Ritu – Seasons change, Do we?
Ritu (Malayalam) - A Shyamaprasad movie
“The only thing that never changes is change” and this perhaps is the theme of ShayamaPrasad’s Ritu (seasons), a film about the youth of today. Written by Joshua Newton, Ritu is a story about three friends. Their dreams, their journey, their bondage changes as the seasons pass by. One can easily associate this movie with their own lives as most of the youth today working for IT companies in tech cities undergo a similar phase in their lives. The reason why i want to talk about this movie is its screenplay. Very rarely we come across screenplays which give us an insight into the character’s depth. This is one of those movies which would’ve made a huge impact if it had been executed properly. The characters in this film are quite interesting. Joshua Newton has written this screenplay with good characters and plot points but i feel ShyamaPrasad, the director who had quite an outing with his last film Ore Kadal has failed marginally in the execution.
The plot is this - Sarat Varma returns from U.S to work with his childhood friends Varsha and Sunny. Sarat comes with the hope of cherishing their dreams which three of them had possessed from their budding days. But to his shock he realises that they have changed with the seasons and only he remains unchanged carrying all the lovely moments his friend gave him. Let us now go into the characters:
SARAT VARMA[caption id="attachment_835" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Sarath"]
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Sarat though comes back from U.S, is not really interested in the western culture and has strong roots in following his passion (writing). His father is a famous writer who translates Bengali novels to Malayalam .At first he wants him to study computer science but later realises his literary talents and encourages him to right more. Sarat loves Varsha but soon realises she is not the one whom she used to be. Hiding his feelings he gives us an enigmatic insight into his life torn between friendship, love and ambition. He is calm, composed, knows what he really wants in his life but waits. Waits patiently for something to go in hand with him. His father’s death and his brother’s love for him makes him to do what he loves the most – writing. Debutant Nishan K P Nanaiah does a decent job and stays in our mind.
VARSHA[caption id="attachment_842" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Varsha"]
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Varsha enjoys a lonely and happy life in Bangalore, flirting with numerous boyfriends and new relationships before she meets Sarat. She missed her father her whole life and when Sarat comes back she tries to start all over again as they had a close romantic bondage from childhood. She hides a lot from Sarat , her secret is revealed once she confesses to him but in vain. Reema Kallingal delivers a good performance as the girl caught between dreams and reality.
SUNNY[caption id="attachment_844" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Sunny"]
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Sunny a happy-go-lucky lad who shows homosexuality traits befriends Sarat inspite of the trust Sarat had in him. He also changes his nature as many of us tend to in friendship. Apart from this there are some characters whose characterization interests us such as the fat worker who gets thrashed all the time, the company head Balakrishnan, the workaholic nerd and Sarat’s brother.
This film is a breezy revelation of sorts. Sometimes we look into ourselves and ask, are we true to ourself ? Have we been true to our friends? Well if not, this film will make you do so. Films like this ought to come as it provides an ample space for new talents to emerge. The cinematography and music suits well with picturesque locations. Why do films like this don’t make it big? Is it our inability to appreciate new attempts or the conviction that trendy low budget movies don’t have in them the x factor? The factor that has been driving lots of Hindi films lately to great heights. While its counterparts such as Tamil cinema and Malayalam cinema lacks exposure to breezy, realistic and honest stories.
