Maniyarayile Ashokan Movie Review: The one movie that often pops up in your mind when you watch Shamzu Zayba's directorial debut, Maniyarayile Ashokan, is the classic Vadakkunokkiyanthram. The Sreenivasan film dealt with a man who suffers from a severe inferiority complex that nearly wrecks his marriage. In Maniyarayile Ashokan, the complex takes a whole new twist, even before its protagonist, the titular Ashokan reaches his marital bed. Maniyarayile Ashokan Movie Review: Jacob Gregory’s Onam Special Release, Produced By Dulquer Salmaan, Opens To Mixed Reviews From Critics.

Maniyarayile Ashokan marks the solo lead debut of Jacob Gregory, who had earlier proved to be a scene-stealer in the cult comic series Akkarakazhchakal and supporting roles in films like ABCD, 1983, Mandharam etc. He is also the producer of this film, along with his ABCD co-(super)star Dulquer Salmaan.

Maniyarayile Ashokan has Gregory play the titular protagonist, who believes his dark complexion and height are creating problems in getting him a bride. His parents (Vijayaraghavan and Sreelakshmi), and his friends, Ratheesh (Krishna Shankar) and Shaiju (Shine Tom Chacko) are supportive, but that doesn't do enough to buoy his spirits. Especially when people have begun to poke fun at his bachelor status and he overhears a prospective bride rejecting him over his looks.

Until he finds out that there is a girl deeply in love with him. Things look bright and beautiful for Ashokan, as he falls for Shyama (Anupama Parameswaran), and even their families agree for the marriage, and get their horoscopes matched. That's where the real trouble comes for Ashokan and his doomed love life.

Watch the Trailer of Maniyarayile Ashokan here:

If Thalathil Dineshan, the protagonist of Vadakkunokkiyanthram, needed a backstory, the first half of Maniyarayile Ashokan could comes close to that. The portions build up the insecurities of the protagonist in a fairly engaging manner and the characters feel interesting. The lush greenery of Vellaramkunnu adds to the visual appeal of the film. From Ashokan's family to his office colleagues to his friends (and their stories), Maniyarayile Ashokan does have something interesting to offer in people around the lead, who, unfortunately comes as the least interesting bit in these scenes.

Maniyarayile Ashokan also has the time to mention the story of Unnimaya (Anu Sithara), a village beauty who eloped with a postman years ago, leading to a parallel subplot as to why most of the men in the village are left with the hiccups. Unnimaya even has a song for herself, but her inclusion adds little relevance to the plot apart from the occasional hiccups...sorry, I mean, chuckles.

Meanwhile, back in Ashokan's story, the cute romance between him and Shyama, enhanced by the beautiful "Peyyum Nilaavu" song, is marred by one crucial factor. The actors share no discernible chemistry, made even awkward by the fact that Anupama looks way too young to be paired with Gregory.

It matters little to the film, for Shyama is not 'the' female lead of the film, it is someone else. Or rather, something else. Without getting into spoilers, Maniyarayile Ashokan takes its time to arrive at what is its USP, but it is definitely an unexpected twist. At least I had no idea of such a plot development beforehand, so I was pleasantly taken back by the turn of events. Unfortunately, here's where things do downhill for both Ashokan and the movie too.

Instead of taking a quirky route that would have worked well with the film, Shamzu, instead, chose to make the movie even more melodramatic. Remember what a great job Sreenivasan did with the descent of Dineshan's tragic descent to insanity in Vadakkunokkiyanthram without making it look contrite?

The mental breakdown of Ashokan should have made for a gripping narrative. Instead, the post-interval portions of Maniyarayile Ashokan becomes an over-stretched saga, with plenty of songs and slo-mo sequences added to tax the viewer's patience. The weak writing is most noticeable in these portions.

We also have a cameo of Dulquer Salmaan coming at a crucial point, but even DQ fans would find it difficult to justify if the cameo improves the film one bit. Unless you think seeing him in a Navy officer uniform is worth all the trouble. Dulquer Salmaan Is 'Rockin Some Curls' In His New Instagram Pictures and We're All For This Cool Look!

By the time we get to the finale and see another surprise cameo, we rue the fact that Maniyarayile Ashokan fails to do good to what had been an unusual storyline in its attempt to garner sympathy for his protagonist.

Speaking of the performances, Jacob Gregory, who often shines in his supporting parts, looks the part of Ashokan. But his performance comes across as very one-note. The supporting cast fare better, be it Vijayaraghavan, Sudheesh, Sreelakshmi, Shine Tom Chacko, Sunny Wayne or Krishna Shankar.

Yay!

- Beautiful Locales

- Supporting Cast

- Unusual Premise

Nay!

- Gregory's One-Note Performance

- The Writing

- The Over-Stretched Sequences

Final Thoughts

As a producer, Dulquer Salmaan hit a sixer with his first offering, Varane Avashyamundu. Maniyarayile Ashokan, his sophomore production, struggles to keep the pacing right and does little justice to its quirky premise. Maniyarayile Ashokan is streaming on Netflix.

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 02, 2020 02:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).