Koode Review: A poignant tale of relationships backed by excellent performances

Koode Review: A poignant tale of relationships backed by excellent performances

Koode starring Prithviraj, Nazriya Nazim and Parvathy in the lead roles has hit screens today. Director Anjali Menon and the ever-lovable Nazriya are making a comeback after a four-year-long gap and that itself was the movie’s major selling point. Let’s see how the movie has turned out to be.

Anjali Menon’s Koode is a heartwarming story of relationships. An endearing brother-sister bonding forms the crux while there is also an emotional reunion of two childhood sweethearts. Anything more about the plot will end up as spoilers, so l’m not going any further.

The basic story of Koode is borrowed from the Marathi flick, Happy Journey (the makers have given story credits to Sachin Kundalkar, who wrote and directed the original). But, Koode has lot more to offer than being just another remake. Anjali Menon has reworked the story smoothly to suit the sensibilities of the Malayali audience.

Koode is nothing like Anjali’s previous films – Manjadikuru, Usthad Hotel (script) and Bangalore Days. She has employed a totally different treatment style this time, as the movie demanded it. The narrative is slowly paced and takes its own sweet time to unfold. Even though the subject offers lot of scope for melodrama, she has preferred to keep things simple. With subtle emotions and minimal dialogues, she has managed to tell a touching story quite convincingly.

They say, a director’s job is half done if they get the casting right, and here Anjali has got it spot on. All the three lead actors, Prithviraj, Nazriya and Parvathy, have given their best for the movie. The former two have the most screen time and I should say, they have made the most out of it. Their brother-sister chemistry was wonderful to watch and due appreciation to Anjali for giving them that space to perform without any inhibitions. The central character of Jenny was tailor-made for Nazriya and she owned it quite effortlessly. A great comeback indeed.

Prithviraj’s Joshua is someone with a troubled past and carries a lot of emotions within but is reluctant to express. The actor has given a finely restrained performance that could easily be rated as his best in recent times. Parvathy, despite the limited screen time, has played her part wonderfully well. Ace filmmaker Ranjith, as the doting father Aloshy, had a meaty role to perform and he was highly impressive. Maala Parvathy, Atul Kulkarni, Roshan Mathew, Darshana Rajendran and Pouly Valsan also manage to leave a mark.

On the technical side, Koode is rich with lovely visuals (Littil Swayamp) and delightful music (Rahul Dixit and M Jayachandran). All five beautiful songs in the movie were placed perfectly without sticking out like a sore thumb.

Overall, Koode is a pleasant feel-good film that does not boast of anything extraordinary. Don’t go in expecting an Ustad Hotel or Bangalore Days; Koode is different.