Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan movie review: Saiju Kurup's film presents a fun, inside look at a chaotic wedding

3/5

Story: A former goon gone straight, Jayan, is tasked with seeing his niece’s wedding through, despite her initial reluctance. Tension and excitement are abound on the day before the wedding and on the D-day, with relatives, friends, wedding photographers, light and sound team and the cook all adding to this. Jayan, who is just getting over his tainted reputation, wants to ensure that the wedding happens without any hassles, but a series of incidents pose a threat to this. Will he and the family navigate this or could fate have other plans in store?

Review: For most people, weddings are probably the most tension-filled events of their lives. Even though months of planning goes into this, the family members are almost always on pins and needles till the day is through. In Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan, debutant Arun Vaiga has captured this whirlwind of emotions through its multiple relatable characters and incidents while telling a story of a Hindu-wedding of a lower middle-class household.

Majority of the story spans 24 hours – starting from the day before the wedding till the nuptials. But in between, we are introduced to a plethora of characters – all influencing the incidents that happen throughout the eventful day. The protagonist here is Jayan (Saiju Kurup), a former goon whose past reputation still hangs above him like a sword and he doesn’t want that to affect his family. However, the bride here is reluctant to get married and Jayan is having none of that. He wants to see the wedding through by hook or crook, and is willing to curb his aggressive instincts to ensure that everything happens as per plan. But as anyone who has ever organised a wedding would know, nothing every really does.

To crank up the craziness of the day, you have a battalion of relatives, literally. Some nosy, some more prone to gossip-mongering and some with an axe to grind with bride’s family – all partaking in the event with the same gusto. Arun realistically captures the mood and presents it, almost giving the audience an inside view into the chaos. It’s minute elements such as the tiff between the photographers, the boasting of NRIs, the constant need for pacifying relatives at such occasions that make this wedding drama stand out.

Here also lies the grouse; the pacing slackens when it focuses too much on the other characters, to a point where it becomes routine and predictable in the first half. While the second half does reveal the reason for the same, it doesn’t make up for sequences that lingered on Jude Anthany Joseph’s character. In fact, going through the entire cycle, though from a different perspective, could have also been trimmed effectively during the editing as this would have aided the momentum that builds up nicely towards the latter half.

Despite Saiju playing the titular character, it’s Siju Wilson’s role as the bride’s friend, who takes the story forward in the second half. The final 30 minutes saves the film from being just a wedding drama, with enough laugh-out-moments as well as a twist that is sure to bring a smile on the faces of the viewers. Jaffer Idukki, Biju Sopanam, Sabumon Abdusamad and Johny Antony play supporting characters that reflect that invasiveness of irritating relatives. Saiju nails his role as the constantly vexed protagonist, who doesn’t smile. Siju, on the other hand, gets to show different shades that he handles with ease. The supporting cast of female artistes, all of whom are debutants, also perform well with Dr Vrinda and Shailaja standing out.

The film’s cinematography by Eldho Isaac puts you right in the centre of this wedding in Cherthala and Bijibal’s music aids the storytelling that is simple and effective.

Verdict: While wedding dramas have been plenty recently in Malayalam, with Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam probably ranking the best in terms of the depth of story content, Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan doesn’t disappoint – largely because of a good ending.