Niranj Maniyanpilla in Gu
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A picturesque rural setting, a group of children, a sprawling traditional house (tharavad), a land rich in folk lores and beliefs, and a bunch of great actors. All these should have been enough for a gripping film in the hands of an experienced director or scenarist. But Gu, filmmaker Manu Radhakrishnan’s debut feature, does not provide the chills and thrills expected in a film that deals with spirits and the supernatural.
Gu (Malayalam)
Director: Manu Radhakrishnan
Cast: Saiju Kurup, Maniyanpillai Raju, Niranj Maniyanpilla, Aswathy Manoharan, Devananda
Runtime: 127 minutes
Storyline: Members of a family gather at their ancestral house for a ritual to deal with certain supernatural incidents. Sai arrives with his family and get entangled in the spooky happenings there
Gu begins with the story of a teenage girl who is believed to be possessed by the spirit of a young girl who had met with an unnatural death on the premises of the family home. To help her parents, the extended family comes back their roots to perform rituals to exorcise the spirit and deal with the spell of bad luck that seems to have affected different members of the family.
The plot hinges on the myth and belief of Gulikan and tries to give it a new interpretation by depicting him as a friendly supernatural being that looks out for children. Cinematographer Chandrakanth Madhavan’s frames captures the verdant greenery and gives a hint of the spookiness that even the most blandest of surroundings can evoke.
Sai (a splendid Saiju Kurup), Nimisha and their daughter Minna (Deva Nandha) arrive from Bengaluru with his family. Maniyanpillai Raju, Sai’s maternal uncle, arrives with his differently-abled son and so on. Sai’s scientific temper rebels against the superstitions and beliefs of his relatives. Mithran, enacted delightfully by Niranj Maniyanpilla Raju, is a cousin who enjoys spending time with the kids in the family.
The humour is provided by Mithran’s antics as he tries to cover his fear with some bravado and tall tales. But it sticks out in the weak script and does not quite gel with the film.
After the initial scenes of the teenager being possessed by a spirit, nothing happens for quite some time in the 126-plus-minute movie. The background score has looped back to throw up some weary sounds heard in several films in the past to evoke fear and suspense.
Manu, who has also written the script of the film, cannot make up his mind whether it is a horror movie rooted in folklore or a psychological thriller. As a result, it does not do justice to neither of these sub genres of a horror film. The weak script hampers the film’s narrative.
The threads of the story get diluted as the director spends precious time showing the children bonding among each other and with Mithran. Child actor Deva Nandha is her usual confident self. The one to look out for is the youngster called Appu.
A scene in which the women of the family get possessed by the spirit could have been handled more subtly. A forgettable song could have been done away with.
Some scenes of a scarecrow (reminding one of the Marvel comic anti-hero Sandman) coming to life, courtesy the spirit, added a dash of the thrills that were missing earlier.
What Manu gets right is the way children bond and spent time together. Certain scenes evoke nostalgia as the city-bred kids discover the joys and fun in a rural ambience in the company of Appu.
If you want to watch a family drama with some supernatural folklore, then this is the film for you.
Gu is currently running in theatres.
