‘Valathu Vashathe Kallan’ movie review: Jeethu Joseph’s film gets lost in a maze of its own creation

Puzzles, crosswords and word mazes are often associated with lazy Sunday mornings for a reason. For that is usually when a good number of people find enough mental space to indulge in the pleasure of solving one. These certainly are not meant for highly stressful situations such as the one in Jeethu Joseph’s Valathu Vashathe Kallan, where the protagonist, running against time to save someone’s life, stops midway to solve a word maze.

Of course, saving the person depended on solving the maze, but the whole placement of the series of puzzles in the narrative to generate the thrills hardly feels organic. This downward spiral that the movie takes in its final hour is unfortunate, since it had at its core a compelling story of a guilt-ridden man finally facing his reckoning. Screenwriter Dinu Thomas Eelan might have chosen to take that contrived path to resolve the conflict owing to the general expectations from a Jeethu Joseph film.

A still from ‘Valathu Vashathe Kallan’

No space for ambiguity exists in Valathu Vashathe Kallan, as far as character traits are concerned. Early on in the film, Circle Inspector Antony Xavier (Biju Menon), with a display of polished evilness, dissuades a sexual assault survivor from filing a complaint. Even though it is quite a punchy start to the film, in hindsight, one realises that there are no more nuances to this character than what is evident in that initial scene. When a young woman (Vyshnavi Raj) goes missing from the city, the police officer’s paths cross with that of Samuel (Joju George), an ethical hacker.

Their confrontations raise the exciting prospect of an intriguing war of wits between two battle-worn souls. But then, they choose to go about it using a super contrived puzzle game involving phone numbers, case numbers and random coincidences. What begins as a situation involving the lives of people almost turns into a competition between two individuals to show their IQ. Towards the end, an unconvincing attempt is made to stitch a message to the film. But compared to Jeethu’s previous film Mirage, which drowned the audience in one twist after another, Valathu Vashathe Kallan appears a tad more believable.

Part of the film works because of the presence of the two towering performers in Biju Menon and Joju George, who, even when they are not at their best, lend some gravitas to the proceedings. Although Jeethu’s films are not particularly known for their visual or technical aspects, here the darker tone sits well with the theme until the screenplay spoils the game.

For over a decade now, every Jeethu Joseph release has led to some level of anticipation, riding on the Drishyam wave. But most of his recent works have only contributed in chipping away the sheen that his career got through that landmark film.

Valathu Vashathe Kallan is currently running in theatres