist Eby who is still called a ‘Baby’ at home while secretly loving to film his acts of love with his wife on his laptop until his laptop is sealed during an IT raid. Elsewhere, you are introduced to Rashmita, an alcoholic and a woman on the verge of a divorce who accidently ‘kills’ his husband’s friend owing to the false pretext that he set during the court proceedings against her. There is a completely different angle involving a budding writer of the film industry who tries to lure a yesteryear’s superstar through his script that he feels is very close to his personal life. Clearly, the lines are set which leads to more confusion even as the worlds collide with each other over the screenplay standing at about 2 hours.

The confusion in the drama kicks on very early in the film in rather bizarre and coincidental situations that the characters find themselves in. One thing that the writers got right was the playful tone of the drama that was always overpowering the narrative that at times flirted with the idea of tilting towards a thriller. The comedy of errors does set in decently well here although the events ought to have been a little more funny, particularly in the first hour. The prevalent silliness in the drama seemed a tad too silly at times, almost being used as a catalyst to join the plot from point A to point B. One film that had completely nailed the chaotic comedy genre was the Hindi film De Dana Dan wherein even the coincidences felt so funny that you were willing to overlook much of the silliness which by the way, felt very much a part of the universe. That was partly the case here but the writing never hit the sweet spot.

That said, the events individually work well even as the proceedings unfold over a single night. The multiple twists in the screenplay definitely manage to keep you on your toes by ensuring that there isn’t a single dull moment. Another impressive aspect of the drama was that the writers also succeeded in tying most of the loose ends together. So every detail fed to the viewers did have some sort of a payoff at the end. Having said that, there were a few shortcomings in the writing too. The entire episode of a film narration transpiring over a few drinks felt slightly out of place and less funny because the viewers weren’t privy to its context, something that was revealed only at the end. Had there been a slight hint with the viewers being ahead of the curveball by a notch, things may have shaped up differently in terms of its comedy. This was in contrast to the entire ‘murder’ angle that was genuinely funny and filled with chuckles along the way.

There is clearly a little more urgency in the second hour even as the worlds begin to collide. And I did enjoy a few twists and turns in the screenplay too, all of them mostly designed to aide the confusion and provide the viewers the opportunity to have a hearty laugh. Yet, the wavelength of the drama that should have been spiralling upwards was strangely mid wherein the writing never fully upgraded to the next level, even while keeping the levels of confusion in check. It wasn’t like Double Barrel wherein the character dynamics were switching after every 5 minutes. As a result, the final chaotic act also had a slightly lesser payoff. Again, I would like to take you to De Dana Dan and its crazy final act – the idea was to get all characters under one-roof and in its process resolve the confusions, something that the writing doesn’t do here while serving fragmented pieces of fun at the end. And although the twist at the end will put a smile on your face, the screenplay here remains mid although definitely funny in parts.