Varane Aavishyamund(2020)

Directed by Anoop Sathyan. Produced by Wayfarer. Starring Shobhana, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Suresh Gopi, Dulqar Salman, KPAC Lalitha, Urvashi et al.

This could be my 10th or 12th time watching this movie ever since it came out. I’ve watched it alone, with my family, with my friends, and once on a movie date with my grandmother. Apart from the fight scene, I don’t think I’ve fast-forwarded any scenes from it. Every time I’ve watched it, I’ve felt good. Every time I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly. After today’s watch, I thought why not dissect this movie further, and see why I never fail to get touched by the movie.

In the initial watches, It was the Kalyani-Shobhana combo’s charm and the fun added to it by all the other characters. But now on a deeper level, I feel it is the relatability that is causing me all the comfort. I have a very peculiar bond with my mom. Loving, connected, attached on the surface but aloof from the inside. When Nikita blasts out at her mom, that she was hardly a perfect mom for her, In Nikki I could see myself. We both had loving, caring, but absent mothers.

The best thing about the movie for me is the narration of stories within the film. Each character at one point narrates their story and it instantly touches. All of them being really well-written, well-expressed, and well-placed, helps us understand the characters deeply and feel for them. While Neena tells her Chaachan how she left her abusive husband in the church scene, we are connected to Neena. When Bipeesh P recalls his parents’ accident and how he found solace in his little brother, we understand him better and love him even more. While Major Unni Krishnan gives the speech on why one should travel back to their roots, we are connected to his past and regrets of not spending more time with his mother. That speech, like Kadha Parayumbol’s Ashok Raj’s speech, is one of the most touching ones in Malayalam cinema. The proof of beautifully written extends further to KPAC Lalitha’s narration of how she met the boys, Urvashi’s character breaking to Nikki how the marriage has to be called off, or the fun note of major’s therapy session where he explains how hard it is for him to speak to women.

In the urban setting of Chennai, an independent woman looking out for her groom based on matrimony matches only to find her love in a boy who moves the next door, the one-liner of this movie can come off as just scratching the surface of what the movie actually offers. It is about a beautiful mother-daughter duo both finding love and welcoming new people into their lives. After all, It’s never too late to find love.

Varane Aavishyamund is hardly perfect. There were many scenes written just the spurt the nostalgia out of it, and in some places, they have been overused. “Teachere kaanan, cinema nadiye pole und”, Oh lord thats Shobhana herself. But never the less, it’s a movie that captivates you with marvelous performances of the actors and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling.

By the by, Where do I get a mother-in-law like Dr Sherly?