Sayanna Varthakal

Story: Soon after Ravi Kumar, a whistleblower, gives an interview to an independent channel run by a young reporter, there are repercussions beyond what one would have imagined.

Review: A satirical political thriller that talks about the malpractices in the country's education system. Even the government schemes are mired in corrupt practices.

Ravi Kumar (Gokul Suresh Gopi) starts a skilled education center under the Bharat Kaushal Yojana of the central government along with his friend (Vishnu Govind) and Sithara (Sharanya Sharma). Once the venture takes off , its money-making prospects also get more enhanced. Ravi collaborates with a political leader Dinesh (Dinesh Prabhakar) who is now Governor of Kolkata. Ravi expands his business and skills training centre to Kolkata, where he gets trapped in all kinds of unlawful activities. In a turnaround, he decides to become a whistleblower and reveal the corruption involved in the system. He chooses the independent TV channel of Dennis (Dhyan Sreenivasan) as the platform. What happens after the interview is aired is the story behind Sayanna Varthakal.

The director made a bold decision by choosing the subject of corruption in the education system in the country. The story touches upon the other dark side of these placements where trafficking also takes place, forcing or convincing call center employees to do so. BGM by Shankar Sharma complements various situations.

Even though the strong story falls flat with a weak screenplay and lack of a strong star cast, it's an attempt that needs to be lauded. The first half seemed to drag and there were moments of lull, but the pace picks up in the second half. Songs are nothing to write home about, but cinematography saves the day. Sarath Shaji captures Kolkata and Kochi beautifully, especially Kolkata's aerial shots. Gokul Suresh Gopi resembles his father and we are reminded of Suresh Gopi’s mannerisms in his early days of cinema. Dhyan Sreenivasan as a photographer/reporter does justice to his role. Sharanya Sharma is convincing as the leading lady. Aju Varghese provides comic relief. Vijaya Raghavan and Makarand Deshpande’s cameo appearances are on point.

V. Vinod Nair