'Sara'S' review: Anchored by a powerful script, this simple film breaks the conventions of the feel-good template

Jude Anthany Joseph's third feature, after Ohm Shanti Oshana and Oru Muthassi Gadha, released on Prime Video at midnight today. This seemingly feel-good film, also seemingly made in limited spaces and with a shoestring budget, tackles a concept and issue never tested before in Malayalam cinema circles.

In Sara'S, we follow the life of Sara Vincent (Anna Ben), a young, bubbly, yet unapologetic filmmaker who struggles to make it big in the industry. She continuously assists male directors and is in the scripting works of her dream film. Sara has decided, from her school days, that she would not bear any kids. This is when she meets Jeevan (Sunny Wayne); her relationship with him subsequently brings her ideology and decision into a confrontation with the established norms of society, family and child-rearing. 

Anna Ben in Sara'S

The best aspect in which Sara'S has excelled, without doubt, is its hard-hitting taut script. Debutant Akshay Hareesh deserves praise for managing to bring freshness and warmth to a concept and a narrative that could have floundered if not for a capable writer. Hareesh's script is one that gives depth and ample characterization to its characters; yet, it doesn't divert attention from our leading protagonist. Sara'S is all about Sara, a character with whom many of us might relate; not that the other characters are unrelatable- for instance, Mallika Sukumaran (in one other recent bests)'s character is one we have seen umpteen times, a mother who, while exhorting her daughter-in-law to give birth to a child, as it is the "only" way to bring happiness and joy to a family, doesn't realize the things she has given up on for her to look after a family. Not just in the good parts, we also see relatable instances in irritating portions- irritating in the sense when supposed "well-wishers" ask questions of "when are you going to get a child?"

This relatability is one factor why I enjoyed the film, along with some delightful performances. Anna Ben, as always, like her previous films, steals the show. It works because of both the way her character is written and the manner in which Anna Ben depicts a character faced with complicated adversities, yet with strong, certain resolve. In her short but eventful career, Sara Vincent is just another feather to Anna Ben's cap.

Coming back to the script, another takeaway is how successful Hareesh and the director are in attempting to communicate a relatively delicate subject to the viewer. And all that within the template of a feel-good cinema, one that Jude Anthany Joseph and his filmmaking buddies have excelled in. It isn't overly preachy, neither does it become tedious. The film has hints of predictability, but not in a manner that would dampen the movie viewing experience. In short, Sara'S essence lies in its simplicity. There were several exhilarating scenes in the film which I particularly enjoyed, something that I haven't had for a while from Malayalam cinema.

I personally liked how Sunny Wayne's character Jeevan was written. After the plethora of female-centric films in which the leading male characters were manifestations of the repressive patriarchy, here we get a fresh, neat male lead. Jeevan has his own stand and opinion, but he realizes how skewed the system and society is to his opposite gender. Jeevan gets some of the best moments in Sara'S, where I just questioned for a moment why male characters aren't written like this anymore. Even when Anna Ben makes her presence known with her formidable performance in an outspoken character, Sunny Wayne's characterisation and performance deserves praise too. 

Jude Anthany's direction is so precise and organised that you start to wonder how could he have pulled this off- especially in a pandemic era, with limited surroundings and limited resources. He deftly tries to bring in his signature upbeat ambience, one that wonderfully worked in his previous two ventures. There is adequate professionalism in the way the film is shot, and it takes talent. Most of the Malayalam films shot in the COVID-era disappointed from a technical and professional viewpoint, but Sara'S is an exception. Nimish Ravi's camerawork and a stellar, noteworthy art direction that accentuates it are some of the contributing factors to this cinematically sophisticated ambience. 

Aside from the fact that the makers had to treat some topics with a tad more seriousness, after a long time, I was able to watch a film that appealed both to my cinematic and emotional sensibilities- it was fresh, funny, delicate, sweet, and equally relevant. Such films are, in fact, hard to come by. Watch Sara'S for its template-breaking narrative and, also, a little bit of fun. Also, the fact that Sara'S is getting an overwhelming response points fingers to the truth of how the sensibilities and tastes of Malayalam filmmakers and audience alike have changed over the past two decades. From urbane women who have their own stand being portrayed as rebellious, we have come a long way to worship and hear their side of the story too. Here's to more narratives like these. 

Sara'S biggest advantage is its tightly packed script. Neither does it become a sermon nor does it lack conviction. The makers have delivered a beautifully shot feel-good, fresh entertainer that daringly discusses a relatively new topic to the cinematic storytelling arena. Sara'S is also backed by some catchy music and an art direction that satisfyingly accentuates the professionally executed camerawork. 

Reviewer© rating: 4.5 stars

Runtime: 118 minutes

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