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You don’t just marry a person; you marry into a family. Modifying the famous theory is Vipin Das’ Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil where the marriage between a man and a woman comes with a big brother-in-law bonus and a series of misadventures. Also, what is an Indian marriage without chaos? If it’s all about preparing vows and saying “I do” in the West, in South Asia, we dabble with religion, caste, and horoscope besides involving relatives, friends, and their pets in making decisions. Staged in the Indian state of Kerala where this cultural phenomenon thrives in full glory, Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil is an uproarious marriage comedy.
Dubai-bound corporate worker Vinu (Basil Joseph) spends five long years hating and maligning his ex-girlfriend who dumped him to marry someone else. Easing the man into his upcoming marriage is his to-be-brother-in-law Anand (Prithviraj Sukumaran). Theirs is an overly chummy bromance that annoys Vinu’s fiancée Anjali (Anaswara Rajan).
Anand is a known problem child with anger and trust issues and has been separated from his wife and son for a while. The friends and families of both parties are a fine mix of relatable and eccentric faces who craft the humorous template of Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil.
Vipin Das elicits drama and humor from delayed or wrong communication which follows the “Please listen to me,” versus “No, I don’t want to hear anything,” discourse. While it isn’t the most innovative way to design a comedy, Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil fills the void with one-liners.
It is a film that scores higher for what its people speak than the people themselves. Even when some of its characters and their actions fail to make sense (the psychiatrist, for instance), the screenplay (Deepu Pradeep) compensates with their inherent campiness and the lines they get to mouth. Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil, however, falters in giving Anand’s maternal uncles a coherent space in the plot. They are essential cogs in the wheel but their dated presence lacks humor and surprises.
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A good chunk of the film’s novelty rests on Anand (or Anandettan) – a difficult, annoying man who would love in full force if given a chance. Despite apprehensions on whether Prithviraj would crack the comedy genre, which he hasn’t seriously approached before, the actor delivers big-time. Anandettan is a tricky part by design. If the viewers hate him, you’ve lost the plot. The actor and the writers tread a tightrope to make him a delightful surprise. Basil Joseph is in superb form and the chemistry between him and Prithviraj is better than what they share with their screen spouses. Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil loses steam when Anandettan slips briefly into the background – right before the finale.
Unlike Prithviraj and Basil, Vipin Das’ leading women do not get much scope. Anaswara Rajan looks beautiful as the bride-to-be although one does not understand why she agrees to the marriage proposal in the first place. Nikhila Vimal’s proven comic timing goes to waste in a film that demands her to look bewildered throughout. The actress does score a sixer when she exposes the misogynistic tendency of Malayali men to slander young women following a bitter breakup. The women also get to headline a Bollywood-inspired wedding number which feels unsuitable to the milieu despite good choreography.
Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil comes with a riotous supporting cast. If seasoned players like Jagadish, Baiju, and Rekha essay their parts well, relative newbies P.P. Kunhikrishnan, Saaf, and Siju Sunny emerge as solid performers. Aswin Vijayan is a scene-stealer with his physical comedy and edgy t-shirts (one of them reads ‘devankanangal kaiyyozhinja tharakam’) and Akhil Kavalayoor makes Kunjunni memorable. Yogi Babu in a brief appearance adds his share of spice to the marriage mayhem.
The narrative outline is straightforward as it lets the emotions brew between the characters to later burst into flames. The conflicts are familiar and we see the plot twists from a distance. Yet, Vipin Das designs a series of unique interactions between his characters. For instance, look at the craft in the scene where Vinu meets Anandettan for the first time. It is warm and spoofy as it heightens the film’s comic quotient. The actors know the film’s campy space and the iconic KS Chithra-Ouseppachan number ‘Kannamthumbi Poramo’ makes it twice as hysterical.
Vipin Das also uses Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil to celebrate yesteryear classics. If the sweet ode to Navya Nair in Prithviraj’s Guruvayoor-set debut film, Nandanam hits the chords of nostalgia right, the running Drishyam references are smooth. Among others, Aswin Vijayan (clad in pop culture tees) is named Mayankutty from Siddique Lal’s Godfather – a similar character in a similar film.
Relatable and contemporary to every Malayali, Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil is a clever showcase of what happens around a Hindu marriage in Kerala. With major events staged at Kerala’s Gurvayoor shrine (the set design is superb), Vipin Das milks maximum comedic moments out of the chaos. When was the last time Malayalam cinema gave us a wedding climax as funny and chaotic as this? Perhaps in genre classics Godfather (1991) or Aniyan Bawa Chettan Bawa (1995). The film significantly borrows elements from the latter but its contemporariness makes Vipin Das’ film what it is.
The Prithviraj-Basil Joseph starrer has a slapstick DNA but is not devoid of substance and originality. To a film industry that has forgotten its rich legacy of comedy films, Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil is a rib-tickling new entrant that would reignite the need to bring the genre back.
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
