Hridayam (2022)

Language : Malayalam.

Director : Vineeth Sreenivasan.

Writers : Vineeth Sreenivasan.

Cast : Pranav Mohanlal, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Darshana Rajendran, Vijayaraghavan, Johny Antony, Aju Varghese, Arun Kurian, Aswath Lal, Annu Antony, Shaun Romy

Genre : Romance | Drama

Imdb : Hridayam (2022)

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

“And I think to myself
What a wonderful world “

Hridayam is an emotional journey of Arun Neelakandan, his nonchalant bachelor days in Engineering college, and how it shapes him through various stages of life.

Coming to Vineeth Sreenivasan’s fifth making Hridayam, the improvisations as a director are more visible and he has tried to maintain energy in the character equations. The format of the screenplay is very simplistic, filled with light beats of sentiments. It isn’t over the top at any point, and it never gets cheesy in whole. Vineeth Sreenivasan treats the drama neatly without being forcefully trying to place the emotions in particular phases of the film. Hridayam is thoroughly blended with soulful music and songs that make it feel a way better just like any other Vineeth Sreenivasan directorial. With all sorrows, murky stains and heartbreaks, the movie always enters a cheerful zone that leaves the grey side of life apart. 

I was never pleased with Pranav’s earlier films as both of them never really projected him as a performer. When Hridayam announced Pranav as the protagonist, with lifted eyebrows I was just like “seriously dude!?”. But hold on! Let me finish…Pranav Mohanlal is just charming as Arun Neelakandan. It’s hard to take eyes off him! His smile has a fragrance that fills the frame. The director has captured the best from him and hints to the audience that this man has potential. The character arcs of Arun Neelakandan is smartly executed and plays out with ease. There are two scenes in the initial and final phases of Arun’s life, which shows how he has evolved from a carefree bachelor to a family man. And the transitions felt quite real and has a graceful flow. In addition, How life finally gives Arun an answer and it overwhelmingly diffuses the emotional dilemma between Arun and Darshana to a convincing and happy climax is a positive note. Darshana (the actress) is subtle has delivered a solid performance. Kalyani was good as Nithya. Special mention for Aswath Lal and new faces who have done their part well. Hoping to watch you guys with more screentime soon. 

The pattern of storytelling is unadorned and almost ‘seen a lot’ style with no twist and turns, but with technical quality, performances and the specific Vineeth touch delivering a happy cinematic experience. Ranjan Abraham’s cuts control the pace and save this around a 3-hour movie not being drowsy at all. As whatever mood happens on screen the movie swings back to a feel-good texture several times. Hisham’s music is top-notch being the sidekick for each scene. Music and Vishwasjith’s Visuals speak a lot more for the characters than the dialogues penned. The connectivity and the empathy in human relationships in form of love and friendship are beautifully drawn and the overall goodness works in favour of this film.

And it isn’t a perfect film, it has up and downs. But in the totality of both halves having different tones, Hridayam has the Magic that fills your hearts. This one comes straight from the director’s heart that needs to be celebrated on the big screen. After watching Hridayam as an audience (I forcibly suppressed my critic’s mind somehow), I was a happy person. That is all what we need in these hard times. Right?!

Celebrate the Magic of Hridayam!

XoXo

Verdict – 4/7 stars