If getting a new look could revive an actor's sagging career, then Jayaram would be in the thick of things in the coming days as he has at least four different looks in his new Malayalam film Sooryan, directed by V M Vinu.

But this film is a patchwork of films we have admired in the past, be it a Bharatham or a Kireedam.

The story is that of a classical singer, the son of a conformist father who becomes a politician's henchman to save his family from debt. Here, he proves his expertise in taking on half a dozen guys, stabbing and chopping off limbs of the opponents.

But the transition is not as easy as it sounds. For the first half an hour we are made to believe that this is going to be a film about the trails and travails of a classical singer who answer his calling with utmost sincerity.

Then we are given a hint that the singer may have had a violent past. But as we get into the flashback, we see that this is a typical story of a family where the patriarch is averse to making money by selling his talent. And he does not mind taking on huge debts so that his family leads a comfortable life. Then his good son has to get his hands dirty to get the father out of that situation.

It is really a wonder how the threads from at least four different stories are entwined together into an incoherent mess. It makes us wish that if this film was released a couple of months earlier, we could have put it to vote along with our beloved Taj Mahal to be amongst the seven wonders of the world!

Our hearts go out for Jayaram; time and again he tries to make a comeback, but somehow his plan goes awry. Here he tries the Yesudas look. He is even given an opportunity to sing with the maestro, which never materialises. One striking scene in this film is when he becomes nauseated after chopping the limbs off the villain (played by Vijayraghavan).

Saikumar, as the father of Sooryan, makes us wring our hearts out not because he performs badly, but because his presence takes us back to Thoovalsparasam where he and Jayaram were co-stars along with Mukesh.

Now he is reduced to playing father figure to actors who are elder to him. Harisree Asokan, with his clean-shaven look mimics Dileep's Chandupottu act, and elicits some laughter.

It is these three actors that make Sooryan bearable, otherwise it's best to avoid this film.

Rediff Rating: