Enkilum Chandrike Malayalam Movie Review & Rating: The rural setting, the arts clubs, the friendships and conflicts that arise there – these are all familiar plots of Malayalam cinema. Films like Malarwadi Arts Club and Kunhiramayanam, which told stories from similar backgrounds, have been taken up by Malayalees. Even before its release with its trailer and songs, the film ‘Enkilum Chandrike’ also tells the story of friendship.
Engil Chandrike tells the story of a fictional land called Koomanthonda and its five young men. Sumalatha is one of the main clubs in Koumantonda. Society Pavithran (Venjaramood), Abhishek (Saiju Kurup), Kiran (Basil Joseph) who is going to be a film director, Amal and Bibish (Abhiram Phuduwal) are the active activists of the society.
In the group, Pavithran and Abhishek are the ones who live with their own disappointment after reaching marriageable age. Meanwhile, the wedding of Bibish, the fifth in the group, is confirmed without informing any of his friends. ‘Why is Bibish conducting the marriage so secretly’ also raises doubts among his friends. The story is driven by the investigation of the friends behind it and some developments surrounding the Bibish-Chandrika marriage.
Suraj Venjaramood, Basil, Saiju Kurup and Ashwin have all done their best to make their part better. Only a few moments of humor delivered by these actors give the audience at least a little relief. Bhanumati Payyannur, an artiste, also brings laughter in the theater with her natural humor and expressions. The actress also broke down in her scenes with Suraj Venjaramud with ululakupperi responses. Niranjana, Tanvi Ram, C Narayanan, Rajesh Sharma and Maniyanpilla Raju are the other main characters in the film.
But none of the actors’ performances can save the flimsy story. The progression of the story is easy for the audience to guess. The strain and awkwardness of trying to stretch out a very small story line as much as possible can be seen throughout the film. Adityan Chandrasekhar is the director of the film. A group of actors who can handle comedy well are in the movie, but they are not involved in the story and making, which makes the movie boring at many places. The crew fails in moving the story forward without breaking the rasa cord. It is not surprising that some of the characters are exaggerated for comedy and the audience feels that this is a spoof film.
Talking about the other elements of the film, the songs composed by Ifthi must be mentioned. All the songs match the mood of the movie. Jithin Stanislaus’s camera captures the scenery of Kannur very visually. The film is produced by Vijay Babu.