Paresh C Palicha says in spite of some flaws Father's Day is a meaningful film.It is said that good things come in small packages. This could be true of Father's Day, which released without much fanfare but has the substance to make you sit up and take notice.
Directed by Kalavoor Ravikumar with Revathi in the lead, it deals with a bold subject and has the courage to take it head on.
The film shows the trauma of a rape victim. Seethalakshmi (Revathi), a college lecturer is reluctant to get married. It takes us time to understand why her younger brother Gopan (Vineeth) is overly concerned about his sister's single status.
A young research student keeps following Seethalakshmi everywhere and when confronted says he is a student researching criminology from the victim's point of view and would like to know about Seethalakshmi's past.
This has psychological implications for Seethalakshmi and the film goes on to show the painful process of acceptance of reality and reconciling with it.
This does not mean that the script or the film is flawless; there are events or episodes that go overboard
and the second half is a little shaky as it slips into the typical revenge mode of a mystery movie before coming together to give us a convincing culmination.
The film is held together by the performance of Revathi and the two youngsters, Shehin (as the research student) and Indu Thampi (as Seethalakshmi's niece). It is basically the interplay between these three characters that is the pivot of the film. The rest of the cast seems to be appearing in extended cameos; this includes Vineeth, and Lal (who is an aged suitor for Seethalakshmi).
This film may be the answer to those who rue the fact that middle- aged actresses do not get to play good lead characters in commercial films.
True, at times it does look like director Kalavoor Ravikumar is confused whether to mould the story in a way that would make it commercially acceptable, or allow the seriousness of the subject matter full play. But it all comes together very well in the end.
Father's Day is not flawless but we can appreciate the effort it takes to make a meaningful film that tackles a difficult subject with some degree of success.
Rediff Rating:
