Naradan review: Tovino Thomas' anti-hero act makes Aashiq Abu's slow-burning thriller gripping

3/5

Chandraprakash, a senior journalist for News Malayalam, is a popular talk show host and television news anchor. He is under pressure from his editors and bosses to write fabricated stories, which causes him to question his moral principles.

In the past couple of years, media trials have given enough material for filmmakers to create a movie or a series about it. The drama shown on television news channels is sensational enough to be a feature film, and Aashiq Abu took charge to make this happen. Three years after directing Virus, which is set against the backdrop of Kerala's 2018 Nipah virus outbreak, Abu helmed Naradan, which focuses on the ongoing issue of media trials.

The ace filmmaker teamed up with Tovino Thomas for the third time, and the actor went from superhero (Minnal Murali) to anti-hero in just a couple of months. But does it work in his favour? Let's find out...

After leading a monotonous life as a primetime news anchor, an underconfident Chandraprakash is desperate to show the world his worth. Many often say that whatever they have learnt is on the job, which helped them grow and thrive. However, Naradan gets into Trance mode (Fahadh Faasil starrer) to show Chandraprakash becoming CP and the face of a new news channel.

The film references real-life incidents that have created headlines in the past few years. However, it's the lack of depth on each specific topic covered that makes the film fall flat in many instances. The first half, although a slow-burner, gives us hope to look forward to how the drama unfolds. But you long for more.

Naradan has everything framed in the right place; amazing writing by Unni R, direction by Abu, and an incredible performance by Thomas. Despite a team of great artists banding together, they are unable to give this film a soul.

Coming back to the first half, it's intriguing to watch how the perfectly suited and well-dressed journalists let loose and drink till the last drop at the press club to just get out of a tiring day. The behind-the-camera politics and banter between rivals and contemporaries have been well portrayed to make the first half meaty.

In today's times, there will be hardly a few people who are unaware of journalism. Well, Naradan is all about that. The title of the film is so apt as it is based on the god-sage Narad Muni, who goes from place to place and spreads news irrespective of its relevance. Hard-hitting journalism has been zeroed in on the same by many; it's all about creating headlines.

The film is entirely based on this title, wherein fabricated news is sold in the name of TRPs to get ahead of the rival channels. For the same reason, Unni and Abu touched upon the screaming mannerisms of a top journalist who is known for being a not-so-good listener during a panel discussion. We also see the repetition of how the media runs behind the story like a cat-and-mouse chase to be the news breaker for the world.

Naradan is taken from the bits and pieces of all the news that made headlines and became a topic of discussion for the very wrong reasons. And, with Thomas being the man behind this character, it is enjoyable to loathe him till the very last frame.

The actor might come off as a person who can be empathised with until we meet his family. In a very minute yet impactful sequence, we get to see how Chandraprakash has been conditioned, and finally, he adapts to the patriarchal mindset to sell the news.

Like his every performance, he delivers this one also with the utmost conviction. It's tough to hate his character, which has come right after an adorable and kickass performance in Minnal Murali. But the actor, being a chameleon, has gotten into the skin of the character so well that there's no turning back for him.

Naradan also features several supporting characters who take the story forward very well. But sadly, only a couple of them get closure, while others are left hanging without any conclusion.

The film goes from a political thriller to a courtroom drama in the first half, and the intertwining is lost in translation. Anna Ben as a lawyer Shaakira Mohammed is hardly in the first half of the film, and it seems a new track has been created to make her presence felt with an impactful punch. It definitely works in her favour with the dialogues given to the actor and the way she says them with a straight face.

Ben is pitted against Renji Panicker, who plays a senior lawyer, Govinda Menon. The actor-filmmaker goes back to the era when he penned the jingoistic characters and mouths the dialogues, which are pretty similar to what he wrote back in the days.

So has Sharafudheen as Pradeep John, CP's rival, who has principles when it comes to right journalism. The actor has been getting his due and leaves an impressive mark as a parallel lead.

Abu has not taken the gripping route for his thriller, but a very subtle, slow and steady conversion of the thrilling screenplay. Sekhar Menon's music comes into the play without any songs but hits the right chord with the background score.

The hard-hitting filmmaker cannot be put into a box of any genre as being his forte. So has his latest work with Naradan, which cannot be defined by one specific genre. The film can be lauded for its brave attempt to address the current issues of media trials. However, the slow-burner might lose the interest of a few.

Anti-hero Tovino Thomas shoulders the film impeccably, leaving everyone loathed towards him. However, Naradan gives little scope to the supporting characters without the right closure. Moreover, the climax seems to be very anticlimactic.