Ntikkakkakkoru Premandaarnnu movie review: This Bhavana starrer is a light-hearted tale that assures it’s never too late to follow your heart

The film begins with a narration by the omnipresent Mariyam (Safiya Rafi), Jimmy’s (Sharaf U Dheen) little sister with whom he has a very close and special bond. She tags along with Jimmy anywhere he goes. They are both vintage car enthusiasts who dream of opening their own garage one day. Jimmy’s parents had Mariyam a very long time after Jimmy was born. He has a special spot for her in his heart and their relationship and interactions are very endearing. “After I left for Gulf, dad and mom were the only ones at home. I never knew they were so romantic,” Jimmy tells Fida, a young lawyer with whom Jimmy’s family wants to fix his marriage, while talking about his past and when Mariyam was born. It is indeed satisfying to watch movies that don’t shame sexually active elderly people who conceive a child after the ‘socially-accepted’ age. Somewhere between Pavithram (1994), which shows an elderly woman breaking down after realising she is pregnant, and Ntikkakkakkoru Premandaarnnu, we all grew up.

Jimmy was going with the flow when he bumps into Nithya (Bhavana) after several years. Their first interaction in real time itself is very awkward and their responses clearly show how many things were left unsaid the last time they met. We are soon shown a couple of flashback scenes starting from their childhood when they first met till their young adult days when they went separate ways and Jimmy was forced to move to the Gulf.

As the film progresses, the two slowly realise they still have feelings for each other, but their circumstances – Jimmy hails from a conventional Muslim family in which all the members fear the eldest brother (patriarch of the family), and Nithya, now mother to a young boy, is fighting to get a divorce from her toxic husband who is going around manipulating all those around her into believing that he is the victim – keep them apart. The movie then centres on their attempts to rekindle the relationship and the challenges they face.

The incredible chemistry between Sharaf U Dheen and Bhavana is the movie’s main draw. Their awkwardness, glances, smiles and the way they catch each other’s eyes are all so melting. It is utterly incomprehensible that this is the same Sharaf U Dheen who portrayed the notorious antagonist in Varathan (2018). He has to be explored more by the industry, without a doubt. On the other hand, Bhavana rarely gives the audience the impression that she was on a break. From the moment she appears on screen, Bhavana magically transcends us into a world of pure love by beautifully portraying Nithya.

Director Adhil Maimoonath Asharaf keeps his first movie lighthearted throughout by avoiding loud moments or forcibly inserted impediments. The movie never goes too far or tries to be something it is not. He tells a simple love tale in a wonderful way by concentrating on the little things in life. Even if other characters only have a small part to play in the movie, all the performers did their jobs well. The way cinematographer Arun Rushdie has captured the interactions between Jimmy and Nithya also deserves praise.

However, it needs to be mentioned that the film lacks striking scenes. Though the maker, through dialogues and narrations, does convey what’s required, it’s doubtful that viewers would have been able to enjoy the film thoroughly if it weren’t for the actors’ amazing performances. It’s disappointing that there are no standout songs, which one would expect from a romance movie, and that the background music is a teensy bit annoying. Although the movie begins as a story told by Mariyam, it gradually abandons the narrator and begins to follow the characters on its own, only sometimes returning to the storyteller. This, along with switching narrators and making them break the fourth wall for no evident reason, also affects the watching experience.

Despite all of these flaws, Adhil Maimoonath Asharaf creates a tidy feel-good movie that isn’t overly drawn out.

And yes, GLAD YOU’RE BACK BHAVANA, WE MISSED YOU!