In Malayalam they say, "Kunnille addi kittathente kurava!" which literally in English translates as "This is all due to the lack of admonishment from parents during (her) childhood!" That is the only conclusion one can derive from this haphazard story of a girl, that will induce nothing but distress in its audience.
Mili (Paul) is a niggardly introvert who troubles the people around her when she lapses into an undefined state of kinda self-inflicted misery. Starting from her childhood, of which there is only a fraction in the screenplay, she has had problems. Mainly governed by a feeling of inferiority complex, she punishes her fellow friends, colleagues, and kin when she is feeling low; for example, being a source of irritation to her hostel roommates by sleeping at night with the light ON, taking up hours in the restroom, etc. A strict attention- seeker that she is, her intentions are questionable and she lives in a way like the world owes her something. Why should one sympathize for such a lousy human being? And one wouldn't mind letting this person end up dead, six feet under.
But, the story feels otherwise. It sympathizes with Mili and puts up a show of gimmickry. There is not a particle of sense in what follows, for Mili is an artificially flawed character. I am all yes for women-centric films, but this is a cacophony, generating gist-less motivation for the heck of it. Mili's story basically happens around the ON-OFF relationship of a womanizer. If he is dating someone, she will unleash fury and try to take her life; if he is single, she is all jovial.
Rajesh Pillai had impressed me once with his 2011 thriller film Traffic. But, now he has run to the other side of the extremity scale. Coughing up a blatant story about a pretentious girl is not the type of story one expects in a true motivational film. This is, at best, a film made to cash in on Amala Paul's unwarranted fame.
Additionally, the film has one of the worst attempts at non-linear narration. It might be that the editor botched it up, but the film as a single output, clearly shows the makers' lack of diligence. The music and songs are good intrinsically, but together with the narration, it goes haywire. The story has no real humor, and Paul's unmade facial close- ups further agitated me. Cast performance is good. But, where was Nivin Pauly, by the way? (I guess I might have missed him.)
I was looking for a reason why the makers decided to make a movie that neither inspires nor entertains. And then the final scene, inspired by How Old Are You? (2014) and Nagaravaridhi Naduvil Njan (2014), appeared: Mili making an emotional speech about her life. It's funny how morons think their stories are preach-worthy.
BOTTOM LINE: Avoidable! This is existential drama aimed to crowd-please and mint some moolah, and does not qualify as an entertainer. 3/10.
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES
