It’s amazing to see how Ranjith is coming up with themes on and around ‘death’. After Pranjiyettan, Spirit and Leela, Drama is another theme revolves around divinity / death as a silent character. Perhaps after the great Padmarajan, Ranjith would be the one who constantly thinks more about themes revolving around ‘death’.
When in ‘Leela’ he had managed to take the thoughts on death to another level - it even touched on death after death, or in other words death of the soul after death of the body - in ‘Drama’ he tried to unveil the ‘hypocrisy of love’ after one’s death. In other words, Drama is a mirror that reflects the real state of many Christian families across Kerala.
Broadly speaking, through Drama, the film maker has selected a humorous plot to convey a powerful message. But take a closer look and you can find a handful of messages to different segments of the audience.
May be the core message of ‘Drama’ is intended for NRI children focusing only on money- making. But through the plot, he cleverly raised many questions even with the lifeless body.
Until the body gets cremated, it’s an opportunity with the mortal remains to observe and understand the true colours of people around. A powerful warning to all mercenaries who hardly care for their parents’ wishes. The script also tried to instill into all couples the wisdom of forgiveness. The message was lucidly conveyed, even though Lal’s emotions were humorously depicted when his Romeo games were fully exposed in front of his wife.
Dileesh Pothen’s character Dixon Lopez is also thought- provoking as someone who waits to feast on the loss of others. For him death is just a business, without realising that it is hiding in his own shadow. Arunthathi Nag as Rossamma has done full justice to her character. Mohanlal’s character Raju is an attempt to bring to the audience an old Mohanlal in a new look.
For Mohanlal fans there is not much to cheer about other than watching Lal in an ordinary man’s role, which is quite unusual, of late. Also it was good to see Baiju in a comical supporting role after a long time. Directors Shyamaprasad, Dileesh Pothan and Johny Antony have also done exceptionally well in their respective roles. DileeshPothan has now more matured as a mainstream actor and Shyama Prasad is not new to acting. But Johnny Antony with his witty performance can be a revelation for Malayalam films.
Cinematography by Alagappan tried his best to capture the richness of UK, although the script had its limitations in focusing on the surroundings. The shortcomings in the script were overpowered through the messages intended. I am sure the genius in Ranjith will come up with more dimensions of death... but the film fraternity believes that wider themes are waiting in the wings for someone like Ranjit to grab.
(The writer is a film critic and a brand consultant based in Kochi)