Aana Alaralodalaral Review: A simple time-pass family entertainer
Vineeth Sreenivasan’s latest outing as an actor, Aana Alaralodalaral has hit screens today. Malayali audience have seen several ‘Aana’ films in the past like Gajakesariyogam, Pattabishekam, Aanachandam and Guruvayoor Kesavan to name a few. Aana Alarodalaral is the latest to this list. Directed by debutant Dileep Menon, the movie caught the audience attention thanks to its quirky title and the impressive promos. Let’s see how the movie has eventually turned out to be.
The plot is set in a village named Vaikuntapuram where Hindus and Muslim coexist in harmony. The conflict starts with the arrival of the elephant ‘Shekarankutty’. The two groups clash over the ownership of the elephant. The Hindu brigade led by Suraj Venjaramoodu is hell-bent that the elephant be donated to the temple while the Muslim community strictly oppose it. In between this, there is a love story between Hashim (Vineeth Sreenivasan) and Parvathy (Anu Sithara). There is a lot of drama in the proceedings before it all ends on predictably happy note.
Sarath Balan has scripted this movie with a noble message about the need to coexist with religious harmony. Almost all the characters here are caricaturish with over the top performances. But the director has packaged it pretty well with a good dose of humour and some peppy music. The movie also has a satirical tone with a dig at the present political scenario.
On the performance side, Thesni Khan was a relevation from her usually typecast roles. As the authoritarian matriarch of a Muslim family, she did a fine job with her limited screen presence. Vineeth Sreenivasan as Hashim did justice to his character but did not have enough scope for performance. Anu Sithara is gorgeous as ever and she did have a couple of noteworthy scenes, which she performed well. Suraj Venjaramoodu had a negative role to perform and the character was safe in his hands. Vishak Nair has evidently shown improvement from his Aanandam and Chunkzz days.
The movie has an elaborate supporting cast which includes Hareesh Kanaran, Vijayaraghavan, Mamukoya, Dharamajan, Innocent and Srikanth Murali among others. But the lion’s share of screen time is consumed by Nandilath Arjun, the elephant. It is very difficult to make a movie with an animal, particularly ones like this where the whole plot is centered around it. So, the makers deserve some appreciation for that. Actor Dileep’s voice-over for the elephant was also a good choice.
Technically, the movie has some good visuals and was tightly edited under two hours. The ever dependable Shaan Rahman has given some good songs and background score.
Overall, Aana Alaralodalaral is a simple time pass entertainer that can be watched with kids and families as there are no double meaning jokes or profanity. It follows the typical old Malayalam rural-entertainer style.
