A sweet cup of death...
Movie Review: "Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye"
The following review is published in Deccan Herald, on 25 November 2023 [edited].
A walk down the hall of old classics would certainly bring the 1971 Hindi film, Anand, to the surface when we deal with human psyche that is aware of its death. Raj B. Shetty’s Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye is one such film which leaves the audience with the right amount of emotional touch. While the former film spoke of the zestful living, the latter is gentle-paced and takes towards embracing the reality rather willfully.
Aniketh (played by Raj Shetty) and Prerana Sagar (played by Siri Ravikumar) take to the roles of a patient and counselor respectively. The story shows Prerana as a woman who has become mechanical in nature. Being stuck in a loveless marriage and the repetitive interactions with dying patients become the highlights of her character until she meets Aniketh. Prerana grows fond of the terminally ill Aniketh, and the narrative takes us to a short but poetic platonic intimacy that emerges between the two.
The whole narrative of the friendship between Aniketh and Prerana is elevated by a series of emphatic and picturesque static shots by Praveen Shriyan. The setting of the hospital amidst the carefully crafted green becomes an integral element in the story. We see the conversations, even silent ones, taking place not just between the characters but also with the nature around. The ephemeral network narrative cleverly arrests the attention of the audience to the journey rather than the destination.
Keeping to the rhythm of the picturesque scenes, love and friendship, and death, Midhun Mukundan has given soothing and thoughtful compositions. The music is gentle and does not necessarily intensify any specific theme, yet it is just the right score which uplifts the tone of the scenes. The lead actors and supporting artists have performed convincingly, and the movie stands as a sweet compilation.