Cast: Mohanlal, Parvatii Nair, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Nadhiya
Director: Ajoy Varma
There are two men – Sunny George (Mohanlal) and Veerappan (Suraj). They are on a trip. Both of them have a mission. During their journey, they meet with an accident in a forest. They are between life and death. The only witness to the accident and their struggle is a monkey. Will they survive? Neerali seeks that answer. Ajoy Varma’s directorial has a good plot for a survival movie. Neerali may remind us of certain Hollywood movies in survival genre, Rajkumar Rao’s Trapped and Fahadh’s Carbon though. In Trapped, if Rajkumar Rao was alone and confined inside an apartment, in Neerali, Sunny has a friend and they are in a forest. Carbon too has forest as the plot.
We get to know about the past of the two characters from the flashback scenes that are told through Sunny. That transition is good; it avoids the monotony. But, the writer could have exploited the survival plot rather than spending too much space on showcasing the generosity and life of Sunny. Also, only Sunny does the talking. All these hours Veerappan is just lying on the driver’s seat. It gives the sense of a monologue. The other sounds we hear in the forest are that of the priest who preaches in the valley and shrieking of the witness monkey. The priest’s speech would make us laugh at certain points and the monkey gives adorable expressions to Sunny’s acts. Nadhiya has only a small role as a pregnant wife. Parvathy Nair too appears in a small role, but it is a significant one.
Santhosh Thundiyil’s camera pans across the mountain and valley capturing its beauty and at other times, zooms in on Sunny and Veerappan. The landscape views, though dark, are pleasing to the eyes. Stephen Devassy’s title song is good, but the audience cannot be blamed if they feel that he could have been quiet at certain crucial moments. And, the movie has some good graphics in the beginning. Neerali is a fresh attempt, but it will not put your heart into your mouth much.
