Movie: Onnum Mindathe
Cast: Jayaram, Meera Jasmine, Manoj K Jayan
Director: Sugeeth
Rating: Two and a half stars
Strong is the occasional urge, even among the righteous, to sexually stray. But Onnum Mindathe (Without Saying a Word) sounds a stern warning: a momentarily lapse of faithfulness carries the potential of shattering the sweetest relationship.
A sane, serene officer (Jayaram) is suddenly seized with uncontrollable desire, watching his childhood friend (Manoj K Jayan) seduce a married woman. Following this, the former meets a woman in a hotel, secretly. His wife (Meera Jasmine) comes to know of it. And an unbearable atmosphere descents upon the couple.
Stricken with guilt, Jayaram sweats and trembles beneath his false smiles; dramatically. Sweet and loving at first, Meera Jasmine later is the epitome of a stoic wife condemned to her fate. Manoj K Jayan is consistently unintentionally unfunny.
The characters are stereotype. A perfect family man, initially; an agricultural officer with feet planted on the ground, rooted to old values. A silently-suffering wronged wife, who firmly disallows conjugal intimacy but continues with her household duties. And a flippant, frivolous dandy from the Gulf, flashing a gold necklace, ring, and bracelet, and foreign cigarettes and thoughts.
But their reactions aren’t always very natural. One chooses an eloquent speech to immediate action in a grave situation. While another approaches a major loss quite casually. The script does to some extent, though, exhibit the agonizing consequence of being caught with one’s pants down.
The instincts of the animal are very powerful. And no potent individual is forever a saint in their thoughts. Thus, fantasies are fine. It is when they are translated into deeds that the social scenario gets ugly.
Sugeeth’s marital melodrama hints at the necessity of the sporadic lovemaking sessions in married life. And cautions against breaking the beauty of trust by venturing across that line that must not be crossed.
