Kalyanam Review: A cliche, indeed

Rajesh Nair's Kalyanam comes with a tagline 'A cliche love story' and I couldn't agree more. For, the most part, Kalyanam, that marks the debut of Shravan Mukesh, is a banal affair. It is a  mish-mash of the many sequences from run-of-the-mill romance dramas over the years that you refuse to take it too seriously. But then, some brilliant moments from Mukesh and Sreenivasan light up this attempt.

Cast: Shravan Mukesh, Varsha Bollamma, Mukesh, Sreenivasan
Director:  Rajesh Nair

Sarath (Shravan) and Shary (Varsha) are childhood friends, who are also neighbours. As they grow, Sarath falls in love with Shary but cannot muster the courage to tell her that. Well, all this is set before the cell phone and Facebook era. So as to justify the plot, the director uses the right props to establish this, like a Maruti 800 on the porch, mosaic-floored house and a video cassette shop where Sarath hangs out with his friend. 

Now, back to the love part of this story,  we are told that Sarath is deep in love with Shary, but there are very few scenes that make us think so. We only get to know about her from Sarath's words and of the few scenes she appears, Shary looks very Barbie doll-esque. There is nothing realistic or relatable to this girl that you don't really ship the couple. And, that's because the shabbily-written script ensures that there is zilch chemistry between the duo.

Kalyanam's biggest flaw has to be how uninspiring it is. It devoutly sticks to every criterion of a love story - supportive friends, heartbroken hero and pre-wedding night hullaballoo- except may be, love itself.  How I wish to see an end to the pre-wedding night fiasco, a staple in every romantic drama.  

Kalyanam was clearly conceived as a light-hearted entertainer, but it doesn't really make an effort to come up with a decent joke. The plot is paper-thin,characters are lifeless and the narration is unambitious, that there is little in it to enjoy. That said, Kalyanam doesn't really annoy you either, because it is too lazy to even do that.  

Shravan Mukesh plays a simple guy in his debut movie. He, clearly, isn't burdened with too much task here. The actor manages to pull it off, though a lot has to be done in the acting department. Varsha ends up a pretty caricature in colourful clothes and that's it. Kalyanam isn't a great venture. But, it amounts to a one-time watch.