It takes considerable amount of time for Sufi and Sujatha, the two principal characters to reduce the widened gap of connection with the audience. And by the time it happens, it was a tad too late. Sufiyum Sujatayum written and directed by Naranipuzha Shanavas is a slow burner that lacks depth in the central characters and their plot development. Touted to be a romantic tale and trying to be poetic in each and every frame, the film tries desperately to achieve these objectives but ends up a little short of reaching there despite a promising premise of a religious conflict in the backdrop. In the end neither the pivotal characters nor their tale of romance gets the emotional feel a story like this should generate.
There is nothing fresh on the story side and anyone who got a chance to watch the trailer would be able to easily guess the plot and its trajectory. The story is set somewhere along the Kerala-Karnataka border. Sujatha, a mute Hindu girl loves dancing and is the sole dancer of the Mahal. She teaches Kathak dance to some of the children from her village and is very close to Usthad Aboob, the Imam of Jinn mosque. A new Sufi who is a disciple of the Usthad arrives one fine day. Sufi's charming personality along with his mastery in sufi dance impresses Sujatha. The two of them meets and gradually takes their romantic relationship forward.
It is this part of the story which is mostly underdeveloped. The film narrate events after a ten year gap when Sujatha along with a third person is visiting her native place. The film begin on a very promising note with a night shot as Sufi arrive at the mosque in the present. From the very outset especially during the phase where the romance was blossoming, the narrative was mostly focussing and giving more stress on the visuals and music rather than sound storytelling.
The screenplay should have spent more time on the track of Sufi and Sujatha. These portions should have been the backbone or strength of the whole story for the audience to feel for the titular characters and there should have been more moments that justify and establish their romance in a more feel-good and soulful manner. There seems to be a disconnect or the screenplay failing to communicate the outcome of some of the critical scenes in the film. This disjoint was felt at many places. The film tries to gets into business in the final thirty minutes or so but the effectiveness of the ending portions gets diluted in the process as a result of the shallow feel of the central theme.
Two people falling in love belonging to different religion (Hindu-Muslim) is not a novel concept and we have seen in numerous films how the conflict in the story is built around the people in love and also around their closest ones and the neighborhood of the lovers. Sufiyum Sujatayum also borrow this age-old concept. Now it is upto the writing to bring in that X-factor in the narrative through the screenplay making the viewers to root for the principal characters which does not happen.
Other than this love story of the title characters, the film doesn't go beyond that to show moments that can bring in some sort of excitement to the proceedings. There were chances to discuss some of the other elements in the storyline which were vaguely told though it tries to touch upon them in an incomplete manner. I am not going to elaborate what all are they here since it might reveal key aspects in the film.
But despite these, the film does have some touchy moments. The closing phase is definitely a bright spot but I expected some more feel-good and sweet moments to make the love affair more believable and attractive. This central love story is in my opinion the weak link of the film and the way in which it has been depicted dealt a blow to the overall development of the story. This also affected the believability of some of the most critical scenes involving the primary characters.
"You have taken away my soul from me". On more that multiple occasions, we hear these words in the lyrics out of a female voice with the frames capturing the pain of Sujatha. But nothing on the screen is happening to show us the real depth in the relationship of Sufi and Sujatha other than some musical and lyrical intervention. While we expect from a film of this genre to score high marks on its core theme of romance, where the film made the most impressive run as I said is in the final phase after the return of Sujatha. It is here that the presence of Rajeevan helping the narrative in building some amount of tension and bring in that much needed life to the proceedings.
The actor who impressed the most is Aditi Rao Hydari who had a challenging task to convey what she is saying in a mute character. Having occupying a lions share of screen space, it is she who drives the film mostly. Jayasurya also did well but his performance wasn't an impactful one primarily because of the limited space for Rajeevan, the character he portrayed. Dev Mohan was just about okay as Sufi while Siddhique played a father character which was very much in his comfort zone. And watch out for Manikandan Pattambi who did a memorable outing in a small character.
Anu Moothedath's camera work is highly impressive with the visuals creating some sort of magic. Music by M.Jayachandran especially the songs makes a lasting presence and helps to elevate the viewing experience on many occasions to cover the flaws in writing. The melodious "Vathukkal Vellaripravu" sung by Nithya Mammen is worth hearing repeatedly. Background score heavily relying on clarinet sound and chorus voice makes you immersed in the music. Editor Deepu Joseph also needs to be complimented for keeping it tight despite the slow nature of the narrative.
FINAL VERDICT : I am a little hesitant in giving a thumbs-up to Sufiyum Sujatayum. At the same time I am reluctant to give a thumbs-down as well. So the line falls somewhere in the middle. The film gets the pass mark as a watchable musical love story. But somewhere a feel of void is felt in the romantic portions that lacked the desired intensity. Screenplay is the weakest link that is devoid of any fresh developments until a brief period towards the end comes to its rescue providing some sort of tension and build-up that was badly needed.
Rating : 2/5
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