Anveshanam movie review: A visceral thriller, thanks to performances of Jayasurya and co

Anveshanam movie revolves around Aravind (Jayasurya) and his family comprising two kids. His life was going smooth until his elder son Ashwin is found to have fallen down the stairs accidentally. The premise is set there of and the plot takes shape. 

Anveshanam runs on a wafer-thin plot-line and yet it succeeds in building up an unsettling atmosphere.

Despite giving medical care, the boy dies, putting everyone in trouble. The cops soon enter the scene in what appears to be a child abuse case. The first half has been quite engaging thanks to the suspense moments. 

Much like his debut directorial Lilli, director Prashob Vijayan builds intrigue and that seems to be the key to approaching the climax of his movies. If Lilli was made with the thought of a pregnant lady, his sophomore movie is made keeping in mind the essence of parenting. The opening scene had the camera zooming into a building and the film ends with the lens zooming out in the same manner. His minimal presentations are interesting as in the way a song was picturized behind the view of an aquarium, which later turned out to be a crucial element in the movie.  

There is quite a build up for the thriller so that a viewer would get curious enough to wait for 'the real truth'. There are also chances that viewers might get confused by the random shift of past and present and the non-linear story telling. There is a darkness to the narration and the typical treatment leaves us only with an unconvincing climax. During the promotions, there were a few posts on the film drawing comparison with Mohanlal-starrer Drishyam. 

Probably, the best part of Drishyam was in making the viewers root for the protagonists' family but here we are not told anything about the family. In Drishyam, they choose to fight, to resist and to survive while in Anveshanam, such elements of a family thriller seems missing. 

The detailing is also found missing and while we assume that by the end everything will fall in place, but we are simply baffled. The dramatization is not an issue here, but the simple pointlessness of everything around is.

It's the performances that make the film engrossing. Jayasurya, Shruti Ramachandran and Vijay Babu succeed in taking the viewers through their emotional upheavals. Leona Lishoy impresses immensely with the portrayal of pregnant cop and so does her team with Nandu and Jai Vishnu. Lena justifies her role and Lal's cameo was good to see.

Prashob Vijayan does a good job with the star cast and also with his technicians like editor Appu Bhattathiri and DOP Sujith Vassuddev (who also appears in a small scene). 

To sum up, Prashob ends up making a decent film without tapping its full potential.