In this episode of Start Action Cut, Swathi, Princy and Padmakumar are decoding the the movie 'Sookshma Darshini' directed by Jithin MC and starring Nazriya Nazim and Basil Joseph
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[00:00:12] Hi, welcome to Onmanorama Movie Podcast, Start, Action, Cut. We are discussing the film Sookshma Darshini directed by MC Jiten, commonly called MC, and starring Basil Joseph Nasri Nazim in lead roles.
[00:00:27] So we have Swati and Princey here for the discussion. Though the trailer provided a glimpse of the genre, the movie, and hinted at what's in store as the narrative would unfold,
[00:00:39] the cast and crew of the film, as you see, at once forces you to believe that you are about to watch a boisterous comedy-drama,
[00:00:49] or even an intense romantic port-boiler with a lot of enchanting songs and music. More so, to those who have watched MC's previous lighter-themed movie,
[00:01:00] Nonsense, starring the Mallu song-famed Rinosh George. But the premise of the movie might be probably very clear
[00:01:09] by now to all those who are yet to watch the film. It's all about a curious woman trying to figure out strange things happening in the neighbourhood,
[00:01:19] and ending up in mayhem in the process. So, Sookshma Darshini, a microscope in Malayalam, takes you through a trail of incidents and
[00:01:29] leaving you unsettled and astonished with a slew of suspenseful twists. As a movie that hooks you throughout, giving you not a second to take your attention away.
[00:01:41] It's a successful thriller, but how far does it appeal to your aesthetic senses, there is a doubt. So, what is the core element of a suspense thriller is that you believe in something,
[00:01:53] and it turns out to be something else, ultimately. But apart from the captivating quality of a thriller, how that evolution is treated,
[00:02:02] how balanced is the blend of the artistic and the cinematic aspects, also deserves attention. So, how was it for you, Swati?
[00:02:12] Well, Patma Kumar, what I felt about the film was that it was undoubtedly cleverly written and executed well. There were many smart moments that stood out.
[00:02:21] I really liked Basel's performance as well. However, what struck me was the pacing. It felt like the movie took an awfully long time to reach its final point.
[00:02:29] I mean, yes, it's a thriller and it has to go through many points, but I was wondering was two hours, 30 minutes was needed to come to the ending point.
[00:02:41] While I loved how they built up the tension and managed to sustain it throughout, I couldn't help but wonder if it was necessary to drag it out for so long to arrive at the conclusion.
[00:02:49] Another aspect that stood out for me was Nasir's character. I guess I was talking to you about this earlier also. The film doesn't really establish what kind of person she is.
[00:03:00] She is shown going to great lengths to uncover the mystery. But why? Sure, strange events happening around her naturally spark curiosity and compel her to dig deeper.
[00:03:11] But the film doesn't provide us with enough insight into her personality. So it fails to paint a full picture of Priya or that is Nasir's character,
[00:03:20] leaving us with no clear understanding of why she is so determined to go above and beyond to cover this truth.
[00:03:27] So without this clarity, it felt like her actions lacked the depth and motivation that needed to make her truly convincing. So this is my personal opinion.
[00:03:36] But other than that, how they maintain the curiosity element, the thrilling element, all of that was very neatly executed that you'd keep thinking back and forth like what is happening?
[00:03:49] Who is the culprit? What is really happening? As a viewer, you get enough space to understand and analyze the story and come to your own conclusions.
[00:03:55] The movie gives you that space. So in that aspect also, I really loved the movie. It was really an engaging watch.
[00:04:01] I wouldn't say it was a great movie, but definitely it had substance to hold your attention till the very end.
[00:04:07] Yes. Princey, you had reviewed the movie and you gave a good review of the movie. What made you like the movie so much?
[00:04:14] Patma Kumar, the pace and energy of a film is what really makes the audience invested in a movie.
[00:04:21] So in that way, I might have to disagree with what Swati mentioned about the pacing of the film because when you look at it in that way,
[00:04:30] Sookshma Darshini actually has this pacing and the energy that makes you invested as a viewer.
[00:04:36] And there's this whole thing called world building and character building.
[00:04:41] So in the process of maybe character building and showing how a person is and all that,
[00:04:46] the movie does tend to take its time to establish itself.
[00:04:50] And I think that is why probably the pace of the film might have slowed down in portions.
[00:04:55] But overall, when you look at it, the whole movie manages to capture the attention, you know, not giving you any moments to feel bored.
[00:05:05] And that I feel makes it a successful thriller.
[00:05:08] And also now, when you talk about Priyadarshini's character, right from the beginning, it has been established that she is someone who observes things a lot, you know, like the way she speaks,
[00:05:21] you know, in the initial scene with Harals, then played by Deepak Parambur.
[00:05:26] She, you know, she finds out that he had actually spilled milk and which is why there's no milk left for him to have tea.
[00:05:35] So those are and the way the character has been established, the director tells you how she actually understood it through her dialogues and through her actions, the same way that her nose ring, that how she manages to take the nose ring that falls into the sink.
