Review: Ennum Eppozhum fails to impress

Ennum Eppozhum is typical Sathyan Anthikkad fare that falls short of expectations, says Paresh C Palicha

When a talented actress like Manju Warrier makes a comeback to acting at an age when she is not old enough to be the mother of the young hero/heroine, it poses a challenge to directors who want to cash in on her popularity.

They must come up with a character that suits her age and image.

Director Sathyan Anthikkad has chosen to cast her as a single woman lawyer with a very young daughter in his new film Ennum Eppozhum.

Deepa (Manju Warrier) is not only successful professionally, but is a passionate activist who gives the civil administration a jolt, when she gets after them after meeting with an accident due to the bad condition of the road.

She leads a highly disciplined life and packs a lot into her day.

The ageing hero Vineeth N Pillai (Mohanlal) is exactly the opposite. He gets up late, doesn’t care about personal hygiene and is not at all professional in his job.

Despite this, he is a successful journalist working for a highly circulated women’s magazine.

Their paths have crossed a couple of times causally, but when Deepa is chosen as the subject of the cover story for a special issue of the magazine, Vineeth interviews her.

The film is in typical Anthikkad terrain. There is the familiar theme of a single woman whose neighbours (Innocent plays the husband) are her guardian angels. There is a bold friend, Lena, who is in the garment business.

In the initial stages, the Deepa and Vineeth don’t get on so well, but he turns out to be her protector at a time of crisis.

A practical teenager named Ganapathi (Master Minon) enlightens Vineeth on subjects that are beyond his comprehension.

At first it looks like Mohanlal has shunned his usual ‘larger than life’ persona this time. But he is totally in character when he gives a piece of his mind to his foreign educated boss after throwing his resignation letter in her face.

He has an assistant in the form of Jacob Gregory who is there to be slapped, kicked and shoved to provide comic relief.

Not much is demanded of Manju Warrier performance-wise and she remains somewhat subdued throughout even though she is the centre of attraction here.

Ennum Eppozhum is typical Sathyan Anthikkad fare that falls short of expectations.

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