Skip to main content

Arike malayalam movie review: Bittersweet love story with brilliant portrayal by supporting artists!

Director Shyamaprasad’s ‘Arike’ starring Dileep, Mamta Mohandas and Samvrutha had got mixed reviews and ‘the movie is boring’ comments from many friends and acquaintances. When I sat down and watched it, the experience was slow, sweet and painful. It was an intoxication of sorts. [READ: Which is Jayaram's first movie?]

Arike malayalam movie: Simple story, Subtle Performances
‘Arike’s story is simple. It revolves around the perfect couple Shanthanu (starring Dileep) and Kalpana (starring Samvrutha Sunil) whose best friend is Anuradha (starring Mamta Mohandas). The characterisation is what makes the movie interesting despite its slow pace. From the start, we see that the happily in love couple relying solely on Anuradha to arrange their clandestine meetings.  Anuradha doesn’t believe in love but she desperately wants her best friend’s affair to culminate in marriage and prove her wrong.

Arike malayalam movie: Striking Characterization in Arike
Best friend Kalpana is from a rich Brahmin family and she is pampered by her parents whose world revolves around her every step, Anuradha has a totally different background. She belongs to a lower end middle class family. Unlike Kalpana whose clothes are fashionable and expensive, Anuradha wears clothes that are simple and plain. She does not have any expensive jewellery or accessories to pamper herself with. She wears no make up and looks strikingly plain throughout. Even as she does everything to make Shanthanu and Kalpana meet despite obstacles and opposition, she does not believe in love.
Once Anuradha says to Shanthanu, “I do not believe that true love exists.” 
He responds, “True love is always there. We make mistakes in finding true love in the right place, that’s all.”

The two lovers – Shanthanu and Kalpana – are madly in love with each other.
But you can sense that Kalpana is fickle and fleeting with the attention span of a butterfly. She embraces life, lives it for herself alone and sees nothing else as more important than her wants, her desires and she is almost child like in her self-absorbed behaviour.
Arike malayalam movie: Brilliant portrayal by supporting actors
The roles of Kalpana’s rich parents are fleshed out rather well by Innacent and Urmila Unni. The parents resonate with you because you would have come across parents like them umpteen number of times. They are obsessed with superstition about everything. Blind faith is another deep set malaise. At the same time, when you look at them, you know that all they want is their daughter’s happiness. They understand her nature better than anyone else and they are troubled by her fickleness because they know that love is a fleeting phase for her. To indulge it would be to allow her to ruin her life. They watch over her every movement with anxiety.
A scene that I particularly liked was where Innacent calls his daughter and narrates how on the day she was born, the doctor said it may be difficult to save both mother and child. He tells the doctor without hesitation to save the mother. But the mother, despite the fact that she is semi-conscious, insists that the child should be saved. He tells his daughter, “Don’t hurt your mother.”
All of us can connect to conversations like this in families. The way Director Shyama Prasad has woven it makes this worth watching.
Arike malayalam movie: My Verdict on the movie and Dileep's performance 

Most reviews have praised Dileep’s portrayal of this character. To be honest, I see Dileep’s portrayal as below average. He does not get into the skin of Shanthanu. He does not understand Shanthanu at all and does a shoddy, weakling’s job instead. The portrayal needed intensity in expression and performance. For the first time, I felt that the director cast the wrong person to portray the character called Shantanu. To my mind, the perfect choices are Manoj K Jayan, Indrajith or Biju Menon.
Do Shanthanu and Kalpana marry? Does Anuradha begin to believe in love through them? I don’t want to tell the whole story. To find out, you’ve got to watch this film.

Comments

Unknown said…
Very interesting. I think Anuradha will end up getting married to Shanthanu - but as you said, will go watch it :D !
Locomente said…
A complicated compilation I suppose...
And I have fallen in love with the song... Iravil viriyum poo pole
jk said…
NGDCs .. In Mahabharath Shanthanu gets married to Ganges and then gives way to Satyavathy .. A probable correlation comes into mind ..
I like every single movie of SP's. The earlier Akale is seen as a prequel to this one, I think. His films touch the deepest core of human relationships. I always like the feel in his movies.

Joy always,
Susan
Hope you watched the movie and enjoyed it, would love to know your thoughts on it!
Yes, that's a lovely song. I liked it too.
That's an interesting parallel you've drawn there from mythology - hadn't crossed my mind before.
Hi Susan, I agree with you. I too look forward to every single movie directed by ShyamaPrasad. There's a rare depth to his films in totality that cannot easily be matched. Be it characterization, storyline, presentation, music, everything has a rare quality to it that makes his movies outstanding whether it does well at the box office or not. Shyamaprasad's films leave no scope for mediocrity and I love that about his films too!

