S Vipin’s Vyasanasametham Bandhumithradhikal sets out to be a quirky funeral comedy soaked in situational humour and social satire. While it shows flashes of promise, it ultimately struggles to piece its many threads into a cohesive and impactful whole. The film tries to follow in the footsteps of other dark comedies that thrive on funeral-house chaos but struggles to string its gags into anything memorable. The film begins with a deliciously odd moment. One night, Savithriyamma (Mallika Sukumaran), a woman in her seventies, sees an obituary of a fellow septuagenarian woman she knows. She quietly clicks a picture of it and hands her phone to her granddaughter Anjali (Anaswara Rajan). The request? To make it her WhatsApp status. When a confused Anjali asks why, the reply is pure gold: “Makkalu koottukarude photo birthday kk okke status aakki idille? Athu pole thanne ithum.” Because, obviously, death is just a different kind of milestone. When asked if she wanted a flower emoji added, Savithriyamma ups the ante: “Randu love um koode itto.” The humour lands. That one moment, delivered with deadpan precision, encapsulates the film’s best quality, poking fun at how generational responses to grief have evolved in this digital age. The tone is set.
Director: S Vipin
Cast: Anaswara Rajan, Siju Sunny, Joemon Jyothir, Azees Nedumangad, Baiju Santhosh, Noby Marcose, Mallika Sukumaran
It soon introduces Murali (Azees Nedumangad), a mild-mannered shopkeeper who lives in his mother-in-law Savithriyamma’s house with his wife and daughter. Anjali is engaged to Akhil, a police officer with serious boundary issues and even less charm. Akhil’s idea of love is micromanaging Anjali’s phone calls, asking for screenshots of her call log, and basically being every girl’s cautionary tale. Complicating matters is Venu (Baiju Santhosh), a casteist local leader whose opinion Murali holds in undue regard. When Venu shares that a Muslim college mate named Suhail is uploading Anjali’s photos as WhatsApp statuses, Murali immediately suspects something inappropriate. Anjali insists Suhail is just a college senior who has been persistently stalking her. This subplot introduces Suhail (Siju Sunny) and his equally unhinged friend Shakthi (Joemon Jyothir), whose misadventures bring in some solid comic beats. When Savithriyamma suddenly dies of a heart attack, the story shifts into funeral mode and the ensuing chaos forms the rest of the film.
