The script penned by Christo is the soul of the film, which is elevated by performances, narrative, and music.
A still from Christo Tomy's directorial 'Ullozhukku'. (X)
The Malayalam film industry has witnessed many intense films like Thaniyavarthanam (1987) and Bharatham (1991), both directed by Sibi Malayil. Christo Tomy’s Ullozhukku (The Undercurrent) is the new addition to the club.
The venture marks the debut feature film of Christo Tomy, who became popular with his Netflix documentary Curry & Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case. He has earlier made short films and music videos, which showcased his expertise in building intense plots.
Ullozhukku majorly revolves around three characters—Leelamma (Urvashi), her son Thomas Kutty (Prasant Murali), and daughter-in-law Anju (Parvathy Thiruvothu).
Leelamma is constantly worried for Thomas Kutty, who suffers from a life-threatening disease. Anju dutifully takes good care of him.
Director Christo Tomy with Urvashi and Parvathy on the set of ‘Ullozhukku’. (Supplied)
Meanwhile, Anju gets pregnant and Leelamma celebrates the occasion.
However, Thomas succumbs to his disease during floods and the family members wait for the flood water to recede so they can perform the funeral.
Thomas’s demise and Anju’s pregnancy open up Pandora’s box of family secrets that change the lives of everyone.
The director, who is also the writer, reveals the secrets at regular intervals to give audiences a nail-biting experience throughout the film while keeping them engrossed with the consequences.
Both Leelamma and Anju are good people but have grey shades. The grey shades become evident when they try to hide their truths.
Leelamma is a typical yet strong woman, who does anything for her family. Though she shares a cordial relationship with Anju since the beginning, it gets strained after a point. What follows next adds to their emotional turmoil that’s been captured brilliantly by the director.
Leelamma believes Anju is a caring wife since she looks after her terminally ill husband. But, in reality, Anju isn’t happy with her marriage and dreams of a better life.
Her married life is a glaring example of how the hasty/bad decisions of parents ruin a young woman’s future and shatter her dreams and aspirations.
In all, the film is about two women who made wrong choices in their lives.
The script, penned by Christo Tomy, is the soul of Ullozhukku. No wonder it was the winner at the first edition of Cinestaan India’s Storyteller Contest in 2018 (the director reworked the original script while adapting it for the film, which he revealed in an interview with South First).
All the characters, including Leelamma, Anju, Thomas (Anju’s father), and Jiji (Anju’s mother), are quite relatable. They are indeed a reflection of the common people, who blindly and obediently lead their lives as per society’s norms and religious beliefs instead of living on their own terms and for their happiness.
For instance, Leelamma does everything to keep her family happy and content.
Thomas doesn’t compromise on his beliefs.
Anju, on the other hand, is unhappy, vexed, and burnt out. However, she never vents her emotions. But the scene where she bursts out on learning that she was cheated on in her marriage leaves the audience deeply unsettled and vouch for her.
Christo Tomy intricately weaves all these characters into the story while giving them equal importance.
The intense drama is elevated by the background score composed by Sushin Shyam. Unlike his previous works, Sushin comes up with an intriguing BGM and different tunes that elevate every scene in the film.
The flooded Alappuzha and the inundated houses, caught by cinematographer Shehnad Jalal, will haunt the viewers.
Urvashi and Parvathy Thiruvothu in ‘Ullazhukku’. (X)
The movie has powerful performances by Urvashi and Parvathy Thiruvothu. The unique combo leaves a mark on us.
Urvashi hasn’t done intense roles since her comeback in films; the Tamil movie J Baby (2024) is an exception though.
Ullozhukku will surely be one of her career’s best performances. You simply can’t keep your eyes off of her whenever she appears on the screen.
Parvathy Thiruvothu is another show-stealer. She effortlessly gets under the skin of Anju and portrays her happiness, pain, sorrow, grief, and other emotions to the T.
The young actor gives a tough fight to Urvashi. They both display excellent onscreen chemistry as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, especially in the climax scenes. Anju will remain Parvathy’s most cherished character.
Alencier, as Thomas, is apt.
Arjun Radhakrishnan, as Rajeev—Anju’s love interest, plays his part well.
Ullozhukku is a masterpiece from director Christo Tomy. Watch it for the strong women characters played to the hilt by Urvashi and Parvathy Thiruvothu.
(Views expressed here are personal.)
(Edited by Y Krishna Jyothi)
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