Briefly Reviewed – MC Jithin’s ‘Sookshmadarshini’

“You have an obsessive mind, a mind that tends to latch on to something and won’t quit thinking about it. And this time, you’ve begun to obsess about this elderly lady next door.” This is more or less what Nazriya’s husband tells her, but if she listened to him, there would be no story. So off she goes, spying and clue-hunting and driving around in the hope of solving the mystery behind Basil Joseph and his mother, who have just moved into a house in the neighbourhood. She thinks something is off about them. Whether she’s right or not is the rest of the story. The most delightful aspect of Sookshmadarshini, vibrantly directed by MC Jithin, is its exuberant flavour. It mixes the “spying on neighbours” angle from Hitchcock’s Rear Window with the playfulness of an Enid Blyton adventure where a bunch of nosy and fearless children take it upon themselves to solve mysteries.

The writers are Libin TB and Athul Ramachandran. Usually, given that this is Malayalam cinema, I’d be raving about their work – but if anything, the writing is the least compelling aspect of the movie. It’s competent, clean (though the final reveal could have been better) – but what really makes this movie is the pop-exaggeration that the director fills the frames with, aided by his cinematographer and music director. There are many dangerous situations, but only in theory. This is the rare “suspense thriller” that’s also a lot of fun. If you take the story too seriously, you may find some parts off-putting or even insensitive. But that’s where the treatment helps. Sookshmadarshini is like junk food that’s been infused with spinach and broccoli. It’s popcorn entertainment with a brain, and with two lead performers perfectly in sync with the material. A very satisfying big-screen watch, and it’s sure to lose some of its visual energy on OTT!