‘Bougainvillea’ Review…!!!

Amal Neerad is back with his next film after a couple of years. Last time, he created a mass frenzy across the theatres in Kerala with Bheeshmaparvam. It was the comeback of Mammootty in every way. It was during the Covid period and the theatres were seeing substantial profits after the film. The expectations were sky high when he announced a project starring Kunchako Boban, Fahadh Faasil & Jyothirmayi in the lead roles. It was postponed by a week to avoid clash with Vettaiyan, and the solo release has certainly helped the film to get off to a massive start at the Box-office. The film is based on a novel named Ruthinte Lokam by Lajo Jose and he along with Amal have developed the script for the film.

The film opens with the popular Hindi song ‘Neele Neele Ambar’ playing in the background. The protagonists of the film Dr. Royce, played by Kunchako Boban & Reetha, played by Jyothirmayi soon meets with a car accident, and the latter was seemingly asleep during the whole incident. The story cuts to 8 years later and the audience are briefed that Reetha is suffering from ‘Retrograde Amnesia’ after the accident. The following sequences in the story are like a puzzle to solve, developing an eerie atmosphere. The focus is on Reetha here, she has sometimes no clue about reality or the audience perceive so. Dr Royce is the narrator who takes us through the premise initially. They employ less dialogues and conversations; the focus is on following the subtle nuances from the actors. Jyothirmayi was really good in those portions and the audience can sense an oddness in her story.

Now, when it all seems to overkill with too much focus on Reetha, the makers bring in some action with the introduction of ACP David Koshy, played by Fahad Faasil. Another issue was that the stretched and repetitive sequences created an impression of predictability. ACP David is there to investigate the missing case of a woman and Reetha is someway linked to the case. This leads to the unfolding of several mysteries, a few of which were predictable. Don’t know whether makers anticipated such a reaction from the audience or so, some of them were revealed in a simple manner. Now the premise slowly shifts to the whodunit part. It doesn’t here, the film evolves from an investigative thriller to a psychological thriller in the final moments.

Coming back to Reetha, she is more curious about the case and herself. She has a practice of writing a diary, recording conversations and even using notes. She hears sounds of pigs at night, and has a fixation of painting bougainvillea every time. The audience can feel that her condition is taking a toll on her. The makers wanted Reetha to emotionally connect with the viewers. They succeed to an extent but there is a shift of focus from Reetha to the investigative premise. This affects the story, particularly in the final moments. This is the reason why Varathan had a far better experience in the latter half because the audience were rooting for the protagonists to succeed amidst the difficulties. But here, the inconsistency in the premise is evident.

Even though, we see a deviation in the latter half, the makers opt for soft exploration of the incidents. They do not go overboard or give excessive reasoning of a scene. In doing so, the routine story segments do not appear so boring or tiresome. This is somethings that holds the film together. Amal Neerad’s technical prowess is visible through out the film. From the serene locations to the colour palettes used throughout the film, it has some of the best visuals. There is a long climax episode that totally changes the mood of the film. Like mentioned earlier, a not so strong emotional connection bogs down a wonderfully executed sequence. Yet, they have managed to increase tension in the scene and finish the movie with a pleasing end note.

If you could backtrack to some of the earlier scenes in the film after the climax, we can notice that Amal Neerad has used subtle hints throughout the initial one hour. The car accident scene in the beginning or the meltdown episode of Reetha during CCTV installation are some of those. If you have paid attention to these scenes, we can see that certain details are carefully concealed here. They are answered once the mystery is finally resolved in the climax. Also loved a scene involving Biju, played by Sharafudeen & Rema, played by Srinda. Biju is shown smoking when he is introduced and Rema rebukes him for the same. Biju returns a dialogue in exasperation that eventually happens in the climax. Well, that was totally fierce. If the director and writer have concentrated more on script development alongside pulling off such charades, the end product could have been a lot better.

Fahadh Faasil was completely unnecessary in such a limited role. The investigation process also lacked following basic procedures or it was even silly at times. If it was any other actor, audience’s attention to the character would have been on the lower side. This is one more reason for the downside of climax sequence. Despite, a familiar premise in the latter half and predictability, this one can be watched for the technical marvel of Amal Neerad and some restrained performances from the actors.