Aashiq Abu's Naradan is a scathing attack on TRP-chasing journalism

Malayalam film 'Naradan' directed by Aashiq Abu hit the theatres on Thursday and netizens are heaping praises for lead actor, Tovino Thomas's flawless performance as the broadcast journalist character Chandraprakash.

In a scathing attack on unhealthy vying of TV news channels, Aashiq Abu uses Naradan to invert the power equations of the newsroom studio, to put on trial the style of journalism promoted by sections of the visual media in recent years.

Chandraprakash is the star journalist of a leading media channel in Kerala. He can be seen as a calm and composed journalist in the beginning. But, a drop in the ratings, following a breaking story from Pradeep John (Sharafudheen), the anchor of a smaller rival channel, becomes a spark that kindles the ugly side of Chandraprakash.

Following this, when Chandraprakash's chief editor tries to dethrone his position with Pradeep, Chandraprash takes up the offer to join a new channel as its chief editor, setting in motion a dirty game of TRPs that trump journalistic ethics.

What happens next forms the crux of the story.

As quoted by News Minute, Pradeep wonderfully plays the ethical reporter, who is frustrated because he's not paid on time, another reality in the world of journalism. One can also see a middle-aged journalist in the movie, who makes long drunken tirades, asking why no one was reporting the loss of jobs in the media.

Naradan also features actress Anna Ben in the lead, whose performance as lawyer Shakira is hailed by many.

The movie includes Joy Mathew, Vijayaraghavan, Balachandran Chullikkad, Raghunath Paleri, Jayaraj Warrier, Rafi, Kunchan, Dileesh Nair, Rajesh Madhavan, Indrans and Jaffer Idukki in supporting roles.

A majority of netizens are also praising the slow yet steady writing by Unni R who takes the film through various stages of the protagonist and showcases the reality inside media channels.

He has diligently included many major happenings in journalism in recent years, including the honey-trapping of a politician for the launch of a channel.

Another commendable feature about the movie is that it has captured the essence of a thriller genre even without a murder, a crime, or even a car chase.

The editing section of the film is handled by Saiju Sreedharan and the music is composed by Sekhar Menon. The original score of the film is composed by Neha Nair and Yakzan Gary Pereira.