TIME

Rajesh Jayaraman in his second attempt in scripting has decided to explore ‘social issues’ for his new film titled Time directed by techno savvy Shaji Kailas. As usual with our fellow filmmakers who occasionally take up issue based plots, this too ends up en route limp story lines, forced issues, a larger than life approach to the problem. The scriptwriter who wanted to tell a lot about political scams behind special economic zones, harkened journalism, terrorist funding to NGO’s  and the follies behind the  practice of ahimsa, packed  a lot in  a single movie .  And the final result is that his good intentions are being ruined by overt sermonizing and clumsy execution.

The film makes an impressive opening with hotchpotch of Shaji Kailas’ic shots and presentations. As in ‘Don’ he separates every sequences with subtitles, which passes all through the film. The film opens with the brutal killing of Krishnan Nambiar, the former minister who was forced to resign following allegations. As the investigations made by Alexander Mekkadan goes in a smallish pace, the Chief Minister, plans to change the team and hand over the charge to Dr.Appan Menon IPS, presently working as Civil supplies M.D.

And here comes Appan Menon, with a doctorate in criminology who has his own wild ideals in everything. He is an officer who moves around in his Pajero, in stylish attires with a lap top and Tiffin carrier. He is also a devoted husband who calls his wife, Vaiga,   who is residing in a distant village, Shivaganga, everyday on phone to discuss his day activities.  Moreover he is the one who values time, believes in the rule of time and waits for everything to happen in its own time. But here the time was not waiting for anyone, as two other ministers, Sulaiman Saheb and rather were also murdered in quick successions, during the days of investigations.

In the course of investigation, he comes across Susan Mary Thomas who is an established writer and activist, who runs the NGO, Disha which aims at spreading the message of Ahimsa. She is the daughter of Mary Thomas, known for her fights for the equality in right of women towards property .The stylistic, frenzy activities of the officer immediately make them a fan of him.

Appan Menon, who was terribly, taught the basics of discipline and useful arts by his father Vishwanatha Menon, a former S.P. of Police, in no time takes the investigations by his judgments and within days he finds out the real culprit, a yogi turned terrorist Durga Dasan Swamy, who accepts his hand in every murder that have taken place.

Susan Thomas, who by then has fallen for Appan Menon and his devotion to his wife, decides to know him better. As if she walks after scams, she roam after the yesterdays of Appan Menon, the most promising officer of the Tamilnadu cadre….What she finds was something path breaking… To say more will definitely kill the story, and so just have a watch in theatre to charge in with the thrilling ends.

However, the story has several loose ends.

The film in the later half degenerates into the routine commercial lines, without anything new to recommend. At some points, the social message seems forced, as though the director had to drive the point in compulsorily. The writer has tried to strike a note on seven crore politicians who ruin the country and the 32000 crores that we spend to investigate the cases against them. Also he suggests about the fascistic attitudes of some mainstream journals and the bigger prospects of scams that lie behind the creation of Special economic Zones.  The problem is essentially with a rather preachy script that seeks to mix message with entertainment but fails to strike the right balance between the two.

The film demands stronger presence to hold the viewer by the collar. The cast emerges powerful enough to do the needful. The mainstay of the film is another intense performance by Suresh Gopi, that too in a double role.  Even though he starts looking aged, his histrionics and at times slightly over-the-top performance reminds us of earlier flick with the same director Chinthamani Kola Case. Vimala Raman makes an impressive debut as Vaiga and gives us an impression that she is here to stay. Padmapriya as Susan Thomas is consistently impressive, conveying an array of emotions ranging from tough and confident, to feminine, vulnerable and tender. She looks beautiful and fits well into her suit and the skin of her character, made in the shades of Arundhathy Roy.

Siddhique’s suave dynamism and cool demeanor makes him the perfect candidate to play an Alexander Mekkadan. And Manoj K Jayan suitably plays the eccentric nature of Durgadas. Saikumar makes a short cameo as Koshy Abraham. And the characters played by P Sreekumar, Lal as Dr Ayyengar and debutante Parvathy (popular compere) as Mary Thomas are also believable.

And in the technical sides, Shaji Kailas films never make a miss. Rajarathnam once again impresses with his great shots, especially those shot for the flashbacks.

While L Bhoominaathan makes the flick a rather fast affair with his slick editing styles. The only song in the movie is set to music by Raahul Raj. The rerecording by the young music director and Art direction by Boban also makes lasting impressions.

With its newer premise, and complicated story telling methods, Time might not be a box office smash. But still it has accounted to say things that have never been discussed. And that should count for something.