Movie review 'Iyobinte Pusthakami': A gripping but grim period drama

Director: Amal Neerad

Cast: Lal, Fahad Faasil, Lena, Jayasurya, Padmapriya, Isha Sharvani

Rating: Three stars

When a slave becomes a master, he imitates the ruthless behaviour that he himself was once subjected to, trampling over people, their future and their emotions. Aim justifies the means till one gets the taste of one’s own medicine, sometimes from one’s own progeny, but when realisation dawns about the pointlessness of such an existence, it is often too late.

Lal plays Iyob, the nadan sayippu, who takes over the kingdom left behind by his British master, in his most memorable role since Thanu Pillai of Ozhimuri and Fahad unleashes yet another of his powerful performances as his prodigal but gold-hearted son. The latter is leaner, surprisingly taller version of his self that we are familiar with and the transformation becomes complete with an imposing moustache and a majestic gait symptomatic of a sailor.

Amal Neerad is regarded as the torch-bearer of the new wave cinema but the narration of this epic style period drama – some of the scenes even leave one in doubt whether it is cinema or theatre – is wisely traditional. The typical innovations that are associated with New-Age filmmaking are limited to camera angles and loud music. Barring certain flourishes including the Amala Paul item number, the filmmaker makes no overt attempt at commercialising the grim and bloody saga of Iyob and his three sons, Dimitri, Ivan and Aloshi. The narrative is taken forward with the help of a voice over and this becomes tedious, especially in the beginning, and the tale picks up pace only after the return of Aloshi, who had run away from home after his brothers commit an evil act.

The director gets the best out of Lal and Fahad and Lena as Kazhali is unforgettable even though she has only a few frames and Chemban Vinod is outstanding in emoting his impotent rage but Jayasurya as the antagonist is a bit of a disappointment. He has done similar roles with aplomb earlier but as the smiling Rawther, neither is he all that menacing nor are his Tamil dialogues greatly convincing.

The director deserves appreciation for pulling off the period saga by attending to the sartorial and other minute aspects to paint a convincing pre-Independence backdrop. Much of the credit should also go to the script writer who blends emotions, politics, history and culture. Suspense and humour are in short supply but clearly it is a deliberate decision on the part of the makers leave the density intact.