JULY KAATRIL MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

Rajeev’s (Ananth Nag) search for love in his life keeps him unhappy. As he eventually finds Shreya (Anju Kurian) and falls in love with her, he starts to enjoy the relationship and love. When he understands that there is no spark in their relationship, it becomes too late as their engagement gets over.

He then meets Revathy (Samyukatha Menon) who is a strong, independent, passionate woman. Convinced that she is the love of his life, he cancels the engagement and gets into a relationship with her which becomes toxic over time and Rajeev, in turn, gets dumped. The journey of Rajeev, Shreya, and Revathy ahead is July Kaatril.

The first half gives a lot of scope and space for Ananth Nag and Anju Kurian, where the actors could have delivered a much better performance. Sathish, though has less role to do, scores in every scene he gets. Shreya’s friend in the movie is a good addition to the story and the cast. Scenes where Rajeev says Revathy is the love of his life fail to make an emotional connect with the audiences.

The second half throws more light into the life of Revathy. Revathy’s characterisation is nicely written and Samyuktha Menon proves she is the right choice for that role. Ananth Nag gives his best but could have portrayed the sadness and romance of Rajeev much better. Though Paloma Monappa comes at the later few parts and adds meaning to her presence and leaves a mark.

The director has made a film that is very progressive and not artificial. Be it the parents of Rajeev, Shreya, Revathy or the acceptance that every character has of each other’s past and the present is so fresh and neat to see. He has told what has never been told before but with very subtle decoration and that deserves praise.

The cinematography supports the film very much and adds so much color to the frames and story. The visualisation of the song ‘Kangalin Oramai’ was very beautifully done. The songs and background score could have been catchy to the genre. The dialogues are simple, nice and at certain places makes us respect the writer. Few scenes that had no scope to move the story forward did put our interest down and the editing at these places could have been better.

The main problem for the film is its length. The first half, in itself, seemed lengthy but if you think since the characters have been well established and hence the second half will be shorter, you will be wrong. The moving on chapter was so good and elevated the movie to a whole new level until a point but then is quickly let down when the director feels his need to find closure for Rajeev.

Such a youthful movie, with a nice message and a story close to reality, is dragged down to an extent because of some ‘not-up-to-the-mark’ performances and the less interesting screenplay. Whatever is said and done, there is a certain level of maturity in the writing and the concept that has never been seen before.