Minnaminnikkoottam

Cast: Naren, Meera Jasmine, Jayasurya, Roma, Indrajith, Samvritha Sunil, Radhika, Manikuttan, Sai Kumar, Anoop Chandran
Language: Malayalam
Banner: Nahar Films
Director: Kamal
Producer: Rakhi Ram
Camera: Manoj Pillai
Story: Kamal
Screenplay: Kamal
Dialogue: Kamal
Lyrics: Anil Panachooran
Music: Bijibal
Year: 2008

Minnaminnikkoottam Director Kamal has earlier shown the uncanny knack to handle sensitive themes that concerns young minds, which was evident in a few of his films like Niram and Nammal. His latest Minnaminnikkoottam is also an attempt on those lines, but sadly the film fails to strike a chord and a plot that goes haywire.

Welcome to the world of eight young techies who work in picture perfect offices and live in trendy apartments. The story is mainly focused on the love affair between Charulatha (Meera Jasmine) and Abhilash (Narain), who work in the same IT Company. It's amazing that their on-off relationship seems to be the only major concern in the lives of their friends as well.

The married couple in the group, Sidharthan (Indrajith) and Mumtaz (Samvritha Sunil) almost always play hosts to their get-togethers. The third pair of lovebirds in the group, Mani Kunju (Jayasurya) and Rose Mary (Roma), prefers to fight even when they share a special fascination for each other. Tamilian Parthasarathy (Anoop Chandran) and Kalyani (Radhika) complete the eight member gang.

No IT company will ever employ these couples as they never work. Surprisingly none of them seems to be even remotely thinking about their jobs at any point of time and have all the time in world at their disposal!

The main problem of this film which drags big time is the absence of a strong storyline. The script is a kind of a mangled mess with trifle issues getting more space while some of those interesting events are being told in a hasty manner. The unending squabbles between the lead pair drive you crazy. Finally by the time there is a genuine issue that makes them move apart, the audiences lose interest in the proceedings.

Meera Jasmine and Narain share zero chemistry on-screen. Meera is often predictable with her repetitive diction and mannerisms, while Narain raises questions about his acting credentials, especially in the drunken scene. The saving grace of the film indeed is its supporting cast like Jayasurya and Roma who are lively and steal the thunder while Indrajith and Samvritha look thoroughly convincing in their respective roles. Sai Kumar, who has played Meera's father, has come out with a matured performance as well.

A sizeable amount of time is lost as we endure up to the ridiculous tiffs before the story gets some movement. It is quite annoying that the supporting cast get sidelined as events that evoke little interest in the minds of the viewers start unleashing one after the other. By the time that the film reaches its climax, you feel like being caged to your seat for ages.

Among the best things about that film include Manoj Pillai's cinematography that shines but music director Bijibal does not quite live up to the promise that he showed in his initial films like Arabikkatha. Music, one of the highlights in a Kamal film is a total let down here.

Though the film is based on the lives of a group of techies, there are nothing that connects them to their profession in the film, except for the plush offices, restaurant, laptop and their identity cards. That remains true for the whole film as well, in which things are being told only from a superficial level.

With a hackneyed script which is highly predictable and painstakingly unimaginative, Minnaminnikkoottam shows glimpses of promise, but that is not enough to sustain your attention.

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