The film scripted by M T Vasudevan Nair and directed by Lal Jose, is perhaps one of those movies which you will like for its inherent innocence and goodness more than its presentation or technical aspects. It's the remake of a film with the same title, made 30 years ago and in all fairness, the story has been made to look relevant and fresh.
The story happens in a sleepy but picturesque Valluvanadan village where the young, beautiful Kunjumalu (Archana Kavi) comes to an old tharavadu as a maid. Malukutty Amma (Sreedevi Unni) lives alone there as her son Haridas (Kailash) is a law student and stays in the city. Soon after, Haridas comes home and is instantly smitten by the ample charms of the new maid.
The poor girl believes that he is in love with her, but realizes her mistake, when he marries Rathnam (Samvrutha Sunil) sometime later. Now, the story is being narrated as a flashback and the characters have grown much older.
Though Neelathamara is focused on the life of Kunjimalu, it never delves deep enough into her mind and as a result, her anguish doesn't affect the viewer much as well. She falls prey to his flirtatious ways a bit too easily, but it is curious why his mother never realized about what was going on behind her back!
Certain characters like Sharathe Ammini (Rima Kallingal) and the old man sitting at the temple premises, for instance, seems half-baked at best. The film creates an ambience for sure and succeeds in taking the viewers to a different world, but it is generally done on a rather superficial level. The obvious feeling is to think about films like Nandanam that have narrated similar themes, but in a more effective way.
Debutante Archana Kavi has done a fine job, imparting the required innocence and charm to her character, which in fact is the soul of the story. Her resemblance to Parvathy, who has done her grown up version, looks nice on screen. Kailash too has done a decent job as the hypocritical youth, who conveniently forgets the young girl, after using her. The rest of the characters have limited roles to play, especially considering the impact they have in the story.
The highlight of the film could be the visuals by Vijay Ulakanath and to a certain extent, the music by Vidyasagar. Even in these days when mindsets and lifestyles have taken a complete change from the days when he first wrote the script, the inimitable M T Vasudevan Nair has succeeded in presenting the story in a refreshing tone. The film has its moments and Lal Jose presents it, in a beautiful way.
In the story, Neelathamara (blue lotus) blooms in a temple pond when a believer prays wholeheartedly to fulfill a wish. The film is definitely worth a watch and we sincerely wish such films happen more often in Malayalam.
The story happens in a sleepy but picturesque Valluvanadan village where the young, beautiful Kunjumalu (Archana Kavi) comes to an old tharavadu as a maid. Malukutty Amma (Sreedevi Unni) lives alone there as her son Haridas (Kailash) is a law student and stays in the city. Soon after, Haridas comes home and is instantly smitten by the ample charms of the new maid.
The poor girl believes that he is in love with her, but realizes her mistake, when he marries Rathnam (Samvrutha Sunil) sometime later. Now, the story is being narrated as a flashback and the characters have grown much older.
Though Neelathamara is focused on the life of Kunjimalu, it never delves deep enough into her mind and as a result, her anguish doesn't affect the viewer much as well. She falls prey to his flirtatious ways a bit too easily, but it is curious why his mother never realized about what was going on behind her back!
Certain characters like Sharathe Ammini (Rima Kallingal) and the old man sitting at the temple premises, for instance, seems half-baked at best. The film creates an ambience for sure and succeeds in taking the viewers to a different world, but it is generally done on a rather superficial level. The obvious feeling is to think about films like Nandanam that have narrated similar themes, but in a more effective way.
Debutante Archana Kavi has done a fine job, imparting the required innocence and charm to her character, which in fact is the soul of the story. Her resemblance to Parvathy, who has done her grown up version, looks nice on screen. Kailash too has done a decent job as the hypocritical youth, who conveniently forgets the young girl, after using her. The rest of the characters have limited roles to play, especially considering the impact they have in the story.
The highlight of the film could be the visuals by Vijay Ulakanath and to a certain extent, the music by Vidyasagar. Even in these days when mindsets and lifestyles have taken a complete change from the days when he first wrote the script, the inimitable M T Vasudevan Nair has succeeded in presenting the story in a refreshing tone. The film has its moments and Lal Jose presents it, in a beautiful way.
In the story, Neelathamara (blue lotus) blooms in a temple pond when a believer prays wholeheartedly to fulfill a wish. The film is definitely worth a watch and we sincerely wish such films happen more often in Malayalam.
Tags : Neelathamara Film Review, Neelathaamara Movie Review, Neelathamara Photos, OLD film Neelathamara Review, Neelathamara Old Movie Review
