#Home – A feel-good movie for all generations!

It would be better to keep your smartphone away while watching this movie so as to not feel guilty later!

Not every movie needs to be ground-breaking, intricate or dark – it’s good for a movie to have a life and soul. Of late, Malayalam cinema has offered intriguing thrillers, complex relationship dramas, artsy hyper intelligence material, but somehow, simplicity and relatability were missing. We all crave for outside food, something different and we feel good while having it but the taste doesn’t last long like home cooked food by our mom. The movie ‘#Home’ is like a comfort food – it leaves a long lasting impression!

It’s rare for a movie nowadays that allows all generations to watch together without skipping any content – #Home is a movie for all generations

A middle aged man named Oliver Twist (Indrans) is our main protagonist. His name comes from his father’s (Kainakari Thangaraj) fascination for English classics. His wife, Kuttiyamma (Manju Pillai) a retired nurse, is now busy with household chores. He has two sons. Charles (Naslen) the younger one is a pampered college kid. He is an unsuccessful Youtuber who is trying his level best to gain more followers. The elder one, Antony (Sreenath Bhasi) is a film maker who made a hit film on his debut. But two years later, he is struggling with writer’s block. Antony gets the date of a big star but is unable to come up with a climax for his script. Fed up, his producer suggests that to find inspiration, he needs to move to a place where he wrote his first script. With the pressure of a deadline, Anthony comes back home.

At a time when you are valued based on the position you hold, the money you have or the number of your social media followers, #Home shows the unconditional love of our parents and how we sometimes take them for granted, while walking the extra mile for others.

#Home has a perfect casting. Sreenath Bhasi as Antony perfectly fits the character with his mannerisms and attitude and Naslen, the younger brother is hilarious. Oliver’s best friend Suryan (Johny Antony) offers good dose of humour. Vijay Babu as the psychologist, Deepa as Antony’s fiancé, Anoop Menon as the film star along with others have done their part well. Rojin Thomas has done a commendable job with the screenplay and direction, aided by Rahul Subramanian’s pleasing music and catchy songs. The visuals feel like a fairy-tale. Kudos to the producer Vijay Babu as well as the entire crew.

Indrans and Manju Pillai are wonderful as Dad and Mom in #Home

Manju Pillai as Kuttiyamma, is your typical mother that can be seen in many households. She takes care of the house, cooks food, comes to your room even during her busy kitchen hours to check whether you need anything. From switching on your fan, clearing the empty glass and plate from your room to preparing your favorite food, she just wants you to be happy. There would be the occasional emotional outbursts but that adds to the sweetness of the relationship. Excellent portrayal!

There is one particular scene where she finally bursts out at her sons when Antony insults Oliver in front of his fiancé’s family – “Can’t I scold you? That man sitting there is your father! Mind it!” “Who are you two? Kings from the heaven?” Manju Pillai aced the character.

Indrans as Oliver Twist is the epitome of innocence! He once had a video cassette library. Owing to the rapid technological changes, it became obsolete. He was left with the old cassettes and looks at it as if to suggest they both are the same. The kids love Oliver, but doesn’t necessarily respect him as they see him as a person who hasn’t caught up with the changing world. This is more so in case of the elder son Antony who admires his future father-in-law, Joseph (Srikant Murali) while ignoring his dad. Oliver sees the great rapport between Antony and Joseph and yearns for something similar.

Oliver tries to be tech-savvy to get more close with his sons but it further undermines his situation. We see Oliver trying to take a picture from his new smartphone and what an overwhelming task it becomes for him. The array of emotions portrayed by Indrans in this movie is a sight to behold. Indrans as Oliver was ‘extraordinary’ as an ‘ordinary’ man.

#Home shows our restlessness, impatience and lack of time for our parents. We get irritated when they ask doubts which we feel as silly, without realizing we all will get there soon!

There is a scene where Oliver is washing Antony’s car and from the balcony, Antony is smiling at him. For a split second, Oliver thinks that his son is smiling at him only to realize later that he was wearing earphone. In another scene, Antony with regards to the autobiography is mocking Oliver. Oliver, as if he heard something, moves out and ensures that he is alone so that nobody sees him sad. The subtle change in Oliver’s reaction hits you hard!

Oliver, from his new phone, shares a ‘Hi’ message to his son and gets a reply from him with an emoticon. Oliver, who doesn’t understand what it means, checks with someone and is overjoyed when he finds out that it’s a kiss – My son is kissing me! Reality kicks in, when its shown parallelly that his son is sitting in his closet looking gloomy while sending the message. The messages, emoticons we share on WhatsApp, Facebook etc. doesn’t necessarily reflect our true feelings from the heart – There is a considerable, impactful difference between the kiss you offer in person to your parents and the kiss via a mobile application!

Everyone around the globe will find a bit of themselves in the movie #Home

#Home has realistically grounded family interactions and sometimes for Non-Malayali audience, subtitles may not provide the true essence. In a scene, Oliver is seeing his son after a long time and is so excited! He sits with him, takes a good look at him and says ‘താടിയും മുടിയും, ഇത് എന്തോരു  കോലമാണെടാ’. This gets translated as ‘all this hair and beard, look at you’. The translation is fine, and you get the gist with the body language, but subtitles won’t be able to provide the feel, tone and warmth of the dialogue. Nevertheless, you will love it!

At a runtime of around 160min, #Home never feels stretched, but the elder son needed a ‘Kadha Parayumbol’ type twist (which wasn’t bad; induces curiosity and suspense) in Oliver Twist’s life to respect and admire him. Do we really need our parents to be extraordinary for us to love and respect them? Every parent would have interesting stories to share, gone through hurdles which would not be ordinary for them – They all are ‘Unsung Heroes’!

Verdict

#Home shows what the modern society has become over the years by everyone desperately trying to fit in and the ones who can’t are left behind! Everyone is caught up in their own lives and have forgotten to socialize with others. Technological advancements having an edge over human relationships thereby creating dysfunctional families are treated with a perfect blend of humor and emotional drama.

Must Watch!

The end note from Antony is nicely put with another relatable line – “I am always imperfect at my home”!

I dedicate this blog to my Dad and Mom

#Home is streaming on Amazon Prime

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Image source: IMDB, Public Domain

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Check out my review on the Classic Malayalam movie “Sandesham”- Click here

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