Nunakuzhi: A young rich man, his laptop with personal videos and a warring couple (2024)

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Hi, welcome to Onmanorama Movie Podcast, Start, Action, Cut.

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Today we are decoding the Marayalam comedy thriller Nunakuzhi directed by Jeetu Joseph.

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And one simple cast including Basil Joseph, Grace Anthony, Siddique Manoush Kedjayan,

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Baiju Sandhush, Vinu Pappu, Swasika Nikila Vimal and Aju Hogeis make it an engaging

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_00]: fair. So today Ashwin is joining us to discuss the movie. So Ashwin as far as the storyline

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_00]: is concerned, it's definitely a tried and tested formula of mixing comedy and chaos

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_00]: and culminating in the final mayhem and resolution. So how do you find the storyline of the film?

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Hello Patmamma, thanks for having me. For me this film was deliciously funny because

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_01]: of late there has been too much of realism that we badly needed a breather. This film,

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Nunakuzhi serves up a punchy storyline and it is told in the most comic manner possible.

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_01]: You said it kind of uses the form like pattern of comedy and chaos but still if we take this

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_01]: one-liner, just think about this. A laptop with a sensitive personal content goes missing,

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_01]: it ends up in wrong hands and the person has to recover it at any cost. It could have

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_01]: taken the direction of a very dark, somber thriller. But here writer Krishnakumar and

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_01]: director Jeetu Joseph would have none of that. They wanted the film to make us laugh than

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_01]: think. Even then it is helped by a very clever writing. There is skill at display here. I mean

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_01]: it weaves together characters, different narratives and it links them at crucial junctures. And all

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_01]: that has been done without dull moments. I wouldn't say there is not even a single

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_01]: dull moment in the film but the film is a breezy ride. It comes across as an absurdist

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_01]: and it feels good to lap up some jolly good moments one after another,

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: especially after a long time in Malalam cinema. So yes Ashwin that's true. The comedy lies in

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_00]: the mature writing and finesse of the scenes. Here you don't spare any time, any moment and

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00]: you just sit through the whole drama, whole activities, whole events in the film without

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_00]: feeling any cringe. So the comedy is well written and you enjoy each of the moments, each of their

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_00]: antics and their slapstick moments. So how do you define the comedy in this film?

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: How is it different from other films when you say that it's not simply a formulaic pattern

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_00]: of a mix in comedy and chaos. So how would you define it?

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_01]: I find the comedy works in this film because it serves a larger purpose of driving the story

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_01]: forward. For me, the comedy in this film was all about one-liners and timely quips.

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Instead of describing comedy in this, I would rather sample two to three moments from the film

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_01]: without spoiling the narrative. A constable assigned to follow up on a suicide attempt

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_01]: calls up his senior from the hospital and tells him,

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Sir, there is this woman who is telling me different stories. The senior replies,

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh really? Which story do you like the most? Do a report based on that story.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean it is not just the lines, the way it is told in casual, mad profak tones without

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_01]: accompaniment of a background score. This is how the senior policeman played by actor Paiju

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_01]: will respond. We know that because we have already familiarized ourselves with this character.

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_01]: That's how he is. In another instance, he will engage two youths who were spotted riding

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_01]: two-wheeler without helmets, asking questions about their diet, fitness plan and he will

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_01]: have absolutely no issues collecting money from them to buy parotta and beef, which again

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_01]: would eat in the ward even when he is probing a case. When these scenes work, because the

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_01]: comedy has an added purpose as I said earlier, it is essential to the story. It drives the plot

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_01]: forward. It kind of enables us to engage ourselves deeply with the story, not just be

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_01]: driven away by sheer exchange of dialogues between the characters and the comedy doesn't

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_01]: stick out. Even when we are left wondering for a fraction of a second whether such things

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_01]: really happen, the timing, the rapidity of comic outbursts and the one-liners would just take us

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_01]: along, not giving a pause. I mean think of this. An unsuspecting man walks into a wayside shop

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_01]: where a chaotic fight has just begun. The poor man orders an omelette as he walks past a goon

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_01]: who is fuming. He is on a rampage hitting people. And as this guy walks, he tells the

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_01]: shop owner how he wants his omelette. Don't overdo it, he tells the shop owner. In Malayalam it says

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_01]: The goon hears this and you can imagine what happens next. I mean that is comic timing at its best.

