Gold review: All that glitters is not….

This Prithviraj-Nayanthara starrer is a one-time watch

prithviraj_nayanthara_gold_movie_review

“All imperfection is easier to tolerate if served up in small doses.”

Director Alphonse Puthren, in a Facebook post on the eve of the release of his film Gold, wrote that it is as “imperfect” as his earlier films Neram and Premam - both of which were hugely popular – and so, people are likely to love the latest flick, too.

Well played, Mr Puthren! The ball is firmly in our – the audience, that is - court now.

Puthren was right. Neram and Premam had their flaws. But the imperfections were, as Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska said, served in doses small enough to be tolerable. There was something gripping and endearing about both the films. And, the making, of course – the style was quite refreshing in Malayalam film industry then.

So, did Puthren get his dosage right with Gold, too?

True to its name, the film revolves around the yellow metal, which finds its way to Joshi’s (Prithviraj) hands. Does he get to keep it? If yes, what does he do with it? And, if not, what happens to all the gold? The story unfolds over four days and a bevy of characters – caricatures, in some cases – walk in and out of the film, most of who are connected in one way or the other, to the stash of gold.

There’s a bit of Neram in Gold, if one looks at how the sequence of events plays itself out. But the slickness of Neram is somewhat missing here. Puthren connects the incidents well, but there are far too many distractions, especially in the second half. One moment you might be drawn into the film, and the next, you may be throwing up your hands in despair as yet another caricature appears on the screen. To see what veterans like Lalu Alex and Sharat Saxena, and promising actors like Roshan Mathew and Soubin Shahir have been reduced to in the film, was disappointing.

Most of the supporting actors seem to have walked right out of Premam into Gold. It’s a reunion of sorts, albeit in blink-and-you-miss kind of roles.

The similarities with Premam don’t end there. Right from the credit scenes to the camera angle and shots, everything reminds us of the 2015 flick. Even the butterfly flutters in and out of the frames!

Even Rajesh Murugesan’s music – he composed for Puthren’s earlier films, too – has shades of Premam, especially when the scenes switch to “mass” mode.

Prithviraj is at his usual self (sometimes, exaggerated. It comes as a package, so, you cannot complain). However, the less said about Nayanthara’s character Sumangali, the better. And don’t get me started on the dubbing part. Sumangali has to be the biggest disappointment in Gold, especially when you have someone of Nayanthara’s stature portraying it.

But, set all such ‘overdoses’ aside, and you have a film that is tolerable.

Film: Gold

Language: Malayalam

Director: Alphonse Puthren

Cast: Prithviraj, Nayanthara, Baburaj, Mallika Sukumaran, Shammi Thilakan and others

Rating: 2.5/5

TAGS

📣 The Week is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TheWeekmagazine) and stay updated with the latest headlines

*Articles appearing as INFOCUS/THE WEEK FOCUS are marketing initiatives