Nee
Ko Nja Cha
Gives
One a Perfect Understanding of An Imperfect Comedy That Works!
By
- Lt Col D Purushothaman Pillay (Retd)
At the very
outset it would be nice to be informed that not all films are being made to
become classics. This film, was also not being created by its makers, to rank it
amongst the most cerebral creations of all time. On the contrary, this fresh, young
and enthusiastic team wanted the viewers to leave their brains behind and come
for a merry two hour ride, along with their interesting cast of young
characters. They were making a mad movie they believed in, using the best of
whatever resources, intellectual or otherwise available to them. To top it all,
in the end, it did have a serious, message to convey to the youth of today.
Nee Ko Nja
Cha is the short for 'Ninneyum Kollum Njannum Chaavum'. A story of the lives of
three friends, two of whom are in various stages of unraveling the status of
their relationships with their respective past, present and future partners.
Confusing? Well it was a bit; but not serious enough to spoil the fun of the
movie. The twists and the turns, suspense and drama, set mostly on the
beautiful sandy beaches of Goa and towards the end in Kochi, accommodates
awareness about HIV/AIDS, prudence of safe sex, and also brings to the fore,
albeit humorously, the frivolity with which the youth of today, treat their
relationships with the opposite sex.
To touch upon
the story briefly, Roshan (Sunny Wayne) a Casanova, cosmetic surgeon is friends
with Abu (Sanju) a budding film director and Joe (Praveen Anidil) a TV Show
producer, who has been ditched by his girl friend Ann Mathews (Poojitha Menon) who was also the anchor of his show, for the cinematographer of the same show Peter (Shani); to get over this break-up the three friends drive down to Goa.
Here Joe once again confronts Ann and Peter, who are also there for their fun
in the sun, only to fall in love on the rebound, with the receptionist of the
hotel they were staying in Anjali Menon (Sija Rose). Taking the story
forward the other two Abu and Roshan, after many hit and trials, finally manage
a rollicking roll in the hay with the Spice Girls of the film, Sania (Merin Mathew) and Alice (Rohini Mariam Idicula) respectively; only to be devastated
later, on being told that one of them has contracted the deadly disease AIDS,
on account of that one night of indiscretion. The rest of the story unravels
the reason behind why all this happened the way it happened. Were the
situations manipulated to get the errant Roshan back with his wife Maya, if so
by whom, go watch the film and figure it out for yourself. Did I kill the
suspense? No, you are watching this movie for its occasional delirious humour.
For a
debutant Gireesh, who is also the Story and Screenplay Writer, besides being
the Director, has done a commendable job. Neil D'Cunha's Cinematography was
competent if not spectacular, so was the Art Direction by Unni Kuttipuram and
Costumes by Sheeba Rohan. Prashant Pillai's Music is hummable at best. The only
weak link in this cast of many newcomers was Praveen Anidil. Sija Rose, Sanju
and Shani acquit themselves very well. Rohini M Idicula and Merin Mathew show
promise, but the stand out performance in this film belonged to Sunny Wayne. He
is fast emerging as a serious actor to watch out for, in the future.
The film looks like it is emerging as a surprise hit of the year, going by the positive
audience response. As is the case with most surprises, this film though not
created for eminence, was fortunately fated for acceptance, it did work only
because of the strong belief the cast and crew had in their unflinching intent
to entertain with their own brand of humour. I quite appreciate the thought
behind the making of NKNC, and would hasten to add that anyone who misses that point,
will not be able to appreciate a rare blend of sincerity and spontaneity that
went into crafting this comic thriller with a message. I am positive, that most
viewers who come with an open mind, in spite of the confusing climax, would go
out of the theatres, quietly amused at the end of this honest effort. Despite
its numerous fallibilities, it definitely entertains. Go see it!
