1983 (Malayalam, 2014)

As a rebellious son who accompanies his friends to cricket tournament with a broken bat, a confused lover unable to choose between the girl and the game, an understanding husband who chides his wife lovingly in front of his son, a great friend, a responsible father ; the list goes on if you look at the layers of the character played by Nivin Pauly. Each of the supporting characters too has well defined roles and their individual traits stays with the audience till the end.

When two movie genres, namely drama and sports mix, the result can be quite unbalanced sometimes. However, Abrid Shine creates a well-rounded story weaving together the concepts of love, father-son relationship, friendship, cricket and its surrounding politics with utmost precision. The end result is delightful to watch without a dull moment.

The music adds soul, as in most cases, to the story. The Art direction department is able to captivate through yesteryear bicycles, box shaped TVs, Hawai chappals (which are by-the-way making a comeback) and ever so tough Ambassadors.

Subtle touches like Bride standing on a pile of bricks during photo-shoot brings a new sense of perspective into the ever-so-serious melodramatic institution of marriage. It is alright to not have a partner who reads your mind all the time like a psychiatrist trying to dig deep into your subconscious. A pleasant feeling would overcome the audience when they watch the pair (Srinda-Nivin) interact like ordinary people who choose to rise to occasions.

A great effort to show how cricket influences the lives of youngsters in India fails to impress the critics when silly editing issues, like erroneous score-board during India-Australia World Cup finals, creep in.

The song in Rameshan‘s childhood where he meets his sweetheart is a tad too dramatic and overly mature for the scenario. The kids who are still in their pre-teens would never give you a ‘Kangal Irundaal’-esque reaction and nor would they smile and shy away like a bride to be.