Enkilum Chandrike review: A feel-good entertainer worth watching with the family

Rural films have always had an audience in the Malayalam industry, and many have tasted success with subjects related to villages.

Movies directed by Satyan Anthikad, Anil Babu, Rajasenan, and many other directors of yore, especially in the 1990s, had a knack for depicting village life. A new entrant to this category is Enkilum Chandrike.

The 2008 release Malabar Wedding dealt with a similar plot, but mainly concentrated on activities during the bachelor’s party. How is Enkilum Chandrike different from other movies made in rural settings?

Cliched format

While the movie isn’t an exemplary one, it has some fine moments of laughter for the audience with its situational comedy.

The movie has a decent script, which has elements of comedy, a twist in the tale, good songs, and so on, that are needed for a feel-good comedy entertainer.

The director of the movie, Adithyan Chandrashekar, had earlier done a web series for the popular YouTube channel Karikku.

He also acted in a movie produced by Vijay Babu under Friday Film House.

Love, marriage, and elopement are the cliched elements in any movie. But the director’s brilliance is in turning old wine tastier in a new bottle.

For that purpose, the director has a bunch of actors: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Basil Joseph, Saiju Kurup, and Abhiram Radhakrishnan.

Adithyan chose a story that can be easily communicated through these maverick actors.

Pavithran (Suraj), Abhi (Saiju Kurup), and Kiran Babu (Basil Joseph) are friends who belong to the Sumalatha Arts Club.

They are working on the same mission, but they work in two teams and aren’t aware of their mission till the film reaches the end.

The comic situations written by the director and co-writer Arjun Narayanan worked in the theatres. It also had references to some of the earlier Malayalam films, which came out well.

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Decent performances

Suraj Venjaramoodu gets a break from his serious roles after some time. The national award-winner did have some lighter moments in Mukundan Unni Associates and Ennalum Ente Aliya.

He is good as the innocent Pavithran, who is sad for not having had a good education.

Saiju Kurup, Basil Joseph, and the other actors also performed well.

The discovery of the movie is Abhiram Radhakrishnan, who was earlier seen in serious roles.

It’s a new phenomenon in Malayalam cinema where more rural stories are being told after a trend of urban stories. They include recent flicks like Vedikettu and Malayankunju.

Slow pace, irrelevant female actors

The movie, set in the Kannur district of Kerala, has used the local language to good effect.

Even though the runtime is a little over two hours, it does lack the much-needed pace in the script but ends up as an overall entertainer.

Enkilum Chandrike has some female actors, but the title character of Chandrika donned by Niranjana Anoop has a smaller role.

Tanvi Ram, too, has very little to offer as the script heavily rests on the male actors.

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Verdict

Enkilum Chandrike is a good watch with a fairytale kind of story that comes under the category of a feel-good entertainer.