Shafeekkinte Santhosham: Small twists, humour infuse life to a familiar tale | Movie Review

A Dubai-based Malayali returns for a vacation and marriage is on the cards. However, his dreams are shattered when a police jeep arrives at his home on the day of his engagement. From then on, his happiness goes for a toss.

At a time when Mollywood is churning out different narratives and stories, 'Shafeekkinte Santhosham' featuring Unni Mukundan and directed by Arun Pandalam does not make any attempt to be loud or different.

Instead, the filmmaker sticks to the all too familiar terrain. Despite these, the casting, humour and twists do the trick and make the romantic comedy an entertaining watch. 'Shafeekkinte Santhosham' primarily focuses on a young man's dreams and aspirations. Shafeek is a do-gooder who finds joy in helping out others.

He is attached to his family consisting of his dad (Krishna Prasad), mother (Sminu Sijo) and sister. Obviously, his love interest is also from his village( Divya Pillai). At the outset, Shafeek's character bears a resemblance to Sharafudhin's Priyan in 'Priyan Ottathilaanu'. He will go out of his way to help the needy, including his friends Ameer (Bala) and Suresh (Azeez Nedumangad).

His fondness for the ayurveda doctor (Manoj K Jayan) is key to the plot. The filmmakers pan the tussles between neighbours, an usual phenomenon in Kerala’s villages. The dialogues are humourous, though some littered with double meanings fall flat.

At times, the narrative does gets stretched and with an unnecessary does of sentiments, though Unni Mukundan manages to balance those scenes. It is refreshing to see Unni mature as an actor over the years and portray his emotions, effortlessly. In movies like 'Achayans' and 'Brahmam' and 'Avarude Raavukal', the ease with which he portrays his characters now, was missing.

His character in 'Shafeekkinte Santhosham' seems to be an extended version of his role in 'Meppadiyan', his own production venture. Though it feels nice to see him in such roles, it would be worthwhile to note that his peer are trying out more experimentations.

Bala takes the cake in the movie as Shafeek's friend and, with some punch dialogues, infuses life into his character. Manoj K Jayan as an Ayurveda doctor is also a delight to watch. Divya Pillai, Sminu Sijo and Athmeeya Rajan do their bit.

Songs by Shaan Rahman elevate several scenes in the movie. Though a simple family tale, kudos to Arun Pandalam for highlighting issues faced by patients who struggle with confidence issues