Super Sharanya movie review: Girish AD weaves another relatable slice-of-life tale led by Anaswara Rajan

3/5

Story: Sharanya is a reticent girl from Kollengode in Palakkad, who finds it tough to cope with her first-year in an engineering college in Thrissur. However, with the company of her friends and hostelmates, she wades through the everyday grind, which is made all the more complicated with a lecturer who develops feelings for her, a senior who finds his ‘spark’ with her and a batchmate who too is in love with her. To further complicate her already bustling life, she forms a bond with another youngster, who runs into her during an outing in Kochi and adds her as a friend on Instagram. How, Sharanya finds herself through these, form the tale of Thaneer Mathan Dinangal Girish AD’s sophomore venture.

Review: Director Girish AD’s Thaneer Mathan Dinangal was probably amongst the most re-watched films by the youth since it was released. The reason is that, despite being set in the background of a government school, most of the incidents were relatable to today’s youth and also sparked school-day nostalgia among those who have been through the grind. The brilliant performances and observations from the young cast ensured there were laughs throughout the movie, which told the tale of a school boy in love.

His second directorial, Super Sharanya, almost seems like an extension of the former film and its characters. Only the protagonist’s gender has been swapped, with Sharanya (Anaswara Rajan) navigating through that phase between being a girl and a woman, with the company of her friends, and finding her voice through the journey.

The film starts off with Sharanya, a coy engineering student, in tears after a ragging session. Midway, we also get to see her best friend Sona tell her that she doesn’t have a personality, with her always tiptoeing between choices and never saying a straight ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when given an option. These are important bits in the film as it shows the evolution of Sharanya’s character, and Anaswara does a commendable job in portraying that through her body language and expressions. She gets the demure phase of Sharanya spot on, especially in the scenes that have her crossing a playground while being fully aware of what others are telling about her. This is again where Girish as a writer and director scores as towards the denouement, you get to see the character zone out the noises in her life.

Much like Thaneer Mathan Dinangal, this movie too benefits a lot from its supporting cast. Apart from adding to the freshness quotient, the characters played by Mamitha Baiju, Vineeth Vishwam, Naslen and those who essayed Deepu’s partner-in-crime Varun and his go-to guy, the brother-in-law Abhilash, are a joy to watch. The actor who played the senior Ajith Menon, too has done a decent job, though his character’s main aim was to bring in laughs. While many would argue Naslen might have scored big in Thaneer Mathan Dinangal as the best friend, it’s Mamitha Baiju who shines here, complete with the never-back-down attitude and sunglasses.

Much like Thaneer Mathan Dinangal, this movie too benefits a lot from its supporting cast. Apart from adding to the freshness quotient, the characters played by Mamitha Baiju, Vineeth Vishwam, Naslen and those who essayed Deepu’s partner-in-crime Varun and his go-to guy, the brother-in-law Abhilash, are a joy to watch. The actor who played the senior Ajith Menon, too has done a decent job, though his character’s main aim was to bring in laughs. While many would argue Naslen might have scored big in Thaneer Mathan Dinangal as the best friend, it’s Mamitha Baiju who shines here, complete with the never-back-down attitude and sunglasses.

While Anaswara’s arc does achieve its result, the movie’s pace falters when it shifts to that of Deepu. The second half especially slows down and feels 15 minutes too long with the filmmaker lingering too long in certain scenes, even if it was to accommodate a cameo of a popular actor or to explain Deepu’s backstory. These take away from the main story. It’s also the observations from the characters that make Super Sharanya enjoyable but with the film spanning almost 2 hours and 40 minutes, it does become redundant. The lines where characters keep drawing analogies, while some are funny, almost become a given every time the characters are put into caricaturish situations.

The movie’s music by Justin Varghese adds to the delightfulness of it all, along with the frames of Sajith Purushan.

Verdict: Super Sharanya feels like an organic, spiritual sequel to the highly enjoyable Thaneer Mathan Dinangal. With relatable characters, organic performances and enough jokes, the movie is a fresh and breezy watch even though it could have been 20 minutes shorter.