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Malayalam comedy Chandrettan Evideya fails to work for the most part, says Paresh C Palicha.
Filmmakers in Kerala seem to be averse to modern technology.
Even a ‘new gen’ director like Sidharth Bharathan shows a cell phone to be a nuisance for someone trying to reclaim his lost personal space, in his film Chandrettan Evideya.
Chandramohan (Dileep), a typical government employee is also a respected dance critic.
He works in the state capital while his wife Sushama (Anusree) and child live in his home town.
He leads the life of a bachelor, gets drunk with a group of friends and resents his wife calling him on his cell phone every now and then, and has to think up a new lie every evening.
His wife has applied for a transfer to be with her husband but he is reluctant to take the matter further.
This goes on for almost an hour.
A family outing to Tanjavur, and a visit to the Naadi astrologer reveals that Chandran was a royal poet in the Chola kingdom a thousand years ago, and had an affair with a royal dancer named Vasanthamallika, which did not fructify because of the evil king.
But she would surely come to him in this lifetime to reclaim her love.
These revelations make Chandran hallucinate about Vasanthamallika (Namitha Promod).
Sushama’s insecurity increases and she bribes her way to a transfer.
Chandran then meets Geethanjali (presumably the Vasanthamallika from his imagination), a doctor serving at a government health centre.
She asks him to hide a file that contains complaints about her work. She says that she is a fan of his writing and is herself a dancer and if the contents of the file are revealed, it will jeopardise her chance to perform in Germany.
Dileep was believed to have refrained from his usual comic tricks in this film, but he has not done so entirely.
Anusree is impressive as the wife with the one-point agenda of not losing her husband to anyone else.
Namitha Pramod appears confused and leaves us wondering whether she is using her charm to get her work done, or whether she really likes Chandran.
Chandrettan Evideya leaves one confused.
Does this film want to say how cell phones can be an irritant if you have a possessive spouse, or was it meant to be a comedy with a toned down Dileep?
Rediff Rating: 