Innale Vare is a Malayalam-language thriller film, directed by Jis Joy that just got released on SonyLIV. With actors like Asif Ali (Uyare, Virus), Nimisha Sajayan (The Great Indian Kitchen, Malik), and Antony Varghese (Angamaly Diaries) in leading roles, the film gave enough reasons to look forward to it. Besides boasting such an acting talent, the film promised an engaging tale based on celebrity culture. What the film ends up being is a hyper-stylized work with good intent. The direction makes it dramatized way more than necessary to make a lasting impact. The problem with the film is somehow the way it takes itself too seriously for the audience to take it seriously!
Written by Bobby and Sanjay, the film follows the journey of Aadhi Shankar (Asif Ali), a relatively successful actor known for the challenging scripts that he works on. In the same vein, he has a new film being released in the science fiction genre. He hopes to get out of financial debt with the financial success of this film. Over the years, he has carved an image of himself as a celebrity, and just like any other star, he serves the same image and the idea of stardom. Because of that, he rudely rejects an ad proposal brought to him by a company since it doesn’t suit his image. He bluntly refuses to do dubbing for a filmmaker whose vision doesn’t suit his present celebrity persona. The financial burden that falls on others does not matter to him, but just how every decision affects his image.
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The film consistently puts forth this topic of stardom and his rude antics make him a character you would want to root against. The fickle nature of fame and the film industry is also brought to notice by his financial woes. To be able to pay off his debts, he has to let go of his pride and do a job like any other person. This situation put him in conflict with his bloated ego, which is a result of his fame. But, what if the glitter of fame and glamour is stripped off of such a person? What is a celebrity like him without his followers? What would he be like as a human being without the armor of celebrity status protecting him? Innale Vare sheds light on that through its suspense thriller arc where different topics are discussed in a needlessly flashy manner. The lead character being in a relationship with a married woman brings another angle to the story.
The foundation of the narrative that tries to establish the lead character of Aadhi is loud and hollow, which leaves the film with an extremely dull impact. The overarching music score negates the dramatic highs instead of heightening them. The over-emphasis of its stylistic elements makes the film less intriguing to sit through. In its chain of events, the script shows Aadhi getting kidnapped by a couple (played by Nimisha Sanjayan & Antony Varghese) who is in a dire need of money. The later narrative unfolds in the form of suspense in the hope of Aadhi’s escape and the future of his kidnappers.
The tension to sustain a dramatic interest in its stakes wears thin due to its cliche camerawork. The camera movements and angles add very little to the storytelling element beyond a conventional approach. Stylistically the film falls flat due to its consistent effort to force-feed the drama onto the audience. Through its twists and turns, the script consistently tries to prove the smartness of its critique, which becomes vapid quite early in its long duration. ‘We get it, we get what you’re trying to say’ is the only response I had while following its obtuse drama!
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Innale Vare certainly has an interesting premise and a script that is interested to make a statement about an important topic. However, it gets muddled due to its execution style that hammers every single point that the makers want to present. The overuse of exposition through the film’s dialogues leaves the audience with very little to navigate and understand on their own. Not sure if it is due to the lack of trust in the audience to understand the points that they try to make. Yet, what the film ends up being as a result of this is an admirable attempt to deconstruct the themes of fame and stardom that get subdued due to its self-serious tonality.
Innale Vare is now streaming on SonyLIV
Trailer
Innale Vare (2022) Movie Links – IMDb
Innale Vare (2022) Movie Cast – Asif Ali, Antony Varghese, Nimisha Sajayan, Reba Monica John
