Sandarbham (1984)

As messy and dramatic as it was, I didn't really hate it. Or rather, I couldn't bring myself to hate it- Baby Shalini being the prime reason for this. She was way too adorable and precious in this, and I loved her acting and dancing a lot. Her bond with Mammukka warmed my heart up, especially when I remembered that they would later go on to do Kaliyoonjal (1997) together. Mammootty himself was as brilliant as always. I bought whatever he was selling, just because it was him, and more importantly, him in the 80s, when he literally could do no wrong in the looks department. I liked Saritha too, which was a pleasant surprise, since I don't think I have seen her anywhere else. Sukumaran as always was all guns blazing the life of the party, and you know what, I love him for it. Someone's gotta pop up and spice things up, and Suks takes up that responsibility with commendable ease and finesse. Seema though, was a bit of a disappointment. She was either over-acting, or being totally totally boring. Shame.

Story-wise, there really is not much to say. Wikipedia calls it a typical family tear-jerker drama, which it most definitely was. Everything could have been solved with a simple communication, had even one person used their brains. But well, I guess they had to make Seema's character relevant somehow. The politics of the movie were of course highly questionable. Nothing was boring or overly preachy though, for which I am lowkey thankful. I have seen too many boring movies recently to put up with yet another one. 

In conclusion, that ending was the worst. I probably would have liked the movie better if they had given a happy, wholesome ending. This ending wasn't even "realistic" or anything, it was just evil. When will Malayalam cinema give me my rights??

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