[00:05:52] So there's a kind of precision that this girl has.
[00:05:56] And that is definitely why when someone new moves into the neighborhood, she is bound to look at the world in the same way that her character has already been shown to be like.
[00:06:11] So that's what I felt about it, generally.
[00:06:15] You said a lot about the suspense, the way it was crafted.
[00:06:18] So what is the point that compelled you to feel so?
[00:06:23] It's like Swati mentioned, the film is cleverly written, right?
[00:06:27] So every aspect, all scenes, there are like a lot of scenes, a lot of situations in this movie.
[00:06:35] And almost all of the scenes keep you at tender hooks, you know, you're like wondering, because the makers have actually created something in your mind,
[00:06:44] and you're like getting immersed in that particular aspect, and then they bring in something else to make us feel a little more suspicious.
[00:06:51] And again, then you go behind that.
[00:06:53] So, you know, in every nook and corner, these people do that.
[00:06:57] But that is not exactly how, you know, the after effect is.
[00:07:02] So in that way, they've been able to keep the suspense going and you get completely immersed in its making.
[00:07:09] Yes, that's where my problem about the movie is.
[00:07:13] What I find is the focus on that suspense factor is far too excessive and overwhelming.
[00:07:21] And this effort, I think, robs the movie of its artistic value quite a lot.
[00:07:26] The suspense seems to be forced.
[00:07:28] Though the story might seem to be true and convincing, the treatment makes it unrealistic to a great extent.
[00:07:36] Mainly towards the end, how they reveal the past, what had happened during the time when the story was evolving, the way it was shown, where all I mean, those things show their intention to make it ultra thrilling and ultra suspenseful.
[00:07:53] What do you say, Swati?
[00:07:55] Well, Patma Kumar, I do agree to you when you said that the suspense sort of seemed a bit forced.
[00:08:03] But nevertheless, I liked how they treated that suspense.
[00:08:07] Like, here's the thing.
[00:08:07] So in the movie, it's mentioned that Priya was a microbiology student.
[00:08:12] So naturally, microbiology involves a lot of work with microscopes.
[00:08:16] So essentially, magnifying glasses, if you think about it, that is Sukhshma Darshini.
[00:08:20] For Priya, however, what she ends up examining under this magnifying glass, in quotes, are her neighbors.
[00:08:26] So I absolutely loved how the director played around with this concept, like using to weave layers into the story, right?
[00:08:34] Now coming to Basel, I loved how he performed as well.
[00:08:37] So he had to be a very strong character for Nastriya to have that curiosity or what is happening.
[00:08:43] So he maintained that a bit of a psycho person, like he seems very normal from the outside.
[00:08:49] But when you look at him, you know that something is off.
[00:08:52] So you actually want to know what is happening.
[00:08:54] But towards the end, I felt like to reach, like I mentioned before, to reach that last point,
[00:09:01] they, you know, just kept dragging it or like, kept on adding scenes that weren't really, you know, needed there.
[00:09:09] And like I said, there were many points. This is my personal opinion again.
[00:09:12] Like there were points where I was asking myself, why is she so invested?
[00:09:16] Like, is there any reason?
[00:09:18] Like if that reason was also convincing enough, then I would, I would have said the, this was a brilliant movie and that almost flawless.
[00:09:25] But because that one factor remained, you know, unclear to me, the suspense element seemed a bit forced.
[00:09:32] And once you understand what is happening, I guess then the movie seems pretty, you know, normal.
[00:09:39] But like I said before, it had that, you know, hook factor in it to keep us, you know, thinking at least till the very end.
[00:09:46] And also, I guess it comes from the great performances of the actors and even Siddharth Faradhan for that matter.
[00:09:51] He did. I really loved his character, even though it was like a really small role.
[00:09:55] He had this quirkiness, like there was a comedic side to him and there was this, you know, maniac side to him as well.
[00:10:01] It was really fun to watch.
[00:10:02] You also had mentioned about your doubts about the character.
[00:10:07] I mean, Nasriya's character, Priya.
[00:10:09] I think performance wise, all the, all the actors had nailed the characters.
[00:10:14] Basil never falters and is the main driving force in the film.
[00:10:17] He even perfects subtle nuances getting into the skin of the character.
[00:10:21] But Nasriya, I think she exacts the nature of a city-bred girl relocated to a rural dwelling and is in pursuit of unearthing the truths behind the anomalous nature and behavior of the members of the family in the neighborhood and the suspicious developments there.
[00:10:40] But now I would like to correct my earlier version of the term Sukshma Darshini.
[00:10:45] Actually, I think it's a magnifying glass, right? Because it's, it's shown there in many places in even the posters, but I had said microscope, but let me correct it now.
[00:10:56] It's, it's magnifying glass.
[00:10:57] Regarding the performance, that's how I read the characters.
[00:11:02] What about you, Princey?
