Vadakkunoki Yantram Movie Reviews

I had heard abt this movie long back, but only got to see it sometime back. And most of our movies are so far from real life. And once that are close to reality become like documentaries or award movies. But this one is a gem of a movie bcos though it’s a film, its very lifelike and addresses a social problem. And add to it its treatd with humour which makes it like a sugar coated pill.

‘Vadakkunoki yantram’ simply means ‘north pointing device’ or in simpler words a ‘magnetic compass’. I don’t think the movie could have been titled better. Wherever u go the compass will only point to the north. The movie deals with a life of a man who is suffering from many a complexes and the situations that arise out of his handling them. He has some opinions and prejudices, and he only thinks from those premises. May be that’s the reason the movie is named so.

The film has the perfect casting. The movie has srinivasan the well known writer director actor of malayalm movies who is known to make movies with a message. Playing his innocent wife is parvati. Also supporting her the respective family of the main roles. Innocent plays the role of a small time writer poet who many a times is the advisor to srinivasan.

The film primarily deals with a man who is ordinary looking, but fortunately(unfortunately) ends up getting a very fair looking wife. Now his inferiority complexes take over and he begins to have doubts if his wife has eyes over other young men. Now this plot if was given to a bollywood director he wud come up with aspects of infidelity, sleaze going into gory details. But kudos to the crew who have only treated this with humour. By the way there is no infidelity here, just the suspicions of a otherwise innocent funny guy.

Story is set in a small keral town. The hero srinivasan lives with mother and sister. He has a brother who is away working. The brother happens to be fair. Our man has aways had this complex that he is short and black in colour. In fact he grows up as an introvert bcos of this complex. And much of his knowledge and opinion are from the doctors column he finds in a magazine. In fact he is a frequent questioner to these doctors. Good and innocent that he is, he doesn’t know abt the female of the species. Here again all his preconceived notions are from the ‘ask the doctor’ column.

Soon he is married to parvati who is very beautiful. She is the quintessential Indian homely girl who has no second thoughts. She accepts her husband and is doing all her duties faithfully. There are many a funny scenes along the way. Especially the newe couple getting a photograph, and our hero consulting his friend, the small time author as to how the first night is to be handled. No wonder he makes a fool of himself. Again don’t expect any hot scenes here. Soon he reads in a magazine column abt how a certain wife left her ‘average looking’ husband for a young man. Now he begins to get doubts. So he is very protective abt wife.

Now there are many scenes where he tries to assert himself. Like when parvati says she like a certain filmactor, he goes on saying things like anybody can act, don’t trust these actors, they have no morals etc. and to add to his woes hius brother comes for a vacation. Now this brother is very close to bhabhi and bhabhi likes his jokes. So srinivasan tries to prove he too knows jokes. His trying to read out jokes and claim them as his own, and trying to make wife laugh are real funny.

A quarrel ensues at home and he moves out to a rented house. At the new place under suspicion are few bachelors staying his house. He confronts them abt their wandering near his house. Meanwhile he begins to suspect if his wife had an affair while in college. He gets doubts thru the autograph book of his wife. A finds an entry belonging to certain guy, his doubt increases. He dresses up like a reporter and goes to meet that guy who is now an army officer. Makes a fool of himself. In between to overcome grief he hits the alcohol bottle. All in he is now sure his wife had an affair and now also she has an affair. So saying he is going out of station he puts up in a lodge nearby and from there watches if anyone is entering his house in his absence. He sees a man entering. He goes back home and hits the man. Only to realize it was his wife’s father who came there as she was alone.

His wife leaves him, and goes back to her parents. By now he is acting crazy on all fronts. Then finally meets a good doctor at a mental hospital who tells him how he has been misled by ‘ask the doctor’. Now he realizes how he has been bad to such a good wife. Realizes his follies and goes back to apologize and get back his wife. I liked the movie bcos, anyone can make a commercial movie of the kind rich boy-poor girl etc. but to take a social reality and treat it very well with humor needs talent. Acting is superb.

At times I felt srinivasan was living the role and not acting. Lol ( hope he doesn’t read this) , and pravati as the guileless wife has done justice to the role. Equally well done are the roles of kps lalitha, innocent. I feel this is one of those movies worth doing in all Indian languages, so that everyone can laugh (at ourselves), but I am sure it gives food for thought too, to many. Excellent movie which is ok to watch for all, especially the married ones. Now that review is over I am opening the almirah, looking for a cap, got one, putting it on, just to take it off and say – “Hats off Srinivasan Sir”!!

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