Madhura Naranga now playing in UAE

Top Stories

Madhura Naranga now playing in UAE

The film might strike a chord further with UAE residents for the simple reason that it is partly set and shot in the UAE with the lead actors playing the role of taxi drivers.

By Deepa Gauri

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Thu 20 Aug 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Thu 20 Aug 2015, 10:50 AM

Director Sugeeth had made history of sorts with his debut vehicle, Ordinary, that scaled extraordinary heights at the box-office, driven principally by the amazing lead-pair camaraderie of Kunchacko Boban and Biju Menon. For Boban, the film was a turning point in an otherwise flagging career while it further underlined Biju's brilliant comic timing.
Since then the two actors have together for several films including the second film of Sugeeth titled 3 Dots, which, however, failed to enthuse viewers. Boban-Menon continued their dream run with hits such as Romans, until they decided to take a break, arguably not to bore the audiences or tire them with lack of novelty.
Kunchacko Boban went on to do solo and multiple hero roles, trying consciously to experiment with roles, while Biju Menon had his career's biggest triumphs as a solo hero in Vellimoonga. Therefore, when Madhura Naranga comes to the silver screen, there is reason enough to cheer.
Both the actors have evolved tremendously since Ordinary and Biju Menon, for one, has simply gotten better by the day in his deadpan comedy.
LOCAL FLAVOUR
The film might strike a chord further with UAE residents for the simple reason that it is partly set and shot in the UAE with the lead actors playing the role of taxi drivers. They share a room, and are involved in pranks and silly troubles, one after the other, in scenes tailored to make you smile.
After all, the life of so-called 'bachelors' is always fertile ground for jokes, and Biju, Kunchacko and Neeraj Madhav, the incredibly talented young actor, make for a hilarious trio. The film is not all laughs and merriment though. It takes a turn - as formulaic commercial films must do - with the arrival of a girl.
For the uninitiated, the role marks the debut of Parvathy, the daughter of late actor Ratheesh. She plays a Sri Lankan girl and her arrival signals the start of a romance with Kunchacko Boban, who plays the role of Jeevan.
Cutting through three life milieus - here in the UAE, in Kerala and Sri Lanka, Madhura Naranga does not throw great surprises at you. But instead, it delivers a simple tale told without too much fuss and with a clear eye for entertaining audiences rather than to achieve any lofty cinematic story-telling ambitions.
The strength of the film is the writing by Nishad Koya and Salam Kottakkal, who have researched the backdrops well. You can almost see the 'bachelor pad jokes' coming to life in the re-telling of the script. So there are kitchen disasters, hearty get-togethers, monetary frustrations, and fun at the expense of the myriad oddball characters taxi drivers tend to come across in life.
Madhura Naranga is a bittersweet film that can be taken in in a breezy manner; it has enough moments to make you smile, some that will make you view expatriate life with new eyes, and all the necessary ingredients for an all-round potboiler. The film is playing at theatres in the UAE.


More news from