[00:11:03] I liked how we phrased it, you know, that she is, she seems like a city-bred girl who was moved into a village setting.
[00:11:10] Yes, initially, if you look at it from that point of view, yes, she has that city-bred thing that is always there in most of her characters that she's been portraying.
[00:11:21] But despite all that, she manages to fit in well with the setting.
[00:11:26] And she plays this friendly, caring homemaker with a lot of agency in which you start accepting from the beginning of the film itself.
[00:11:34] But sometimes what, what I felt was Nasriya, though she fits the character perfectly in that way.
[00:11:40] She's some, you know, during those intense moments, I feel like, you know, she is still giving a cute girl vibes.
[00:11:47] That was, I think, something that she could have perfected a little more in terms of her acting.
[00:11:52] When you look at Basil Joseph's character, if you look at his recent filmography, you see that there has been some sort of repetition in the characters he has been playing.
[00:12:01] But I'm glad that Sookshma Darshini offers him that break, you know, and he is able to do something different in this movie, just like his unforgettable character in Jai Jai Jai.
[00:12:12] Hey, which I'm sure people will remember for a long time. If you look at his recent films, I think you still remember him from Jai Jai Jai.
[00:12:20] And that is gonna repeat with Sookshma Darshini. Yes, like you guys mentioned Siddharth has, in his own subtle way, he's managed to create an impression there.
[00:12:30] And also the rest of the girls, the girls in the film, Priya's friends, they also managed to make an impact. Yes.
[00:12:37] I just like to completely disagree to both of you about Nasriya, because I did not feel like she is a city grown girl who came into this village and, you know, really got a hang of the setting because I felt like she was a misfit in that because, you know, first of all, the way this might seem like a trivial thing, but the way even she meant like she calls out her husband's name or mentions her husband's name, Anthony.
[00:13:01] In that slang itself, she doesn't feel like a person who, you know, who's used to the village setting because from whatever I understood, she has been there for quite some time.
[00:13:13] And she's very much familiar with her surroundings and everything. And she stays in a home that is not too modern. And you have a, what do you call it, paramba, like in quotes, paramba near her house.
[00:13:23] And she manages to pluck all the curry leaves and all. That is a very normal home makeup kind of image that you're getting there.
[00:13:31] And then she has this city-ness to her. Like, I think that is where Nasriya as a person comes into place. Like Princey mentioned, there is that cute factor or that bubbly image Nasriya has that she has tried to bring into this character as per which in Priya.
[00:13:47] And I think that was also completely unnecessary. I mean, it was not needed to the whole plot is what I felt.
[00:13:53] I think I have seen some people in real life. So, I could relate to that character. I mean, people who are, who were there born and brought up in cities and then they settling down in rural area.
[00:14:05] So, I think I have seen so I could relate to them. As for the comedy in the film, I think the comical interludes which turn along the main course of the story are mostly fun generating.
[00:14:15] But some are cringy and bland. But there are moments that gives you a good laugh, don't you?
[00:14:20] Okay, Patmakubhar. I mean, I don't know if you can really call it, you know, there are moments of comedy, but overall the film was light.
[00:14:28] So, yes, you get that kind of humor in between, especially between the girls is when you really start feeling there's some kind of fun element in the movie.
[00:14:39] But what I really liked about the film is the way it has managed to break cliches.
[00:14:45] I don't know if you guys felt the same, but for me, it was like in the past few months of 2024, you've been like watching a lot of thriller movies that are mostly being in a cop, investigation dramas and something like Sushna Darshney, which is also a mystery thriller, comes in with a different narrative.
[00:15:05] And that actually was, it felt refreshing. So that is one thing that I found different.
[00:15:13] And also like how the movie broke cliches in me, it's like writers don't try to make her overly empowered for the sake of, you know, looking empowered, but then they actually give her a solid character and a solid placing.
[00:15:28] She is someone who's actually in the quest of, you know, trying to find out what is really happening and, you know, the private detective mode.
[00:15:37] So when you look at the female character in the film that I liked how the makers placed her character and also wrote her character in a way that it doesn't seem like she was empowered for the sake of being empowered.
[00:15:51] But, you know, she was given a certain kind of agency and a determination that has been missing from many female characters that we've been seeing in Malayalam cinema for some time.
[00:16:02] Yeah, yeah, yeah, true. I too felt the same. So the narrative moves along with a decent speed, but some finer edits would have trimmed the movie to make it more compact and interesting.
[00:16:14] And thus would have justified the title, Sukshma Darshini. But here, the slightly lengthy movie, rather than giving a microscopic vision or a magnified vision, is lending rather a telescopic view of an eventful saga.
[00:16:29] So that brings us to the end of this episode. Thanks for listening to Start Action Cut, produced and hosted by me, Patmogumar.
[00:16:37] Follow www.onmanorama.com for more podcasts and movies. And be sure to come back for the next episode of Start Action Cut out on Mondays. Thank you.