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah. You explained it well, Ashwin. So here as we said earlier, the comedy doesn't

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: stick out. This reminds me of Charlie Chaplin's style of comedy. In his comical

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_00]: explorations, what you find is the comedy lies in the painful struggles. Here too,

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: the comedy is not in the laughter but the painful struggles of each of the characters. That's how

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_00]: we enjoy it. Actually, it's not something to be enjoyed. It also defines the treatment,

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_00]: the pain, the treats and suspense, how they are placed without overlapping each other for

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: a long time. So we see a young man obsessed with his wife and their romance and then he gets

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_00]: entangled with an income tax rate and his laptop which carries personal details, personal videos

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_00]: is confiscated. There are so many elements there. There is a couple who are parting ways but

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_00]: still arguing who is actually responsible. So then there is another aspect, there is another

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_00]: subplot in which you are shown that an aspiring director who sweated out to convince a superstar

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and then there is a police team which is after a trespasser and even they get a tip off on

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_00]: someone who is going to commit suicide. So all these elements, all these are interconnected

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_00]: and reach the finishing line together. That's how we sit through the whole drama. So

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_00]: would you like to say something about the treatment? How it influenced you while watching

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_01]: this film? See, we know how Jeetu Joseph and Krishna Kumar make films. I mean they have a

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_01]: way of pulling devils out of mortals. Even in their previous films, we have seen how they

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_01]: do that. A seemingly innocent man with I mean no harm look could instantly turn to vile.

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_01]: It could be a case of hurt ego or some other primal human instincts. But if you look at the

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_01]: character played by Basil Joseph, there is no good in him. He is perverse, he is conceited,

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_01]: rude, so proud of his effluents that he keeps reminding everyone show some respect to the

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_01]: rich. How do you give a spin to this character and land him in ridiculous situations?

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_01]: This is where the film excels. We are even made to forget the filthiest man on display here

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_01]: who shoots his intimate moments with his wife against her consent and watches it in his office.

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean he disrespects elderly men in his office, he acts on his whims and thinks he

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_01]: is superior to others because he is rich. Still we laugh at this man, the predicament

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER_01]: he finds himself in. Even feel guilty that we don't feel sorry enough for the woman

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_01]: whose privacy is being put at stake. I mean we laugh at the cost of her privacy,

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_01]: it's a very sensitive serious issue. But the film works by blending multiple narratives with

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_01]: interesting characters and one-liners. There is so much talk but it engages us because

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_01]: the narrative moves, we don't feel stuck. The plot is nicely placed, based,

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_01]: the characters chip in at precise moments to give that inevitable twist and not for a moment

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_01]: the film claims to be serious. The underlying humorous tone is maintained right till the end.

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_01]: I think each character is given definite traits, I mean you were really explaining

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_01]: it really well earlier as how many different narratives are put together

[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_01]: in this film so that it becomes engaging. I also find it interesting that each character

[00:09:30] [SPEAKER_01]: is assigned definite traits which again is replete with fun. I mean so I like the treatment.

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Also I think Ashwin, this has something to do with the way Malayalees especially

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Malayalees watch films. I mean over time there is a tendency to tag on the actors.

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_00]: If there is Basil Joseph, there will be comedy. If there is Akshay Raj, there will be something

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_00]: serious. So I think as you said earlier that even if he is a filthy rich man, since it's

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_00]: being played by Basil Joseph, you are supposed to love him. I think he's a likable character

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_00]: whichever role he plays I think that's the reason for that. What do you say?

[00:10:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah that's what I said. His deeds, the character he plays in this film is a bad person.

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean in any other scenario if it had to be played by a different person,

[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not sure if we would feel the same way we felt for this guy in this particular film.

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean in a way you see an actor takes upon a character. We forget the actor and we concentrate

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_01]: on the character but in case of Basil Joseph, I wouldn't say he is being stereotype but still

[00:10:47] [SPEAKER_01]: since this is Basil Joseph, we laugh at him because he has this affable character. His

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_01]: laughter is very lovable so we kind of forgive no matter how bad or you know ugly things he does.

