While Basil is his usual self, just like his other films, Prithviraj’s portrayal is unique and perhaps among his best in a comedy role. Before the film’s release, there were concerns if he would be able to handle this flavour of comedy, but the actor puts all those doubts to rest with a performance that towers over everyone else.
Basil and Prithviraj’s first scene together comes after a lot of buildup and Vipin justifies it by making it a hilarious stretch, thanks to a brilliant placement of the iconic song, ‘Kannam Thumbi’. Similarly, the popular 90s Tamil song ‘Azhagiya Laila’ also pops up at the most defining and yet one of the funniest moments in the film.
After a largely enjoyable first half, Guruvayoorambala Nadayil loses steam when it takes the slapstick route. This is also where plenty of new characters and their conflicts are introduced, which reminds us of a world inhabited by characters from Priyadarshan’s ‘80s films. The last half hour of the film is reminiscent of the ‘confusion comedies’ of that era, with too many characters and chaos. It is still a commendable effort as the makers recreate the Guruvayoor temple’s ambience almost flawlessly.
Writer Deepu Pradeep, who curiously prefers wedding-related subjects, has quirky ideas. However, it seems to be a challenge for a filmmaker to visually communicate his verbal humour. It is evident in Guruvayoorambala Nadayil, as many scenes fail to convey the intended humour, but the comical lines are still memorable. Thankfully, the jokes that land outweigh the misfired. After Varshangalkku Shesham, this is another film that has several meta references, like when Basil and Prithviraj hilariously mimic the dialogues from Drishyam or when an iconic character from one of Prithviraj’s early films makes a fleeting appearance.
Guruvayoorambala Nadayil benefits greatly from its actors, but one can’t help but wish that a few supporting characters and their prominence were trimmed.
For instance, a lot of time is spent on characters like Mayankutty, Saravanan (Yogi Babu), and George, but save for some occasional laughs, their humour isn’t as effective as they should have been. But Aju Varghese manages to leave a lasting impression with his cameo appearance and the rendition of ‘Krishna Krishna’ song. It is a saving grace in an otherwise musically weak film. In an attempt to dial up the humour, Ankit Menon’s background score is needlessly present throughout the film and yet not productive.
Guruvayoorambala Nadayil is like a tempting kalyana sadhya with too many curries trying to spoil the fun. The scrumptious part is still the parippu-pappadam combo… read, Prithviraj and Basil.
Film: Guruvayoorambala Nadayil
Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Basil Joseph, Nikhila Vimal, Anaswara Rajan
Director: Vipin Das
Rating : 3/5