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Where music strengthens bonds

Malarvady Arts Club

Vineeth Sreenivasan makes a creditable debut as director in Malarvady Arts Club. The film is about the bond of friendship between a group of musically talented youngsters. The narrative has a humorous touch, and the youthful action and lively dialogues are close to real life. Music by Shaan Rehman gels well with the mood of the film. The script and lyrics are by Vineeth. The inspiration behind Malavadi Arts Club is presumably the Hindi feature film Rock On.

The story centres on five youths in their early twenties who are members of Malarvadi Arts Club. Prakashan (Nivin), Kuttu (Aju), Santhosh (Shraavan), Purushu (Bhagat) and Harikrishnan (Praveen) find a mentor in Kumarettan (Nedumudi Venu) who has helped them nurture their talents right from childhood.

The five youngsters work in a local publication to earn their livelihood. One day in a bandh-related incident, they have to pay Rs.30,000 as compensation for damage caused. Inspired by Kumarettan, they put their musical talents to good use and organise a ganamela to raise the money. The programme turns out to be a success.

Soon, Santhosh, the lead singer in the group, wins the first prize in a television reality show. He gets several offers and shifts to Kochi. Though the group plans a concert in honour of Kumarettan, Santhosh breaks his promise and does not come for the show. This leads to a break-up between Santhosh and the rest of the group. After Kumaraettan's death, his relative Raghavan Mothalali (Jagathy Sreekumar) sets his eyes on Kumarettan's property. The group of youngsters thwart the machinations of Raghavan and save Malarvadi Arts Club from extinction. How the group resolves its problems and fulfils Kumarettan's dream forms the rest of the film.

The newcomers excel with their natural acting. The cast includes Suraj Venjaramoodu and Salim Kumar.

Malarvadi Arts Club is produced by Dileep for Graand Productions.

G. Jayakumar

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