Prithviraj Sukumaran in a still from ‘Gold’ | photo credit: magic frames music/youtube
Tastes evolve, trends change, and earlier trendsetters sometimes play catch-up. Devoid of ideas to inject some innovation, they may end up repeating the tried and tested. Seems to be the same with filmmaker Alphonse Puthren Sleepthat comes after seven years Premam, There are occasional glimpses of his craft, but when they disappear, one wonders how the one who had such an understanding of the pulse of the audience could have gone so wrong this time.
Sleeplike the beginning of puthren soft, occurs in a short period of four days. Joshi (Prithviraj Sukumaran) finds an abandoned vehicle loaded with a consignment of portable speakers at the entrance of his house. The driver is nowhere to be found, and he has no way of getting his brand-new car inside the compound. Unni (Shammi Thilakan), the filthy rich owner of the consignment, who is not what he seems – is on the lookout for the same, while the police are also facing the same situation as Joshi.
Sona (Malayalam)
the director: Alphonse Puthren
Throw: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Nayanthara, Shammi Thilakan
Order: 165 minutes
Story: Joshi finds an abandoned vehicle loaded with a consignment of portable speakers at the entrance of his house, which sets off a chain of events
It’s quite a mix that can make for an amusing comedy of errors on screen. Unfortunately, it doesn’t turn out that way. On the surface, almost every element that could make an Alphonse Puthren film is present, from clever editing by the filmmaker himself, multiple references and overlay captions, to Rajesh Murugesan’s high-tempo music and attempts at situational comedy. However, apart from the initial novelty of the situation created by the abandoned vehicle, there’s nothing beneath all the glitz on the surface to sustain the mammoth 165-minute runtime.
What stands out is the never-ending parade of stars, introduced and forgotten Movies, Sharafuddin, Roshan Mathew, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabuman, Soubin Shahir, and a few others appear, as in the roll call of actors in contemporary Malayalam cinema. But none of them stay long enough to make their presence felt. Even Nayanthara ends up as one of them, in an almost cameo-like role, with only a few lines to deliver.
Despite these setbacks, the film still could have worked had all the attempts at humor worked. However, on the contrary soft either Premam – both of which had humor as their high point – only a few situational comedy scenes work here. Some of the sidetracks, especially the extended one involving Lalu Alex, become almost unbearable. Similarly, some elements that used to work PremamKind of organic shots of nature are repeated here too. But the recurring shots of praying mantises, ants, butterflies, and the sky—supposed to be symbolic imagery—appear more like gimmicks here. The epilogue, a common feature of many Star Vehicles, appears as the final straw for the protagonist to whitewash. There is so much flab in the film that the editor at Alphonse could have saved it by cutting it almost in half.
In Sleep, the protagonist strikes gold with a seemingly simple consignment. However, gold is plated on the audience, not what the title says.
Sona is currently playing in cinemas