Meeku Maathrame Cheptha, directed by Shammeer Sultan, is a buddy comedy of errors starring director-turned-actor Tharun Bhascker and Abhinav Gomatam, the funny sidekick in Ee Nagaranaki Emaindi. The movie is mostly the tale of one night after a video featuring Rakesh (Tharun) with compromising content surfaces a day before his wedding.
As that video starts going viral on YouTube, Rakesh enlists the help of his closest buddy Kamu (Abhinav), and together the friends run helter-skelter trying to get the video off the internet, while staving off other issues that pop up every minute. The screenplay evolves around Rakesh who lies to his fiancée Stefi (Vani Bhojan) to make sure she doesn’t get to know what the crisis is until things snowball beyond control.
While Meeku Maathrame Cheptha is not a rib-tickling comedy that is outrageously hilarious, it does a decent job of making you laugh, relying heavily on banter and the comic timing of Tharun and Abhinav. Neither of them disappoints. It is funny to watch their conversations, their reactions and responses. Whether it is the uneasy way in which they lie, Kamu’s motor mouth or the climax where a seemingly innocuous, funny clip rages a fire in Rakesh’s life, the movie is just a case of a screenplay written well and executed with a fine understanding of what gets the audience to laugh.
The trademark Pellichoopulu and Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi comedy is there for all to see, small witty remarks and quips that constantly cheer you up. Amidst all this hullabaloo, the director also finds space to sneak in a couple of satirical scenes about inter-religion marriages and trust issues between couples. What’s missing though is that standout character that was seen in the two movies mentioned above, where Priyadarshan and Abhinav simply wreak havoc with their comic timing. The movie doesn’t do anything outlandish and is not phenomenally funny, just a bunch of funny scenes put together.
Tharun looks like he is going to have a meltdown any moment. He has natural screen presence and that doesn’t come as a huge surprise, and we are sure this won’t be the last of him on the silver screen. Abhinav does something very similar to what he does in ENE, but at times the reliance is more on his own delivery rather than quip and witty lines. Anasuya makes an interesting cameo.
The heroines mostly don’t do much more than being props. The writing is let down a little bit towards the second half of the movie, which manages to retain just about enough steam to not bore the audiences. While you won’t roll on the floor laughing, you will at least giggle for the large part and that’s because of the bits and piece characters popping in and out of the screenplay – whether it’s a guy obsessing over Stefi, calling himself a ‘warrior of love’ or the political leader’s secretary who gets involved in the mess too.
The editing by Sreejith Sarang and the cinematography by Mathan Gunadeva shouldn’t go un-applauded. Sreejith in particular brings in crisp cuts as the narrative goes back and forth, not to mention a mini-twist-of-sorts right at the end. For a small budget film, the production standard is high, and it is kudos to the screenplay that a watchable and at most times wacky movie could be pulled off with three actors, one change of costume, and three locations.
All in all, Meeku Maathrame Cheptha is not a buddy comedy that hits the ball out of the park with craziness and wit, but it does keep you interested and it is short. That’s not a bad outing at this budget!
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.