Valiya Perunnal Review: Experiment done right!

Shane Nigam’s ‘Valiya Perunnal’ has been in the making for over a year. The wait finally came to an end last day as the film has hit screens across Kerala. Directed by Dimal Dennis, ‘Valiya Perunnal’ is an unconventional film that revolves around a bunch of individuals residing in the Mattanchery region in Kochi.

Since the onset of this decade, there have been numerous films set in the shady downtowns of Mattanchery and Fort Kochi. But ‘Valiya Perunnal’ still manages to stand out as the setting is of utmost importance and organically laced around the narrative.

The film has Shane Nigam playing the lead character named Ashkar Salaudhin aka Akkar. ‘Filter Coffee’ fame Himika Bose is paired with him. She plays Pooja, a Gujarati who runs a dance school in Mattanchery along with her boyfriend Akkar. The core plot kick-starts when a group of masked youngsters attack a cab to loot gold from the passengers in it. During the investigation, Akkar and his friends get tangled in it. How they find a way out forms the rest of the plot.

First things first, ‘Valiya Perunnal’ scripted by director Dimal and Thasreeq Abdul is not a regular film with a linear set up-conflict-resolution format. There are a lot of parallel tracks involving multiple characters and their back stories. So it is very important for the viewer to be very attentive throughout the entire run time, which is just over 3 hours. What it offers is an immersive experience where the knots are unfolded gradually but very cleverly.

Shane Nigam holds the film together with his stellar performance and Himika Bose perfectly complements him. Several first time actors from the locality are part of the film and naturally there are some amateurish performances. Joju George, Vinayakan, Captain Raju and Soubin Shahir also appear in brief roles.

Technically, ‘Valiya Perunnal’ is a rich film with outstanding music from Rex Vijayan. The raw and rustic cinematography further add to the authenticity of the treatment. Editor Vivek Harshan is entrusted with the herculean task of compiling such a big film without any loose ends and he has done his part neatly.

Overall, ‘Valiya Perunnal’ is definitely worth for all those who love to watch something different from the regular potboilers.