Lalitham Sundaram review: Manju Warrier,Biju Menon’s talents are wasted in this family entertainer that tries too hard

2.5/5

Story:

Three siblings Jerry(Anu Mohan), Annie(Manju Warrier) and Sunny(Biju Menon) lead vastly different lives, away from their home where they were born and brought up. When they make their way to their old home on their mother’s death anniversary, their father insists they extend their stay, as per their late mother’s dying wishes. As the siblings spend time in close quarters, old wounds start to surface and they are forced to confront their issues head on.

Review:

As a wholesome, feel-good family entertainer, Lalitham Sundaram certainly held a lot of promise, especially with its cast being led by seasoned stars such as Manju Warrier and Biju Menon . But Madhu Warrier’s directorial debut fails to hit the mark, suffering from numerous pitfalls caused by its weak writing and haphazard performances, resulting in a film that even Warrier and Menon struggle to rescue from insipidness.

The weakness of the film’s writing is in full display right from when we are introduced to three main characters. We have Annie, the intellectual, workaholic mother who comfortably handed over the reins to looking after their family and children to her uncomplaining and obliging husband, Sandeep(Saiju Kurup). Her adeptness at handling her thriving business comes at a cost that she is blissfully unaware of, as unknowingly ignores her family due to her demanding job. Sunny seems to be the black sheep of the family, his event management business at the brink of collapse and struggling in both his personal and professional life. And last comes Jerry, the youngest, a distinctly brooding, yet admirable young man with some obvious baggage hidden away. The one-dimensional characters are prosaic and resemble cliched tropes that are dime a dozen in cinema, rather than fleshed-out, layered people.

The cast seem to try and force something that has a vague semblance of chemistry when they appear on screen together, resulting in stiff performances, something that even Warrier and Menon are found guilty of at times in the film. The ‘banter’ between the onscreen siblings, and the moments of rage, grief and love that they share come off as ingenuine and rehearsed. But even that seems forgivable when compared to the film’s story, that goes downhill despite it being obvious how hard it tried to package itself as a heartwarming tale of family. The story, in addition to being all over the place, is also ironically predictable to a tee. The film also tries to subtly reinforce some very harmful messaging in its narrative, perhaps not consciously, while trying to push its central theme. Some of the sequences where the family tries to help each other out in their personal struggles, they come off as nothing less than pushy and even toxic at times. For instance, there are several instances in the film where the family patriarch's attempts at reuniting his children seem obnoxious and unhealthy even, especially in a scene where he tries to patch things up between Sunny and his wife.

It does try to impart some important messages to the audience, such as the importance of familial bonds and how things may not always be as they seem on the surface, and its efforts to do so are glaringly obvious. But they are ultimately bogged down by its execution.

Verdict:

Despite its stellar cast, Lalitham Sundaram, suffers greatly from a weak script, insipid performances and one-dimensional characters. Although it has its heart in the right place, a predictable and uninspired story fails to do justice to what the film tries to achieve, leading to a movie that quickly becomes exhausting to watch in its entirety.