It seems unlikely that Malayalam filmmakers will ever run out of rural themes that want to infuse city dwellers with nostalgia and guilt for losing their agrarian roots.
The latest addition in this list is director Jayaraj's Aanachandam, starring Jayaram, in which the hero is obsessively in love with elephants. The basic theme is about how it creates problems for him.
The story reminds you of good old Mohanlal films where he faced problems from every quarter, be it his family or the wider world. The difference we may notice today is that while in the old days Mohanlal continued to live in the same way, here Jayaram triumphs over every adversity.
Krishna Prasad's (Jayaram) fondness for the pachyderms has got him fame. Once he is even termed as computer chip containing all the data about the location of domesticated elephants in the state. But it has given him its share of problems.
From the beginning, we hear Krishna Prasad being told by his family that his liking for the animal will lead them to disaster, but the tension is not palpable as everyone seems to be going through the motions. It is only towards the interval that some intensity creeps into the happenings, when he adopts Arjunan, an elephant severely injured in a road accident.
Humour holds this film together. Handled by trusted performers like Innocent, Cochin Haneefa and Salim Kumar, once in a while it sparks up the audience. Jagathy Sreekumar, as the inspector from the Animal Welfare Board, stands out in some scenes.
Jayaram puts his might behind the character and tries hard to make it lifelike, but a half-baked role lets him down. On the other hand, debutante Remya Nambeesan is refreshing in bits.
The love angle, however, is very sketchy.
In conclusion, Aanachandam, coming from the prolific Jayaraj, is watchable when compared to the nightmarish Aswaroodan.
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