Njan Kandatha Sare movie review: A meandering mess that makes you feel sorry for Indrajith Sukumaran

1.5/5

Njan Kandatha Sare story: Cab driver Joekuttan witnesses a senior cop being killed. Pushed by his friend Patrick, Joekuttan decides to approach the police station to state what he saw. But further complications await him, which could also pose a threat to his sister

Njan Kandatha Sare review: Over the years, Malayalam filmmakers have proved that they can make an engaging film out of even the simplest of plots. This has mainly come from the audiences now being exposed to all kinds of cinema and refining their tastes, consequently forcing directors to up their game to stay relevant. The makers of Indrajith Sukumaran’s latest movie Njan Kandatha Sare seem to have missed this entire change in filmmaking or the audience’s sensibilities.

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The movie, in a nutshell, revolves around Joekuttan, a taxi driver, who goes to a police station to state that he saw a cop, who is presumed missing, being murdered. The challenge for him, though, is to admit this to a cop who would see that the investigation is carried out, especially in a squad filled with corrupt officers.

The makers have stretched this yarn to two hours. Sample this, a senior cop asks Joekuttan and his friend to wait outside. Instead one of them assumes that they are asked to leave and proceeds to ask a lady cop if he can; she then instructs him to ask the station head constable, who says he can leave. But just before he exits the station, another copy asks him to go back because the senior cop never gave him the permission to leave.

This is the problem with Njan Kandatha Sare, it not only takes the long route to explain the obvious, but also pretends that the explanation is smart. Only it's not. You almost feel sorry that an actor like Indrajith Sukumaran finds himself in this film, which one can only assume that he did because he is friends with the makers. Even the talent of actors like Baiju Santosh, Anoop Menon and Sabumon Abdusamad aren't paid any respect in this amateurish movie.

Everything about Njan Kandatha Sare screams that it doesn't warrant a theatre or OTT viewing, from its lazy screenplay to its music that seems to be made from default audio tones on cellphones. The only place where it could find viewers would be TV, maybe a decade ago.

Njan Kandatha Sare verdict: This Indrajith Sukumaran is an amateurish effort that doesn't respect its audience's time nor the cast’s talent.