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Triumphs and travails of a writer

Novel

Novel, the debut film by Vijayan East Coast, shows how love can rekindle creative urge that has remained dormant for long. A well-crafted script by Ashok and Sasi and dialogues interspersed with humour sustain the viewer’s interest all through the film. Sethunath (Jayaram) wins the Commonwealth Award for his novel ‘Swantham.’ Media rushes in for ‘bytes,’ but he spurns them since recognition eluded him in his own land. But a reporter, Aneesa (S harika Menon), manages to talk to him. He is touched when she recalls at a felicitation, her days in an orphanage which Sethunath used to frequent. Reluctantly he delves into his past in the interview.

He was the managing director of an ad company and was on the lookout for a female voice to sing a jingle. Priya Nandini (Sada) is selected and soon Sethunath develops an interest in her.

Priya becomes famous overnight and gets offers from leading composers like Surya Narayanan (J. Pallasseri). Slowly, her mind becomes preoccupied with thoughts of Sethunath.

Meanwhile, Surya promises Priya more chances in Tamil. He convinces her mother Bhanu (Lekshmy Radhakrishnan) and they leave for Chennai. But, the ulterior motives of Surya are exposed by the timely intervention of Sethunath. The couple grows more intimate and once again Sethunath takes to writing. PT (Indrans), a music critic publishes scandals about Sethunath. Even Sethunath’s brother-in-law Chandradas (Devan) begins to suspect him. Chandradas even thinks of divorcing Sethunath’s sister Subhadra (Bindu Panikkar). Sethunath’s wife, long separated from him, arrives from the US. How he wriggles out of this dilemma forms the rest of the story.

In a way, the film progresses through songs. Of the six songs penned by the director, five are sung soulfully by K.J. Yesudas. The other singers are Sujatha, Manjari and Swetha. Music is by M. Jayachandran and ghazal singer Umbayee.

Jayaram gives a restrained performance, while Sada is lively. Jagathy Sreekumar as Sethunath’s conscience-keeper provides a few laughs. The cast includes Nedumudi Venu, KPAC Lalitha, Saiju Kurup, Anup Sivasenan, Anitha, Shari, Ganesh Kumar, politician Peethambhara Kurup, Subi and Chhaya.

G. Jayakumar

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