Suraj Venjaramoodu in ‘Nageendran Honeymoons’. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Nagendran, the main protagonist Nagendran’s honeymoonIt seems to have been made for convenience. He is written as a naïve, helpless man who will roll without resistance in any direction he is kicked. He does not seem interested in anything other than a good meal. There is not even a glimmer of desire in his eyes when he looks at any of the six women he marries, one in each episode of the series.
This portrayal is convenient in dispelling the anger that should naturally be felt towards a man who is constantly involved in marriage fraud. His close friend Soman (Prashanth Alexander), a marriage broker and a drama artist, is the character who is written in such a way that he bears the brunt of the anger. The scheming Soman plans to fix Nagendran’s (Suraj Venjaramoodu) marriage to several women one after the other to grab the dowry money.
Nagendran’s Honeymoon (Malayalam, Web Series)
Director: Nithin Renji Panicker
Mould: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Prashanth Alexander, Kani Kusruti, Swetha Menon, Ramesh Pisharody, Grace Antony
Runtime: 6 episodes, each 30-35 minutes
Plot: The lazy Nagendran dreams of going to a Gulf country and makes a plan to raise money for the trip: marriage and dowry.
Nagendran goes ahead with the plan without any opposition, abandoning all the women without any remorse so that he can raise enough money to go to Kuwait with the help of another friend. In another writing choice notable for its convenience, most of the women have a flaw – Lily (Grace Antony) has mental health issues and indulges in violence, Laila (Shwetha Menon) is out of jail after serving a sentence for murder, Savitri (Niranjana Anoop) is pregnant by another man and Thankam (Kani Kusruthi) is a sex worker. The crime committed against a flawed character appears to be forgivable. Nagendran even gets a chance at redemption with an honourable confession, which was not at all befitting of his behaviour up to that point.
Most of the episodes are repetitive retellings of the same story, with a deceptive couple luring a vulnerable woman into a marriage trap. One thing that saves the poorly written episodes is the change in locale in each episode, from backwaters to the highlands of Kerala. Some thoughtful work has been done in recreating the time period of the late 1970s in which the story is set, but the background score used to evoke that time works only at certain points, while it sounds awkward at other places.
Filmmaker Nithin Renji Panicker, who debuted with the controversial film Kasaba (2016) and made it forgettable Kaval (2021), some episodes Nagendran’s honeymoon There are signs of slight improvement. But, some others, like the one set in Ottapalam, are unimaginatively written. The entire extended portion of Savitri’s romance with a college professor and the emotional drama in her house makes us wonder if it is a rip-off of an old film. But, no, the makers are completely serious about this.
Also read:‘Visheshyam’ movie review: Suraj Tom’s bold approach makes this drama average
The best thing about the series is the performance of Prashanth Alexander and to some extent Suraj Venjaramoodu, Grace Antony, Swetha Menon and Kani Kusruthi. It was also a delight to see yesteryear actor Janardhanan after a long time. Nagendran’s honeymoon This is an unimaginatively written series that doesn’t break any new ground.
Nagendran’s Honeymoon is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar
