AANA ALARALODALARAL MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

The movie Aana Alaralodalaral gained unanticipated reach after it was announced, largely due to the uniqueness in its name. The movie, set in an imaginary village called Vykundapuram, has Vineeth Sreenivasan and Anu Sithara playing the lead roles. Directed by debutante Dileep Menon, the movie tells the story of Shankarankutty, the elephant. Played by the mighty Tusker Nandilath Arjunan, Shankarankutty is an elephant owned by Thambi, a rich zamindar of the Vykundapuram village.

Thambi's daughter Parvathy and her friend Hashim, are very close to Shankarankutty. To take revenge on Hashim's father, Velayudhan (Suraj Venjarammood) accuses the young Hashim of stealing the elephant's golden locket. Demoralized and disheartened by the subsequent humiliation, Hashim's family relocates to a place far away from Vykundapuram. Hashim's return as a rich businessman (Vineeth Sreenivasan) and the resultant mayhem is the nucleus of Aana.

To be explicitly straightforward, the movie has many shortcomings, but if you are an elephant lover, the magnificent Nandilath Arjunan will keep you glued to your seats. The director and writer, have tried to recreate the soulful nativity that was present in the movies of the 90's, but seem to have lost focus half way. Stretched-out comedy sequences, half-baked script, unsuitable casting and weak performances, combined with the poor direction, results in a movie that does not justify the title, which means 'The elephant is screaming out loud'. Unfortunately, the elephant remains silent.

Actor Dileep's voice as the elephant's voice is a surprise, but does not look natural, coming from the mountainous animal. Vineeth Sreenivasan has a history of pulling off his roles decently by performing in his own unique way and Anu Sithara is the emerging face of Malayalam cinema, who has already proved many times that she is capable of lifting any role to perfection. They both have very little to do in the movie and have done a decent job despite stumbling occasionally. Thezni Khan, who has from time to time, proven that she is a quality actress, fails miserably at playing Hashim's strong and stubborn grandmother. Even though Anandam fame actor Vishak Nair looks exactly like a mahout, he too seems to be perplexed about what he is supposed to do. Suraj Venjarammood is the biggest positive about the film, jumping above every hurdle, carrying the burden of the cliched crooked villain over his shoulders, with his polished performance. Vijaraghavan is simple and sweet, but Innocent's character appears to be unwanted.

The cinematography is decent and portrays the elegance of the elephant beautifully, but the music does not have much impact on the movie. With a well-written and novel story, logical screenplay, more polished direction and better cast, Aana Alaralodalaral could have been a much better film.