Mike movie review: Anaswara Rajan, Ranjith Sajeev’s coming-of-age tale engagingly tackles a serious subject

3/5

Story: Sara Thomas feels she would be better off in society as a man. This prompts her to opt for a sex reassignment surgery, and that makes her path collide with that of a dispirited youngster, who is on the verge of taking his own life haunted by a tragedy from his past. How the two bring about certain changes in each other’s lives while also opening their eyes to new realisations form the plot.

Review: Most filmmakers would think twice before attempting to make a movie that deals with sex reassignment surgery as well as the thoughts that lead a person to that point, while also making its audience aware of its perils of the surgery and bracketing people based on gender stereotypes. Mike’s director Vishnu Prasad and scriptwriter Aashiq Akbar Ali not only tackles this with panache in their first film but also makes it entertaining to watch, and that’s no mean feat.

The movie revolves around its protagonists – Sara Thomas and Anthony. While Sara feels she can accomplish more in life if she was a man, Antony submerges himself in alcohol to get over a personal tragedy that has wrecked his life. How the two find support in each other, in the most unexpected of ways, form the plot of this film – which is packaged as an entertaining feel-good, coming-of-age drama with beautiful songs and action sequences. Even the feel-good moments are refreshingly presented in this movie, which deals with a socially-relevant, serious subject.

Anaswara Rajan is brilliant as the tomboyish Sara Thomas. What makes her performance stand out is that she ably balances the vulnerability as well as the strength of Sara, without going overboard to present her character as more manly than feminine. The sequence where she decides to visit a sex worker has her displaying a macho charm and that’s the core reason the whole scene works. It’s a character that requires a certain body language throughout – be it in a kalaripayattu sequence or when she’s hanging out with a dispirited man – and Anaswara exudes that confidence.

Ranjith Sajeev makes a confident debut as Antony, a character that would remind one of Arjun Reddy minus the misogyny. He gets to do a couple of stunts, a dance and even an emotional sequence and passes the test with flying colours for someone who is only doing his first movie.

The script, despite its novel thought, does veer into cliched territory during the past of both the protagonists. Also, the movie would have been better if the social message came about organically rather than a preachy lecture. This is where the lack of experience shows. However, the visuals and music of Mike elevates the whole experience of watching it on the big screen. Ranadive’s cinematography would remind the audience of movies that are made in Bollywood or Telugu, with vibrant frames that add colour to such a story. Hesham Abdul Wahab’s songs and score also have a huge role to play in keeping the proceedings engaging. The mix of classical music with grunge, for some odd reason, actually works in the movie that is hardly two-hours long.

Considering that Bollywood actor John Abraham ventured into production with Vicky Donor, which dealt with sperm donation and fertility, and managed to create a wholesome entertainer out of that concept, he can be proud that he tried to repeat that feat with his Mollywood production debut Mike and that too with debutants and relative newcomers.

Verdict: Led by good performances by Anaswara Rajan and debutant Ranjith Sajeev, John Abraham’s debut Malayalam production Mike is engaging for most portions, thanks to its refreshing visuals and an entertaining take on a serious subject.