Review | 'Sufiyum Sujatayum' - A visually impeccable musical tale

Review | 'Sufiyum Sujatayum' - A visually impeccable musical tale

It is hard to root for the love story of Sufi and Sujata (despite the actors having good onscreen chemistry) due to the shallowness in the writing.

Sufiyum Sujatayum is a Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Naranipuzha Shanavas. The film stars Aditi Rao Hydari, Dev Mohan and Jayasurya.

Naranipuzha Shanavas, who directed Sufiyum Sujatayum, has taken on a very bold story in these harsh times. Playing with religious themes in a film these days is a high risk, even in a state like Kerala that has never shied away from addressing controversial political and religious themes in the past.

So Sufiyum Sujatayum, as the title suggests, focuses on Sujatha and Sufi. Sujata is unable to speak and their love story starts off silently and slowly, but with much heart. The two leads looked at each other with so much love that it was heart-warming. However, as things go in life, it doesn’t work out between them, and she is forced to marry Rajeev. That proves to be a mess, and then things come to a head when tragedy strikes.

Review | 'Sufiyum Sujatayum' - A visually impeccable musical tale
'A song that shall make your heart skip a beat': New song from Malayalam's first OTT release 'Sufiyum Sujatayum' out

Dig deeper and you realise all that Sufiyum Sujatayum talks about love and how God is love. After all, Sufism is about accepting universal love, and deepening the spiritual connection with the divine. Sujata’s fascination for Sufi begins with instant attraction and develops further when she see him perform sema. Being a dancer herself, she is mesmerised by the way he performs the dance form. With no words to express her admiration, she seeks to imitate him, first through his dance moves and then how he carries his daily rituals.

It is hard to root for the love story of Sufi and Sujata (despite the actors having good onscreen chemistry) due to the shallowness in the writing. Even though it begins on a promising note, the couple's deep emotional bond that survived a decade is shown in glimpses, which is definitely not enough. Sufi is shown more like a mystical being and the script never gets into his real self, which makes the character strictly one dimensional.

Review | 'Sufiyum Sujatayum' - A visually impeccable musical tale
The Soul Stirring Effect of Sufi Music

Similarly, we are shown the troubled marriage of Sujata and Rajeevan in bits and pieces. But it is never made clear why she is still unable to befriend him, despite having a child together. This leaves the whole 'Sujata still hasn't moved on' concept fall flat. Sufiyum Sujatayum also touches a few topics like 'love jihad', but never really gets into it.

Jayasurya's role is an extended cameo. The actor does well with what he's given and it's unfortunate that he was given so little.

Aditi Rao Hydari is pretty as a picture, and has an expressive face that is needed for the role. Even though, she doesn’t exactly look someone who fits the village where she stays. And occasionally, she does go overboard with her emotions.

This is Dev Mohan’s first movie, and he is great as well as the mysterious Sufi, with his curious demeanour, raw and mesmerising talent and dimpled smile. I would love to see more of him in future films.

Anu Moothedath, the cinematographer has done a brilliant job with the visualisation of the movie, which makes it absolutely poetic.

With some great music, solid performances, and lovely chemistry, Sufiyum Sujatayum could’ve really shone. However, with a very heavy second half that went nowhere and some slow portions in the first half, the movie couldn’t be what trailers promised.

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