The problem with Sidharth Bharathan’s Malayalam film Djinn is not that it is chaotic and after a point, shoots off in all different directions, leaving your head spinning a little too long. But like good old Shakespeare once said, there has to be a method in the madness. Chaos works when there is a sweet order to it – something that holds you to the story. Djinn loses that grip from the word go. Even if you tell yourself ‘Let’s not be hasty, let the full deal unroll’, it is only going to be a test of your patience. Sidharth Bharathan has brought together a wonderful cast and an interesting idea, which somehow did not translate all that well onto the screen.
Djinn, or jinn, in Islamic and Arabic mythology, refers to a spirit that can be good or bad and is able to possess humans. In the film, Lalappan (played by Soubin Shahir) is a man with mental health struggles, who, like the mythical djinn, seems to draw on characters in the village and starts behaving like them for a short while. Soubin adds originality to Lalappan’s mixed-up mind with his sudden change in mannerisms, expressions, and tone, the moment he shows symptoms of his illness – dissociative disorder. The film starts with a bit of mayhem as Lalappan’s wedding, happening in a temple, goes horribly wrong when he gets the idea that the bride in front of him is the goddess from the sanctum.
It is not the kind of mayhem that makes you laugh, even as it is obviously written for humour. Further portrayals of Lalappan’s antics, also meant for humour, elicit no laughter. Even the appearance of Sharaf U Dheen’s character on Lalappan’s side, another gimmick for fun, has no effect.
Watch: Trailer of the film
Rajesh Gopinadhan’s script then takes an unexpected tangent, leaving the village life abruptly and taking you to the depths of the urban and unruly life of a rich and violent smuggler. The backstories that come later, connecting the dots of this sudden jump, give glimpses of a smart director, but it is hardly enough. In the second half of the film, you get performances of more skilled actors: Sabumon Abdusamad, Shine Tom Chacko, Santhy Balachandran, and Leona Lishoy. Each of them, especially Santhy, performs their parts sincerely well. Only, the script is still jumpy, as if on a bumpy ride it can’t get off. It touches on mental health issues and domestic violence but does neither topic any good.
Only the songs of Prashant Pillai come as a whiff of air you could breathe in while trying to piece together the puzzle that the script keeps expanding into. There are a few moments when something in the script reaches out to you – the hug of two brothers, the late KPAC Lalitha (Sidharth’s mother) in a wheelchair, Lalappan’s mother (Bhanumathi Payyannur) running everywhere for her son. But otherwise, Djinn is, at best, a film you can sit through, but not one that leaves any mark.
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.