Ullozhukku Movie Review: A Subtle Drama That Is Backed By The Powerhouse Performance Of Urvashi

Image Source- Vague Visages

Rain is often associated with a long-lost love or some sort of relief. But there is also another eerie way rain can affect us: when we get stranded on the streets due to floods. The feeling of helplessness and the need to survive is what remains. Ullozhukku (Under Current), directed by Christo Tommy, is about the attempt to uncover people trying to find a balance in their own lives with a string of incidents that occur one after the other.

The first few events in Ullozhukku happen in quick succession with no time to think. Before she can chart a plan, Anju (Parvathy Thirvothu) transforms from a sales girl flirting with her lover to awkwardly posing for her post-wedding pictures in a background of backwaters. Unlike the usual scenes where the bride is often shown leaving her house post-marriage here the parents of Anju are seen leaving the groom's house. This kind of thought is something we never find in the movies or series which makes it kind of compelling. The film then progresses to an old and spacious home of her husband Thomas Kutty (Prasanth Murali) and his doting mother Leelamma (Urvashi) in Kuttanad where times seem to stand still like those boats coming to a halt at the dock.

The subtleness and all those silent conversations are well-emoted and that is actually the brilliance of Christo. It feels that most of the drama that unfolds is inside of all those walls in the house and those dimly light kitchens. You even start to believe as if the interiors of the house are arranged in a way that makes the tension unfold gently. The island where the house is located does seem to be cut off from the rest of the world constantly surrounded by the rains that seem to be never stopping. 

Slowly Anju accepts her fate and tries to live in that house surrounded by waters on all sides. But fate makes her take up the role of a caregiver for her husband who is ill. Leelamma the grieving mother who treats her with love and care is unaware of the sadness setting on her face. The narrative proceeds by showing Anju's marital life by carrying the audience along with it. During these times the only relief she has is to leave her home for some time to connect with her ex-lover Rajeev (Arjun Radhakrishnan). To her distress one day she finds that she is pregnant but that too with her lover's child. Also to make matters worse Thomas Kutty dies suddenly and the child becomes the only hope for Leelamma.

As the two women struggle with their inner turmoil with one losing her child and the other one trying to breathe with all her lies. And then there is a situation where both of them are almost fighting for their survival and suddenly it looks like the usual drama. But if you feel like it's going to be the same then you are wrong because here the saas-bahu seem to understand the chaos slowly by revealing their own flaws in themselves. There is a point when Anju learns that Leelamma was not honest about her son's illness and you find her to be selfish. But honestly, sometimes you don't need justifications for the way you behave when in love. Will they finally look beyond the betrayal and try to accept and understand what true love is?

The perfect setting for all those grief and melancholy appears to be the goal of cinematographer Shehnad Jalal and for that matter, he seems to be a master of his art. The location and the atmosphere for this movie seem to be spot on. Also as the two women wade through all the situations a dark and damp mood gets created and that helps in understanding where the plot actually drives to. The credit for that also goes to Sushin Shyam who always finds the right spots to hit. 

Some actors have their moment every now and then but then there are some people whose art will always stay till the end of time. Urvashi belongs to the second category of actors who just paint each character as her own and bring out a delicate piece in each of them. If you feel how differently a grieving mother can be portrayed onscreen then you surely have to watch Leelamma the character played by the talented Urvashi. There is a terrific moment where both Leelamma and Anju sit in front of the corpse and for support she holds Anju's hands. The expressions and the minute moments of pain with which she looks for her daughter-in-law's hands are only enough to show how polished is her art. Parvathy lives up to the journey of her character Anju who feels suffocated and happy at the same time. The amount of stress and the character development are depicted by her so well that you cannot imagine anyone else as Anju.

Honestly, this film is one of those which is surely going to make you pick a side till the end but then slowly you come to understand the way it is. Ullozhukku is surely the film that is going to make you think as an individual. Regardless of how fast-paced the movie feels at the start it surely is going to tug deep into your heart and is going to stay forever. This story of companionship and empathy is surely worth your time.