Uncle movie review: Portraying a relevant issue

Cast:  Mammootty, Karthika Muraleedharan, Joy Mathew, Muthumani
Director: Girish Damodar

Uncle, it seems, came right out of a habit, of our people — our countrymen. For, we moral police, a lot. We cannot take it when we see a man and woman travel or spend time together, unless we can link them to a few socially-accepted relationships. Director Girish Damodar took that aspect and made a film with Mammootty starring as ‘the dubious uncle’ — Krishnakumar — and Karthika Muraleedharan, the young person Sruthy with whom he hangs out. They represent every man and woman who have come across an instance of moral policing. 

Mammootty has come off from the kind of roles he has been seen doing in recent films. There is no superhero garb here, no thunderous action sequences or never-ending ‘mass’ dialogues. Even his critics have to give him some credit for taking such a role, which isn’t about the stereotypical heroism one is used to seeing him do. And because of that, there is no annoying ‘slow motion’, no breeze-blowing sequence, and best of all, no toe-to-head introduction shot. He tries to be ‘cool’ also at times. We have seen Mammootty do such characters before, and compared to those, this is no prize-winner. There has been a lot of talk about the ‘sanity’ of the character since the trailer was released days ago. A lot of his fans had not wished to see him in a negative role, but then the trailer ignited anxiety. The film could keep the surprise factor alive in the first half of the movie, and Mammootty has done a good job there. Karthika, who was earlier seen opposite Mammootty’s son Dulquer Salmaan in Comrade in America (CIA), did alright, but there were no challenging scenes to prove her mettle.

Moving on to the script, there are no extraordinary factors to bring the audience to the edge of their seat. Joy Mathew, who did the scripting, had claimed that this will be something else. Chances are you will be disappointed if you are expecting another Shutter like script. Compared to Shutter, Uncle is just above par as most of the scenes are cliché. But it talks about a very relevant issue. In the first half, there are some sequences where you cannot predict the nature of the hero, or if he is a hero at all.  As it talks about an issue that we know, there are no surprising or thrilling moments towards the end. But Joy Mathew manages to give a small message of how parents can be the saviours of their children.

Joy Mathew (also acts in the movie), actors Muthumani and Ganapathi did a decent job. Muthumani, who plays the role of Sruthy’s mother, does an exceptional job in the climax.

Girish Damodar, on his debut, appears a promising director, with his well-planned making, eliminating unwanted sequences. The cinematography, editing and background score also deserve due credit.