Varnyathil Aashanka (2017) Malayalam

STORY: A bunch of thieves are busy robbing a jewellery outlet on a hartal day and a new member joins them, unwittingly. The operation gets an interesting twist when a few policemen arrive at the scene.


REVIEW: Varnyathil Aashanka Athu Thaanallayo Ithu starts off saluting the renowned thieves of Kerala and their ‘historic deeds.’ The movie, which has a few shades of Sapthamashree Thaskaraha is wrapped in comedy, and tries to point fingers at the state of affairs of our country through a few relatable, humorous instances. Who are the real thieves? You can’t help wondering, at many junctures of the movie…

Pratheesh (Shine Tom Chacko), a small-time fraudster, gets nearly caught after a pick-pocketing attempt and he runs to safety to Wilson’s (Chemban Vinod) house. Wilson’s friends Kowta Sivan (Kunchacko Boban) and Gilbert (Manikandan), alongside Pratheesh, plan a heist and try to execute it on a hartal day. Meanwhile, they also end up snatching away some money from Dayanandan (Suraj Venjaramoodu), a former bar steward who is currently jobless.

While you might walk in with the impression that Kunchacko Boban is the lead of this film, it’s Suraj’s character Dayanandan that shapes Varnyathil Aashanka into a satire worth its salt. His character stands out as the one who isn’t part of the robbers’ gang, and also as a common man whom you can relate to. Suraj is emerging an actor who can not only handle both comedy and serious characters well, but also sensibly give a balanced performance mixing in the right amount of comedy and subtlety, wherever required. The characterisations and their backstories are also interesting, overall.

That said, a major chunk of the first half is extremely dragging and lacklustre. It’s slowly that it picks up momentum to fall into the track. Moreover, the way the story is all wrapped up doesn’t give you the feel of an impactful climax.

Varnyathilaashanka is worth your time for Suraj’s performance, a handful of situational comedies and the smart ‘utpreksha’ delightfully weaved into it.