Poster of ‘Poovan’ | photo credit: Shebin Backer Productions
to climax east, Kannan (Vineeth Vasudevan) asks his wife Veena (Akhila Bhargavan) whether the people in his neighborhood are more concerned about small things that matter. The character recounts the experience of seeing her mother-in-law lamenting the loss of her sewing machine, which her daughter had taken with her when she fled with Kannan, and of seeing a neighbor crying for a missing chicken. after.
On paper, this could have come across as a touching moment, but one viewer was fed up with the parade of absurdities that befell the chicken in question. Vineet, in his directorial debut, is in his element as he tries to tell stories of humans, and the frustration that stems from a lack of understanding and miscommunication. But, every time he strays into the thread of the story involving the rooster, which was touted as the highlight of the film, the story falters.
east
the director: Vineet Vasudevan
Throw: Antony Varghese, Akhila Bhargavan, Vineet Vasudevan, Sajin Cherukayil
sequence: 138 minutes
story: Insomniac Hari’s daily life is turned upside down with the arrival of a chicken next door.
The screenplay of Varun Dhara centers around Hari (Antony Varghese), who is facing problems due to insomnia. Adding to his worries, his sister Veena elopes with Kannan, with whom Hari has a past rivalry. All is not bleak for him though, as the girl he has been following for a long time has responded positively towards him. However, his insomnia is made worse by the arrival of a rooster in the neighboring house and its incessant crowing. It seems that the primary task for the screenwriter is to find a solution to his insomnia, but the way he sets out to solve that problem manages to put the audience to sleep.
These plans involve a painfully long sequence of a group of grown men in colorful camouflage coming in to catch a chicken. Despite attempts to give the chicken the appearance of some sort of godly aura and supernatural powers, it doesn’t really work. Yes, there is beauty in the little things, but the ‘characterless’ rooster in the film is certainly not one of them.
Also, it has to be said that the screenwriter and director have handled the subplots better, especially the impossible love story between Beni (Sajin Cherukyil) and a much younger Sini (Anishma Anilkumar). On the other hand, they aren’t quite sure what to do with the protagonist Hari or tell the audience what really keeps him awake other than the cockerel. The rivalry with his brother-in-law and the issues that arise between them later arise from simple misunderstandings, which are dragged in vain to sustain the film.
Even if you take the Rooster and his insomnia out of the script, the elements of an average, light-hearted family drama remain. It will still make for a better watch than these unimaginative, snooze-worthy add-ons for novelty sake.