‘Meri Awas Suno’ review: Emotional vibe drives film despite predictable content

Attractives are the ways in which people identify themselves by carefully choosing parts of themselves in front of the outside world. Radio jockey Shankar (Jayasuriya) ties his identity to his voice to such an extent that he politely declines his boss’ request to go live on Facebook, so that the radio station can cash in on his popularity. RJ makes a friendly plea, so that the world can know him only through his voice.

For such a person, losing his voice one day will make him feel as if he has been wiped off the face of the earth. Prajesh Sen’s third film ‘Meri Awas Suno’ chronicles Shankar’s struggle with laryngeal cancer (cancer of the voice box) and his efforts to overcome it. A remake of the 2019 Bengali film ‘Kontho’, the film rests on the usual template of stories where humans battle against all odds, banking on the story’s powerful emotional vibe.

Emotions are something that RJ Shankar even uses to draw audiences to his popular radio show, of which we get a good glimpse of it even before the disease strikes. He imparts life lessons, worldly advice and much more through his shows. The screenwriter turns an extended sequence, where a young girl, sitting precariously on the edge of the terrace of a high-rise flat, calls on Shankar to talk about her troubles on the show, into an exhibition. Why RJ has become popular with a wide audience. Despite his convenient emotional play and Shankar’s resemblance to his own life, as he is too busy spending time with his child, the scene works.

It serves to tell us what Shankar has lost and also to the audience. But the screenplay also provides ample room for the struggles of his wife Meryl (Shivda), a television anchor who has taken leave from his job to take care of Shankar. With some unconventional methods, Reshmi (Manju Warrier), a speech therapist, acts as a personal voice coach for Shankar. Some of her methods and principles to challenge her to overcome her difficulties make one wonder whether a professional therapist would resort to such methods.

Jayasuriya’s role here may bring back memories of ‘Su Su Sudhi Vathmikam’, in which he also struggled with speech difficulties, but it is also a testament to how much he has grown as an actor since then, which has helped him challenging roles. Jayasuriya always has something in store for her roles, yet she can be seen yearning to get better with every passing film.

Despite the predictable ways the film will proceed, as most films with such themes are bound, the writers weave in enough conflicts and emotional turmoil to keep it at least mildly engaging.