Super Sharanya and ThanneerMathan Dinangal
I watched Super Sharnya (Malayalam, 2022) and thought what a pointless movie it was. There is hardly any substance in it. Then I noticed the name ThanneerMathan Dinangal (Malayalam, 2019) mentioned along with it in certain reviews, and learned that both films were made by the same director Girish A D. So I watched ThanneerMathan Dinangal too, which is his first movie. I felt it was the other way round though. TMD looked as if it was his second movie because it was so much better than the other one and looked like a director's improvement over his first creation.
One thing I particularly liked about TMD is Ravi Padmanabhan's (acted by Vineeth Sreenivasan) characterisation. Ravi is a fraud but pretends to be a very erudite scholar and a refined man while he works as a teacher in the school. That he is fake is hidden from the viewer until the end. And all through the story, while he behaves predominantly like a cultured and learned individual with a pleasant and likeable demeanour that never fails to endear him to any student, we note certain instances of uncouth behaviour too from him which is not in line with the polished character and personality that he displays. Initially, I thought the direction was flawed in that it was unable to perfect the refined character's grace. However, towards the end, we learn that the person is nothing but a trickster and the 'characterisation flaws' were indeed glimpses of what he was inside, surfacing from time to time, for no one could pretend to be what they aren't at all times.
That said, if you watch closely, you cannot fail to see that Ravi is a genius of a special kind with multiple talents nevertheless, the one you cannot judge using academic certificates. Even calling him a fraud could be unjust. He is a multifaceted genius compared to any other teacher in the school. And the peculiar behaviour at times that makes him look boorish could only mean that he is merely different. When you approach a genius, you must be prepared to handle some eccentricity too. He has very advanced views on teaching and is against punitive actions against wrongdoings of children and instead is more tolerant and understanding towards them. And his intellectual power is obvious from the fact that he can solve the Rubiks Cube in seconds. His physical stamina and fitness are also above others and he can easily beat other teachers who look much stronger than him in arm wrestling. And while he is erudite in literature and poetry and is well-versed in more languages than others, he also has a working knowledge of technical things. Thus he is an all-rounder, who is capable of claiming a higher pedestal than those around him.
The direction of ThanneerMathan Dinangal looked nice because it pulls together various incidents, characters, ramifying story bits, and subtle nuances successfully. In other words, there were more elements in the film to test a director's capacity compared to Super Sharanya. It had far more tense moments than in SS. For some reason, SS reminded me of Premam at times. And even viewing from that angle, Premam looked better. That said, SS had its ample share of noteworthy quirky moments. And I guess it is comparatively more colourful and has an overall neat look while TMD has many grey frames, what with all those shabby students in their uniforms and the old-fashioned school campus.
I have not yet got why the word 'super' is there in the title 'Super Sharanya'. Is it because Sharanya (acted by Anaswara) was a timid and diffident girl in the beginning and finally managed to muster the courage to stand up for herself and speak her mind without any inhibitions? If that is what the director was trying to present before the audience, I guess his attempt has failed miserably. The adjective suited her friend Sona (Mamitha) better. I never for a moment felt that Sharanya was a fearful or reserved person. There are so many better examples in Malayalam films for the trope of timid characters turning into bold ones. Moreover, the character Ajith Menon (Vineeth Vasudevan) purportedly dreaded by her earlier was silenced by some others already, making her way clear to talk to him without any reason to fear him. In other words, there is a problem either with casting or Sharanya's characterisation.
One thing that went over my head was why Ajith had a lot of admirers among the girls. Nowhere in the film is he an adorable character -- far from it. He is the main bully of the college and a gangster at best. It's astounding that even Sharanya's friend Sona, who is the boldest character in the movie and looks as if she is averse to boys and romance with them in every possible instance, is head over heels for him!
Throughout Super Sharanya, I felt Mamitha's performance was far better than Anaswara's. Perhaps Sona's role possessed the adequate capacity to accommodate the intensity of the character. I believe, on the other hand, Anaswara was fortunate enough to have a better role in ThanneerMathan Dinangal than in SS to display more of her acting skills.
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