Sakalakalashala movie reviews: Absence of strong script dampens youthful spirit

Cast: Niranjan Raju, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Hareesh Kanaran and Manasa Radhakrishnan

Director: Vinod Guruvayur

The movie Sakalakalashala, directed by Vinod Guruvayur, narrates the story of a bunch of friends and their campus life. Campus movies are not new to Malayali audience and Sakalakalashala offers nothing new, except a message on new age media and today’s youth.

The movie revolves around a group of friends getting themselves ready for a tech fest. Their college management insists that they win it. The hero, Akbar or Akku, played by Niranjan Raju, is the head of the gang and has a lot of followers on the campus. The college principal and teachers pin their hopes on him to bring the tech fest title back to their college. The story takes a shift after he falls in love with Mumtaz and eventually their relationship almost lands him in trouble. Towards the end, the movie showcases how the new age technology is misused by some people for financial gains.

Actor Niranjan Raju, son of actor Maniyanpilla Raju, does justice to the role. Though there are no challenging moments, the young actor managed to put up a decent show. Among the other cast, Dharmajan Bolgatty stands out with a different character.

Seeing Dharmajan and Jacob Gregory as college students is a bit odd initially, but as the film progresses, they gel with the other characters. Hareesh Kanaran and Manasa Radhakrishnan also come up with decent performances.

The film tries to deal with a very serious and relevant topic, but a strong and well-written script could have been more helpful.

At times, it lacks energy and gets stuck. Vinod Guruvayur tries to make amends with the help of songs and comic scenes, but they fail to impress the audience in a big way.