Most Popular Posts

Saaradhi Malayalam movie review: A watchable film starring Sunny Wayne; but no action, no drama

Saaradhi Malayalam movie review: Watching 'Saaradhi', a Sunny Wayne starrer, got me thinking about life and death. The story revolves around an ambulance driver rushing with a dead body at the back of his vehicle and then getting trapped in an unexpected situation beyond his control. Gradually, the ambulance driver finds himself becoming 'attached' to the dead body. Now, that is the peg of the film which somehow gets lost in the movie altogether! While this film has no comedy scenes, memorable songs, it still kept me alert.                                                   [Source: YouTube] So, my son and I started watching the film and yes, there were several stretches in 'Saaradhi' that were boring.  Firstly, Sunny Wayne was simply not getting into the skin of the protagonist. His timing was definitely off.  Saaradhi Malayalam Movie Review: Timing a key problem In Malayalam movies, timing is everything, and it is what adds punch to every dialog

The Ugly Truth about Caste in Kerala

Many years ago, when I wrote this post on Kerala's caste system, I had not considered that people would start sending in abusive comments about one caste over the other. It baffles me that this is how Indians, all of us, continue to judge each other on account of caste differences.  [ READ: Guru Kripa: Powerful Lessons at the Lotus Feet ] My question is - why do you ABUSE any caste or community? I suggest that you read about the lives of great Masters and their stories - none of them judged anyone on the basis of caste.  You can read the life stories of Sri Adi Shankara Bhagawadpada, Tulsidas, Jnaneshwar, Namadev, Sri Aurobindo, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Paramahansa Yogananda, Shirdi Sai Baba, and many more Gurus in Sanathana Dharma. NONE of them endorse these caste hierarchies in Bhakti Marga. Assuming that Guru Sampradaya does not appeal to your sensibilities, do read this  new book 'Ants among Elephants' written by Sujatha Gidla, who writes about herself as being born

How do you light Deepam at home?

How do you light deepam at home? As a child, I loved watching the ritual of my grandmother lighting the deepam or the traditional lamp at home in the evenings. A sense of serenity accompanied her frail figure as she would carefully straighten every wick, dip it into the tiny puddle of oil and light the lamp. As my grandmother would read out the scriptures and chant the prayers, the fragrance of incense sticks and flowers added depth to the experience. In many Hindu homes nowadays, the lighting of the lamp (or the nilavilakku, as Malayalis refer to the traditional lamp in their homes) is not a regular practice. A lot of people have many questions around how to light deepam at home and which oil to use and so on. An important point to keep in mind - Maintain physical cleanliness and hygiene while lighting the lamp. Wear clean clothes while lighting the lamp. Frequently Asked Questions About Lighting Deepam at Home Collating most queries related to how to light the deepam at home, I'v

What is the story of Shivaji? The great son of a great mother called Jijabai

Chhatrapati Shivaji, the great Maratha warrior whose guerrilla warfare tactics are fleetingly mentioned in Indian history textbooks, is increasingly relevant today. A Hindi movie 'Tanhaji' starring Ajay Devgn and Kajol got many of us curious to know more about this warrior. Sadly, we don't seem to have much information in our history textbooks!   [ READ: Significance of Surya Argya  and How do you Light Deepam? ] Source: Anjali Natarajan on Twitter  Shivaji Maharaj: The Great Son of a Great Mother Jijabai The more I read about Shivaji Maharaj,   the more fascinated I am.   I wondered why we have learned so little about this great warrior and his great mother Jijabai, and why public memory has been totally erased from most history books! As a mother, I have always been fascinated by how some of India's greatest and most revered men and women are individuals who were deeply influenced at an early age by their mothers. Bharat is a country that belongs to great mothers who

Kondal Malayalam Movie Review: Antony Varghese's Action Thriller Falls Flat

Kondal Malayalam Movie Review: As a Malayali movie goer, I didn't enjoy Angamaly Diaries. Still, through this film, Antony Varghese made a definite impression as an actor to watch out for. While he isn't your typical hero, there is a raw energy and authenticity to how he portrays a protagonist that makes him a powerful artist. However, the raw energy fails to hit the right mark as he needs more 'direction' in terms of channelising it. Kondal Movie Review: How Women Protagonists are Shown The depiction of women protagonists in the fisherfolk community remains a huge disappointment. In Chemmeen, Malayalis loved Sheela's brilliant portrayal of a fisherwoman's moral and ethical dilemmas. The characterisation was deeply layered and complex, brought to life by a highly talented artist, Sheela. Such depth is absent in this film's female protagonists. Kondal Movie Story Throughout Kondal movie, Antony Varghese's raw energy and rage stand out as the striking sh