Producer : Vachan Shetty
Director : Shyamaprasad
Cast : Nishan,Asif,Rima,Jaya Menon . etc.
Story,screenplay,dialogues : Joshua Newtonn
Review by : Unni / www.Kerala9.com
‘Rithu’ is a bag of mixes. A story of friendship, love etc set against the backdrop of the IT sector- that’s what the movie is basically about. There are references to some other things pertaining to modern life too. The story revolves around Sharath (Nishan), Sunny (Asif) and Varsha (Rima), who have been friends since their childhood. The three of them later become IT professionals, with Sharath even going to the US for a brief stint. After Sharath returns from the US, he gathers his two friends and the three of them join an IT firm headed by Zareena (Jaya Menon) and her husband Balagopalan (Prakash Menon). As for Sharath, he never wanted to be an IT guy. But it was his father who compelled Sharath to take to the IT sector. His creativity was thus set aside and Sharath became a good IT professional. He is chosen the team leader for a new project in Zareena’s company. Sharath had dreams of a different nature. He dreams of owning a house by the lakeside and using it for writing and dwelling with his friends. He had also loved Varsha, who too earlier wanted to be his life-partner but who is behaving rather queerly now. Sunny too seems to be staying aloof. Things seem to be much different for poor Sharath. And it’s from here that things take a new turn in the life of these three friends.
The story is of course good and all elements are well balanced. The climax is well worked out. But on the whole there are things that go wrong. For example, there are scenes in which the director and the scenarist seem to have gone a bit overboard in presenting things pertaining to the IT sector, at times exaggerating it a bit. There are scenes that could have been trimmed a bit and even polished to a great extent. There are dialogues that could have been made better. There are scenes that make you boo or yawn. There are scenes that you think have been deliberately put in, to make it seem intellectual stuff. Of course there are scenes that you could identify with and some that even touch you. In total, ‘Rithu’, as said earlier, is a bag of mixes and could have been better.
Performances
Most of the actors, who are mostly debutantes, have done justice to their roles. The lead players, Nishan, Rima and Asif are good, though Nishan could have been better, it seems at places. The supporting actors are OK.
Technical aspects
Shamdat has done a good job of the cinematography. The frames have all been composed excellently well and jell well with the mood of the film. The editing by Vinod Sukumaran and art-direction by Premachandran also are good.
Music
The background score is fine and enhances the mood very much. Of the songs, “Pularumo Raavu…” and “Kukukukoo theevandi…” are good.
Script
Debutant scenarist Joshua Newton has done a good work of the story, though on the screenplay side he misses a mark or two. He could have made a more realistic portrayal of things in the IT sector. He also seems to be bent on putting in some clichéd things to give the intellectual feel.
Direction
Shyamaprasad’s direction is good, but not as good as in his best films. He could definitely have made this film much better.
Overall verdict : Bag of mixes!