Coming of age genre is a popular genre in south Indian cinema and Malayalam filmmakers have also made some hit movies in this genre. Even the recently released Vineeth Sreenivasan movie Hridayam, starring Pranav Mohanlal in the lead role, can also be classified under this genre. Veyil, directed and written by newcomer Sarath Menon, tries to paint the story of Sidharth (Shane Nigam) who has a very challenging life unlike Hridayam’s Arun Neelakandan, who gets everything in life easily. Sarath tries to portray the life of a youngster who is raised by a single mother under difficult circumstances and financial struggles. The movie also explores the relationship between Sidharth and his own brother Karthik, who are like chalk and cheese.
Veyil meaning sunshine is metaphorically used as light in one’s life and the movie shows the life of a disoriented and reckless guy getting derailed in front of his eyes, and how he finally finds some light in his life.
The movie is narrated through a flashback when Sidharth, who now looks to be at peace with his life, returns to his home and mother. The film then shows the past life of Sidharth, starting from his high school days. Sidharth is shown as a typical carefree youngster who is not interested in studies which is established by the fact that he is shown repeating his twelfth grade after a failed attempt. But Sidharth still seems least bothered about his studies and is mostly roaming around with his close friend. Sidharth’s mother is shown as a typical mother character who is always complaining and angry at her younger son for his aimless, reckless attitude. However, her approach to elder son Karthik is different as he is a studious, soft spoken guy. Karthik is also shown as someone who has health issues from birth and that is established in the movie through many dialogues and instances.
Though Sidharth is rebellious and reckless, and his brother is well mannered and matured, both seem to have a silent connection and admiration for each other. As the movie progresses slowly, Sidharth is shown falling in love with Sruthi, a girl from an affluent family. Even though the romantic scenes between Sidharth and Sruthi are presented through clichéd ways like small fights, cute conversations and a little bit of drama, the performance of the actors makes those scenes refreshing. However, things take a turn for the worse when Sidharth realises his brother is also silently in love with Sruthi. This further drags Sidharth down the lane of depression and meaninglessness. The film then shows how Sidharth gets involved in some issues after his mother gets cheated by a fraud real estate company. The movie further shows how Sidharth’s depressive, anarchic state of mind is used by a cunning politician, played by James Eliya, who is apparently Sruthi’s uncle. There’s also a subplot involving Sidharth’s brother Karthik and a mentally challenged boy which is used intelligently by the director to create an unpredictable climax. The movie flows slowly through incidents that are not over-dramatised, but shows the emotional state of Sidharth’s character. There aren’t specific moments of excitement or extreme emotions in Veyil, but the classic narrative style used in the film is commendable.
However, the slow burning drama fails to maintain the intensity because of repetitive shots and sluggish pace. The director was successful in establishing the mental pressure handled by characters due to their circumstances, be it the pain of a single mother who has to raise two sons, the unwanted and unloved feeling experienced by Sidharth, or the helplessness felt by Karthik due to his health issues. The storyline of the movie felt like a mixture of subplots from many movies including Kammattipadam, Valyaperunnal, Second Show among others. Veyil also felt more like a highly toned down version of the cult Tamil movie Subramaniapuram. The climax shot of the movie involving Sidharth and the mentally challenged guy hugging each other, basking under the sunlight, underlines the title Veyil.
Shane Nigam again portrays the role of a damaged hero with conviction. His omnipresent melancholic expression goes well with the many shades of Sidharth, who has struggled and carried a lot of suppressed emotions in life. Newcomer Sona Olickal, who played Sidharth’s love interest Sruthi, looked refreshing though the dubbing seems to be odd at times. James Eliya’s role as an ambitious and calculative politician is a master class in method acting. Sreerekha, who played the emotionally volatile mother Radha, is also convincing. Churuli fame Geethi Sangeetha also comes up with a short yet powerful performance as the mother of the mentally challenged kid in the movie. Newcomer Saed Imran, who played the role of Sidharth’s brother, also did a decent job. Unlike his recent movies, Shine Tom Chako’s role in the film is subdued and there wasn’t much scope to perform for this wonderful actor.
Shaz Mohammed’s cinematography goes well with the realistic narrative style of the movie. Music director Pradeep Kumar offers some refreshing tunes, especially the song “Pacha Rap” at the start of the movie.