Lovely (Malayalam, 3-D)
Lovely is a nice film. Is it a perfect film? Not quite. But is it the closest Malayalam cinema has come to making a ‘vacation film’ this summer? Yes. So is it kid-friendly? Ahem, when compared to most family movies, yes, but it still could have benefited from some more conscious child-proofing.
Written and directed by Dileesh Karunakaran, Lovely is set in the pretty hills of Thodupuzha. Malayalam cinema never seems to get enough of the place’s hills and streams, and I am not complaining. It is quite the perfect setting to be a fly on the wall.
Lovely’s protagonist is a 20-something Boney Baby (Mathew Thomas) who dreams of a future in Canada. Boney isn’t the only one nurturing dreams of a future abroad; his whole boy gang seems to have its eyes set on clearing IELTS and flying abroad. While the dream brews, Boney earns money by cutting the undergrowth in the neighbourhood rambutan orchards. At other times, you’ll find him chilling with his friends near a cool, clear stream somewhere in the mountains.
Things seem good. But here comes the twist: Boney becomes eligible for the job of a lower division clerk at the state electricity board — a job that is given to him on account of his father passing away while in service. When Boney accepts the job, he sets off the butterfly – or, in this specific case, the housefly – effect.
A few days into his new job, a bizarre turn of events lands Boney in jail. There, he forges an unusual friendship with a housefly, whom he names Lovely. She has literally been a fly on the jail walls all her life, until she meets Boney, who, for reasons unknown, can hear everything she says. With her relaying whatever she sees to Boney, he too becomes a fly on the wall like her — unnoticed, but all-seeing.
Though Sivaangi Krishnakumar’s cloyingly sweet voice for Lovely the fly resembles characters from interactive cartoons, she is an endearing storyteller. So much so that when another fly is zapped on screen, you would want to let out a gasp.
Director Aashiq Abu, who debuts as cinematographer with the film, ensures that the visuals are beautiful. The VFX and CGI seamlessly complement the plot, especially in the fantasy song sequence where Lovely the fly takes Boney flying. From the fairyland filled with cherry blossoms that Boney dreams of, to the tiniest of hairs on Lovely’s limbs, everything comes to life magically.
Lovely’s songs, penned by Sohail Koya, are in Manglish, and they work quite well. But not everything language-wise sits well in the film. The narrative unfolds in Thodupuzha, but the characters – especially Boney’s boy gang – speak the Malayalam of Kochi and its suburbs. Dialect correction seems to be something that quite many Malayalam films ignore, and in Lovely’s case, that brings down the genuineness of the characters. More effort in fine-tuning such aspects would have really helped.
At one point after the interval, I was racking my brain trying to place what film I had seen the Kochi dialect-speaking actor who plays Boney’s best friend in. And then it hit me, why, oh why, isn’t that the kid Mathew’s Franky played football with in Kumbalangi Nights? What hit me the next minute was bigger — Boney Baby is no accidental name, it is a nod to Boney and Babymol from Kumbalangi Nights.
Mathew gives a sound performance and succeeds to a large extent in convincing us that he was talking to a fly. But maybe the actor needs to work on depicting awe and wonder. The jail scenes have Vadakkot Simon (Baburaj) and gang do the “toilet march” in swag, and they pull it off hilariously well.
Sreejith Ravi plays a minor villain (Bombay Shibu). It makes one wonder how, no matter the protests, Malayalam cinema seems to care less about repeatedly casting male actors accused of sexual crimes, and in his case, involving children.
Aswathy Manoharan and Prasanth Murali handle their roles very well. But their scenes need a little more conscious child-proofing for a film that is a vacation release.
Where Lovely falters, though, is in connecting the dots. From the emphasis on the rambutan orchards to the reason behind Boney’s father’s demise, a lot is left vague. Manoj K Jayan’s character, for instance, has unnecessary quirks that are quite unfunny.
The film also seems to jump onto the ‘smoking is normal’ bandwagon, with the boy gang using cigarettes in scenes where there is enough going on already. Lovely doesn’t overdo it, but it fairly contributes to normalising the habit.
At the risk of being called a spoilsport, Lovely the fly’s screen age and the fact about the lifespan of houseflies do not align. But then again, this is no normal housefly. This is a singing, dancing, speaking, multi-lingual fly who deserves a chance at the movies, if you will.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film’s producers or any other members of its cast and crew.