Filmmaker Chidambaram takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride of emotional ups and downs, one after another.
When a tight walker manages to walk comfortably, one cannot stand up and upload, even if it is not so easy to negotiate a rope. Especially when it is the first time, as in the case of Chidambaram, who makes his filmmaking debut. jan-e-manaA commendable feat of balance.
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Often, filmmakers struggle to find the right balance when there are two or three conflicting emotional tones in the narrative. Here, the script is written in such a way that the tonal shift from comic to morbid occurs in almost every other scene, making it all too easy to lose that balance. Yet, the makers as well as the actors not only manage to get it right, they also take the audience on a roller-coaster ride of emotional ups and downs, which come one after the other.
At the heart of this is Joymon (Basil Joseph) working as a nurse in Canada. Away from friends and family, none of whom have the patience to listen to him during his incessant phone calls, loneliness is gnawing at him. Nearing his breaking point, Joymon decides to fly back to Kerala to celebrate his 30th birthday. Forced to help her are her old friends, Faisal Khan (Ganpati), who is organizing the entire party, and Sampath (Arjun Ashokan), who reluctantly agrees to host the party at their home.
jan-e-mana
- Director: Chidambaram
- Cast: Lal, Arjun Ashokan, Balu Varghese, Basil Joseph, Ganapathi, Siddharth Menon, Abiram Radhakrishnan, Riya Saira, Chembil Ashokan, Prashant Murali, Gilu Joseph
But, the party that Joymon has planned is far from what he imagined, complicating matters further is the death at the neighbor’s house. With Joymon in no mood to cancel his birthday party, or cut down on celebrations, the stage is set for a collision course.
While the screenplay by Chidambaram, Ganpati and Sapna Varachal alternates between contrasting moods in both the houses, there is more to this structure. Lots of characters, and side stories, are seamlessly packed into the narrative, without the audience ever losing connection to the central thread. For example, there is the event manager hired by Joymon for her birthday – who ends up with more business after smoothing out the arrangements in the house where the death occurred. Then there’s a goon’s bodyguard, with a heavy accent from Palakkad, who sees danger to his master where no one is present, and a popular serial actor who causes quite a stir in both the houses… Leads to joy.
Although it almost seems as an aside, the topic of mental health is also at the core of the narrative. The script subtly delves into that discussion between two characters facing nearly identical issues, approaching it in different ways, and zooming out of them just as easily. His sensitive portrayal of issues does not last as an awareness class. The scene is one of several heights the film manages to hit, not to forget a wonderfully written fireworks scene and a ‘Superman tribute’.
jan-e-mana, with his inventive script and great performances, hits all the right notes.
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