Review for Varnyathil Aashanka

The title choice for Siddharth Bharathan’s directorial, ‘Varnyathil Aashanka’ (translating to ‘Confusion in Description’), is a masterstroke. Writer Thrissur Gopalji and the director skillfully handle the overlapping genres. ‘Varnyathil Aashanka’ doesn’t focus on a solo protagonist; instead, it features a range of well-written characters, each contributing to either the comedy or the thrills. Notably, there are no songs, except the one during the title credits, aligning with the realism trend embraced by Malayalam cinema.

Heist Scenes Unveiled: The Art of Simplicity in ‘Varnyathil Aashanka’

The film starts on a low-brow note, gradually building connections between lead characters and exploring the circumstances that drive them to make hasty decisions, primarily driven by financial concerns. The involvement of party politicians adds an additional layer to the plot. The writer adeptly links the four main characters (Kunchacko Boban, Chemban Vinod, Shine Tom, and Manikandan Achari) through a series of incidents that culminate in a jewelry store heist. The introduction of the fifth main character, played by Suraaj Venjaramoodu, adds a bright spark to the storyline.

Nostalgic Political References

The thugs employ techniques that aren’t exactly professional; it’s more about shrewdness and rising to the occasion that aids them in getting the job done. The writer (or was it the director’s improvisation?) skillfully picks on audience nostalgia by including political party names and references from the cult-classic ‘Sandhesham’. Gopalji bestows each of his leads with humorous/eccentric characteristics that make them discernible. For instance, Kautta Shivan (Boban), the brash thug-like pilferer with a grudge against his Communist brother, points to things spiraling out of control.

Chemban Vinod, known as Paara Wilson, favors crowbars. Manikandan, or Gilbert, clarifies that the bike taken by Shivan belonged to his father (though it was originally a priest’s, with both being referred to by the same Malayalam term) – narrated amusingly in a brief flashback. Shine Tom, portraying Pradheesh, grows tired of his alleged ‘girlfriend’s’ nagging and astutely recognizes a harthal (strike) as the ideal moment for a heist.

Yet, it is Suraaj (playing the character of Dayaanandan) who takes away the lion’s share of the honors owing to a thoroughly grounded (and layered) performance – his character seems naive at first (he makes his entry around the 45th minute mark), but there’s a sly side to him, which the viewer gets to know later on. The scene where he springs into a drunken dance on an empty road is sure to bring the house down. The heist scenes themselves aren’t the most thrilling; it’s the little things that keep us engrossed – how Shivan uses the weighing machine at the shop to split the stash, how Wilson asks the Lord for forgiveness for unintentionally switching off the wrong bulb, how Dayaanandan, in a sudden turn of events, assumes charge as the leader of the pack.