Dakini
Cast: Pauly Wilson, Sarasa Balussery, Savithri Sreedharan, Sethulekshmi, Indrans, Chemban Vinod, Aju Varghese, Alencier.
Director: Rahul Riji Nair
What happens when four old women who are wicked, smart, fearless and lovable come together? Dakini is all about that. The four friends — Moly (Pauly), Saroja (Sarasa), Vilasini (Sethulekshmi) and Rosemary (Savithri) — are on a mission to save Kuttan Pilla (Alencier), Moly’s love, who was kidnapped by Mayan (Chemban Vinod). This role reversal, where the king is saved by the queen, is the most interesting aspect of Dakini, the fairytale.
Pauly did an amazing job as Moly. Be it shrewdness, action or romance, she nailed it. There was not a dull moment in her performance. Equally good were Sarasa, the strategist in the gang, and Sethulekshmi. Savithri tried her best to show justice to Rosemary, but, at many points, she struggled a lot to catch up with the energy of her friends. However, one could not forget her jaw-dropping splits in one song.
One has to be really courageous to execute such a thread that breaks the convention with four oldies. Rahul deserves applause for taking that risk. He has tried to bring novelty not only in the theme but also in the narration. The entire movie gives a visual sense of reading a story in children’s book.
In the first half, the characters are established one by one on their premises. That part drags. We get distracted often.
We get a taste of the gang’s energy only in the second half. It is also because by then we understand the connection between Mayavi, the popular story series and Dakini, the movie.
Throughout the movie, we would be reminded of characters from Mayavi. If Aju Varghese’s Kuttappi reminds us of Luttappi, Saiju Kurup’s Vikraman immediately brings the image of the Vikraman (Mayavi) wearing a striped shirt.
More than emotional, Dakini is a humorous journey. Rahul has also used the possibilities of black humor in the movie. One instance is where Mayan, the goon, talks about a goon’s costume.
The background score is not so great; however the songs are good. The art and costume departments of Dakini, too, deserve mention. The departments have worked hard to bring the right ambience for the movie.
Dakini is delightful because it lets us watch women aging so gracefully. The foursome don’t read scriptures as they are told to, instead live their lives as it is going to end in the next moment. They are, indeed, go-getters!