[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_00]: We kind of forgive him and rather laugh over it. Yes and performance wise also I think all

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_00]: of them did very well in this film but Baju Sandosh as I mentioned earlier in one of our

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_00]: underrated actors even in Mindan Buruli, I think his performance was the most

[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_00]: noteworthy. So here too he doesn't disappoint you and along with him of course there is

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Basil Joseph and then Asif Nidambaga. His comedy timing is very perfect and we have seen in

[00:11:39] [SPEAKER_00]: several movies and even in stage shows and skits and they all bring their prowess together

[00:11:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and even Manoj Kejain, he is also a good actor and Binnu Papu they all play strong supportive

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_00]: roles and among performers who would you root for in this movie? I totally agree with what you

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER_01]: told me about Baju because for me he stole the show. He is his usual self non-chalant cool

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_01]: irreverent guy who just fires retorts with same ease of pulling a tissue paper out of a

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_01]: cup. He is not cool but corrupt again in a good way. He is a patient listener but cunning enough.

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Basil Joseph was tailor made for this role playing a rich spoiled brat forced to run

[00:12:27] [SPEAKER_01]: business when he all wants to spend time with his wife. He is a natural playing such

[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_01]: situations you know desperate needy circumstances where the character improvises makes mistakes

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_01]: but somehow finds a way out. But the sense of desperation is neatly done and the storyline

[00:12:44] [SPEAKER_01]: immensely helps in maintaining that comic undertone and that's where the film stands apart.

[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes and I think now Baju should be looking for some other type of roles because he has

[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_00]: played this I mean road but comical cop in so many movies so I think it's time he has to

[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_01]: pick some other roles what do you say? Yeah truly I mean he has so much potential and the

[00:13:10] [SPEAKER_01]: ease with which he adorns those characters. He is a natural actor I mean it's time scriptwriters

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_01]: found a way of extracting his true potential so that full-time roles could be really exceptional

[00:13:24] [SPEAKER_00]: for him. And as for the flaws I think too much of interlaced subplots spoil the engagement

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_00]: after a certain point but you never lose the charm, lose the comic element and since we know

[00:13:40] [SPEAKER_00]: it's a make-believe situation we enjoy the drama. However there are certain moments when you feel

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_00]: some of the characters are underutilized like Swasika and Sayuguru they are either shut

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_00]: behind the door or lie down like a corpse so those are the few flaws that I found.

[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_00]: So have you seen anything that you felt that it should be pointed out?

[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_01]: I second your views regarding the subplots because for me while most of the humor in this film

[00:14:15] [SPEAKER_01]: worked for me the subplot around the aspiring filmmaker slash spurned youth was a bit of a

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_01]: let down for me. The scenes were stretched with dragging and it didn't gel with the general

[00:14:27] [SPEAKER_01]: mood of the film. There was definitely a purpose for such scenes but for me it was drab.

[00:14:32] [SPEAKER_01]: I wouldn't call it a flaw but the very premise of this film was a bit problematic for me

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_01]: because even when it is touted as a loud funny thriller just think of this. A pervert is a

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_01]: central character here and maybe the only time a character actually flanks his condition

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_01]: is when the cop again in a playful manner suggests he meet a psychiatrist. As I said

[00:14:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I laughed a lot but deep inside I believe can we really laugh over the exploits of such a pervert

[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_01]: because the woman characters especially the wife appear as mere props even though the wife is

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_01]: subjected to what could be a most traumatic moment for her the narrative kind of normalizes

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER_01]: it with the comic candor. It also makes us part of the wrongdoing against this woman.

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean you laugh at a certain amount of guilt in this film maybe that is reading too much

[00:15:26] [SPEAKER_01]: into it but to put it briefly this is one film which guarantees lot of fun.

[00:15:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah true Ashwin. Yes this is an engaging watch and I think it's a family entertainer

[00:15:40] [SPEAKER_00]: which can be enjoyed in the in the theaters so that brings us to the end of this episode.

[00:15:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for listening to Start Action Cut produced and hosted by me,

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