Review roundup: Nivedyam

Nivedyam seems to be better than Lohitha Das’s previous movie Chakkaramuthu. But then that’s not exactly a compliment. The new hero and heroine have apparently given good performance, hopefully a good addition to the new generation of actors in Malayalam cinema. One of the songs, Odakuzhal, is already on top of the charts.

Nowrunning.com says:

Vinu Mohan, who makes his debut as Mohanakrishnan is good and suits his role. The new girl Bhama as Satyabhama doesn’t impress much. Bharath Gopi as Rama Varma Thampuran and Nedumudi Venu as the temple priest excel in their roles. None of the others in the cast impress us in any way. All the songs have come out very well and have been well visualized too, especially the “Chittatinkaavil…” and “Odakuzhal viliketto…” which are in true Lohithadas style. Cinematography, editing and art-work are among the high points of the film.

The sad thing about the movie is that, the writer (Lohithadas himself) couldn’t come up with a good story line. He deserves to be applauded for having moulded the lead character as someone very akin to the mythical Krishna and finding an apt hero for the character. But the story seems to have gone out of control and just peters out. The second half of the film tries our patience beyond all limits. We expected something better from Lohithadas!

IndiaGlitz comments:

Lohithadas has been in his best in the past, contributing fresh story lines to films that always captured the heart of the Malayalam viewer’s. But recently this industry’s most dependable writer-director has been keeping away from business for quite a time and even his comeback in Chakkaramuthu couldn’t make any impressive watch. So for Naivedhyam, he has attempted a rehash of the best tried and tested formula in Malayalam, taking bits and pieces from many hit films like Sallapam, Ee Puzhayam Kadannu, Nandhanam and Kasthooriman. Any way the result is a film which comes with his own brand of narration, giving us an endearing watch, this Onam.

Naivedhyam is a simple film, revolving around simple characters. Yet, it works, partly because the story defies the regular stereotype, due to its super-efficient performances and partly due to the well-crafted screenplay and convincing storytelling.The film’s opening hastily sketches the life of Mohana Krishnan, an outspoken Brahmin guy who is presently into carpentry work to keep his family comprising of his widowed mother and sister. He is the son of C .K, a famous dramatist, who fought for the rights of writers. Even after his father’s death, Mohana Krishnan managed to study all arts and crafts till his plus two, but as his family’s prospects fell on his shoulders, he left his traditions to find better jobs to maintain his family intact. Forwarded by one of his father’s friend lyricist Kaithapram, who happens to meet him in a composing session, Mohana Krishnan arrives at the Kovilakom, headed by Ramavarma Thampuram, a pious aged man who was a dear student of Chembai Vaidhya Natha Bhagavathar.