Carbon (2018)

Language: Malayalam

Director: Venu 

Writer: Venu 

Genre: Adventure | Thriller | Drama | Fantasy

Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Mamta Mohandas, Manikandan R. Achari

IMDb: Carbon (2018)

Streaming on Zee5.

DISCLAIMER : *SPOILER ALERT*. This review contains SPOILERS.

Imagine going into a forest in search of an abundant treasure, narrowly escaping from wilderness, being thirsty for days, needing to grab onto random mushrooms on the way out of sheer hunger… and then end up right next to the treasure and not being able to get it. This is what the main character Sibi Sebastian, a guy who was ready to do all sorts of small, unharmful frauds to make a quick buck, ends up going through in Carbon. 

Carbon is a fantasy-filled thrilling ride, where Sibi ends up being a personal assistant to Sameera, an adventure enthusiast, after trying out various businesses. With wonderful performances and engaging writing, the director takes us through various emotions of Sibi, who turns from lazy and quick-witted, to a person persevering really hard through the hurdles to get to the treasure. Sibi even meets an imaginary character, interestingly portrayed by Soubin Shahir.  Directed by a cinematographer-director himself, the movie is filled with beautiful views of the picturesque locations. One of the major highlights of the movie is Fahadh Faasils’s performance itself, where he makes you feel the intense struggle of being hungry and thirsty, lost in a forest. There are two scenes which are etched in my mind after watching the movie just once – one where Sibi is hungry and has no other go but to have some mushrooms he finds on the way, where even as a viewer, I was forced to think whether they would be poisonous. Another one is where he hasn’t had water for many days and opens his mouth to let in some rainwater. 

Carbon was not a superhit at the box office and ended up having mixed reviews from the audience. But being a fan of Fahadh’s performances, which stands out irrespective of the other factors in any movie, I was drawn to the theatre automatically. This was worth it.

Verdict: 5/7 stars.