Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham Review: 3.25/5
Following the success of his debut film, Android Kunjappan Version 5.25, Ratheesh Balakrishna Poduval announced his second directorial titled Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham. The film is written and directed by Poduval and stars Nivin Pauly, Grace Antony, Vinay Fortt, Jaffer Idukki, Rajesh Madhavan, Joy Mathew, Vincy Aloshious and others in prominent roles. The trailer promised a fun entertainer, but somehow the film didn’t really work well for me as a viewer.
Premise Of Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham
Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham tells us the story of Pavithran (Nivin Pauly), a junior artist and an acting coach, who is married to a former serial artist Haripriya (Grace Antony). They have issues in their marriage and in order to mend things between them, Pavitran buys Haripriya a pair of gold earrings. They also decide to go on a trip to Munnar to sort things between them. What was intended to be a getaway from their mundane lives turns out to be a chaotic experience when Haripriya’s earrings go missing in the hotel they stay in. What follows is the hunt for the missing earrings, produced in a comical manner.
Writing and Direction
Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham’s basic plotline is wafer-thin. The credibility of a scriptwriter lies in converting the wafer-thin plotline into something which would grab the viewer’s attention for the entire runtime of the film. To an extent, Ratheesh Balakrishna Poduval manages to do the same.
Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham starts off with some hilarious exchanges between the main characters, their mothers and some quirky dialogues. However, once the film reaches its middle portions, the writing feels weak and dull. The instances in the film felt forced and the humour didn’t really work. However, there were certain scenes that had some good humour but weren’t good enough to leave a lasting impression.
That said, the visualisation of such a concept by Ratheesh Balakrishna Poduval has to be lauded. He has done a great job helming the film.
Acting
Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham is made in an overdramatic pitch, due to which the artists had to be a bit dramatic in the portrayal of their characters. The stand out performance from this film has to be that of Grace Antony’s. Her portrayal of the character required her to express certain subtle emotional changes, which were executed brilliantly by Grace.
Nivin Pauly as Pavithran was good as well. It was quite refreshing to see Nivin back in the humour genre and his comic timing in this film works well. Vinay Fortt as the hotel manager, too, does a superb job. The portrayal of an impulsive character was outstanding to watch. Jaffer Idukki, Rajesh Madhavan, Joy Mathew, Vincy Aloshious and the other supporting cast performed their roles brilliantly.
Overdramatic Pitch
Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham’s main intent was to offer the viewers an out-and-out comical entertainer. Ratheesh Balakrishna Poduval might have felt the need to make the pitch of this film Melodramatic to increase the impact of the humour. To an extent it works, because of the well written quirky and funny dialogues.
The screenplay was very uneven due to which, the overdramatic pitch became a bit unbearable, especially in the middle portions of the film. The film’s writing is done in such a way that if the overdramatic nature is removed, Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham would become an absolute slogfest.
Technical Aspects of Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham
Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham boasts of some splendid visuals by Vinod Illampally and slick editing by Manoj Kannoth. The film’s production design and set work is grand and magnificent, which adds to the overdramatic pitch of the film. The music and background score by Yakzan Gary Pereira and Neha Nair too had a dramatic feel in it, setting the mood for the film aptly. The VFX of the film is praise-worthy.
Overall verdict
As a whole, Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham is a film that is a mindless entertainer. It could have had a more intriguing plot to grab the attention of the viewers. The sloppy writing in the middle portions of the film leads to the film’s downfall. Even the superb acting performances by the cast, especially Grace Antony, could not save the film. The humour works in certain areas but is not of the level which would be remembered for ages.
Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham doesn’t really offer anything that is worth remembering or recollecting after having watched it. After giving the viewers a promising trailer, the film settles to become only a one time watch. Had the writing been a bit more tighter, Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham could have been a better watch.
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