Kismath Malayalam Movie Review

Kismath is much much more than a pure and normal love story. It has more depth in it and has an intense plot which shows the mindset and attitude of people and society when it comes to inter- caste marriages and marriage between people belonging to different religion. The film written and directed by Shanavas.K.Bavakutty is an honest attempt and the presentation with a realistic approach has come out really well.

The story is based on true incidents that happened in Ponnani where a Muslim youth Irfan and a Dalit girl Anitha fell in love and decides to live together. The girl is aged twenty eight and the boy is twenty three, the girl being five years elder.

Fearing the wrath of their family and the society, the two of them decide to approach the nearby police station and request for police support and protection not knowing that such a help depends on many things and is not an easy task. The situations that they face after they reach out to police is clearly and precisely depicted in Kismath, a serious film that has its heart at the right place.

The romantic part where the couple meet and how they fell for each other is told in a little time and bulk of the situations happen inside the police station focusing on how they face the situation with various people in their life coming into picture there. One would feel a little disappointed in seeing the romantic part getting little screen presence but one should also understand that Kismath is not a colourful chocolate love story and has something more to say which is the relevant part in this story.

There are some spoilers in this paragraph and hence people yet to watch the film, please skip this portion. A short film with a running time of one hundred and two minutes, we have a quick intermission that happen after completion of around fifty minutes or so. Rest of the important events unfold after the first half. I liked the way the film has been structured. Beginning with the girl being taken to rescue home and then the incidents that happen inside the police station following up with the romantic track and culminating with the present situation after few years of all the dramas in the life of the couple had a good flow in it.

This ensured a smooth passage for the film to land in a safe zone. All credits for all these things goes to the screenplay and direction. Both these areas are the works of Shanavas.K.Bavakutty who has proven with Kismath that he is a man to watch out for in future. Almost the entire on-screen proceedings have a realistic tone it. Especially the ones that happened inside the police station, something that we saw in Action Hero Biju. The difference is that the situations in AHB was more of humourous in nature, the tone of Kismath is a serious one with very little lighter moments.

Shane Nigam didn't look as if he was facing the camera in a big role for the first time. He had shown his face in little roles in couple of movies like Annayum Rasoolum, Neelakasham Pacha Kadal Chuvanna Bhoomi and the more recent Kammattipadam before. He was natural and effortless in his acting and the dialogues with the typical Malappuram slang blended well with his performance. The boy has definitely got a future.

Shruthi Menon was okay playing the role of Anitha and could not make much of an impact. Vinay Fort as the rude SI was the one actor who made a big impression along with Alencier Lay, Sunil Sugatha, Sajitha Madathil and a few other unknown faces on the supporting side. Cinematography was done quite well. Good support from the editing table and music side also helped Kismath.

I recommend Kismath for the sincere portrayal of an intense theme that has a shocking nature which can make you a little unsettled in the end. The way the film has been conceived and executed with its realistic portrayal of a true incident makes this small film without any tall claims a good one to watch. Going with three and a half out of five as my personal rating for Kismath..

Rating - 3.5 / 5