A versified version of a soulful tale, with romance and drama at its zenith. Pranayam is a movie which can be categorized as semi-classic - it wouldn't be a populace classic or a cult classic for certain, at least for the nonce. The high quality drama with some soothing music and some very poignant moments make it a memorable experience that at the end you never feel like you were in a cinema. Needless to mention the presence of those legendary figures of Indian cinema - Mohanlal, Anupam Kher & Jayapradha, the chemistry among them isn't one to miss. Mohanlal was at his best after "thanmathra".
The story wasn't unpredictable, the magic ought to be the script obviously. A crispier screenplay and editing would have taken away the feel of the movie but for some feeble scenes which i thought was just meant to string out the climax. For instance,the scene at the saloon where the characters drink and sing and dance - Mohanlal who plays Prof.Mathews sings "I'm your man" by Leonard Cohen - wouldn't go down well with everyone alike. But what else could you expect from an aged bunch! The scenes with the butterfly, especially in the ending was beautifully crafted. The songs and background score is worth mentioning, so is cinematography - the scenes at the beach couldn't get any better.
The movie would have been perfect had it been without flaws, some of them too irksome. Anupam Kher's lip sync was a major drawback, the frequent morning walk scenes and the dialogs occasionally resembled TV-serials. The flashback sequence and the thread-line wasn't convincing at all.That said, its all met on an even keel with some mesmerizing moments and some fabulous acting through out, the supporting cast too chip in with some mentionable performances. Definitely not the best from Blessy,though this movie would cement him as the undisputed master film maker in contemporary Malayalam film industry.
Pranayam is a distinguished drama, its soulful, its lovable. Quoting Prof.Mathews from the movie - "Life is more beautiful than dreams,if you know how to live".
