‘Thaniye’ directed by Babu Thiruvalla, stands out among the usual stuff made in the name of cinema. It presents rather poignantly the sad plight of man in today’s world, in which it is rather difficult to find companions, consequent to which almost everyone is destined to be rendered alone, all alone…(Thaniye means ‘alone’), especially towards the end of life.
Babu Thiruvalla’s debut directorial venture takes a peep into the world of a very old and decrepit Georgekutty (Nedumudi Venu), who is staying alone in a big bungalow and who is bedridden, with no one to look after him. His irritating nature even dispels the home-nurses who come to look after him. Georgekutty doesn’t have any desire to live any longer.
His son Alex (Vijay Menon) is in the US with his family, well-settled and not at all bothered about his old father. Alex’s mother in law Shoshamma (KPAC Lalitha) and her son, i.e., Alex’s brother-in-law Richie (Ashokan) pay occasional visits to Georgekutty, but their real intentions are not that good. They have rather selfish and vested interests to meet and even desire to see the end of old Georgekutty. And then comes a home-nurse (Lakshmi Gopalaswamy), whose entry changes the course of the story and effects a twist.
The film on the whole belongs to Nedumudi Venu, who has delivered a scintillating performance as Georgekutty. Lakshmi Gopalaswamy as the home-nurse, KPAC Lalitha, Ashokan, Vijay Menon etc have done justice to their respective roles.
However, it is the director Babu Thiruvalla who deserves to be appreciated the most. And the screenplay and dialogues penned jointly by Babu Thiruvalla and Nedumudi Venu too have made the film rather spectacular. Music by Isaac Thomas Kottukaapally, cinematography by M.J.Radhakrishnan and art-direction by Krishnankutty are among the highlights of the film.
A well-made film, definitely not one for the box office!
Banner-Friends of Thiruvalla (DOHA) Director-Babu Thiruvalla Cast- Nedumudi Venu, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, KPAC Lalitha, Vijay Menon, Ashokan, Mamookoya, Nedumbram Gopi etc. Cinematography-M.J.Radhakrishnan Music- Isaac Thomas Kottukaapally Editing-K.Narayanan Art-direction-Krishnankutty Story-Babu Thiruvalla Screenplay, dialogues-Nedumudi Venu and Babu Thiruvalla
