'Adrishyam' Review | Narain, Sharafudheen captivate in decent mystery drama

A missing idol, a team of police officials, a mystery woman and a kidnapping case. As a mystery drama, 'Adhrishyam' has its heart in the right place, with sufficient twists and turns to keep the audience guessing, till a point.

The pace reminds you of Tamil flicks of the same genre, but that shouldn't be surprising since 'Adrishyam' is a bilingual film, which caters to both Malayali and Tamil audiences.

Narain plays Nandakumar, a police officer who is asked by Purushothaman (Prathap Pothen), a top police official, to investigate a woman missing case. Sharafudheen (Rajkumar), a police officer from Tamil Nadu, is also part of the investigation. Simultaneously, Joju George who is an independent detective also starts a probe.

Though it looks quite promising, the film struggles to progress naturally in some areas. The hospital scene, for example, involving a rich man (John Vijay) who wants to sear a child is very dramatic, though it soon becomes the turning point in the film. Also, in some areas the loopholes were evident, like when the makers failed to establish the connection between Purushothaman and Nandakumar. This lend incompleteness to the film.

Director Zac Harris has done a decent job keeping the mystery intact, though he hasn’t been able to infuse much freshness to the plotline.

But given that, the twists in the movie are quite interesting, especially when you consider that it is Zac's first film.

The characterisation is decent, but the use of multiple characters seemed unnecessary, as it tends to be too confusing. Joju George's role remains a mystery in the film, almost to the point that his character seemed like an unnecessary presence.

Its great to see Narain, who works predominantly in Tamil cinema, back in his home turf. As usual, he exudes enough charm on screen, though his character could been given some more meat.

Sharafudhin, who is getting a couple of variety roles, does justice to his character. It's a welcome surprise to see him handling romance with so much ease.

Joju George, who is capable of emoting best with his eyes, does justice to his role. The intensity is intact.

Anandhi and Athmeeya Rajan's performances are also, but there is limited space for women characters in the plot. Ranjin Raj's music lends charm to the film, while the background score by Dawn Vincent was also good.

It is good to see filmmakers exploring surrogacy as a subject, but a careful handling of sensitive topic is needed.