White Review: Good Looks Can Also Deceive at Times

Sethumadhavan

A young lady falling in love with an older man or vice versa is not something that is unseen in Indian films. We do even tend to accept such tales depending on how convincing it is and also how remarkably moving the actors portraying the couple appear to be with their performances. Director Uday Ananthan who made his debut with Pranayakalam (2007) and later the segment Mrityunjayam in the anthology film, Kerala Café (2009), has now explored a slightly unlikely mature romance in his latest film that’s curiously titled White. Mammootty who was recently seen in Kasaba earlier this month, gets a totally different makeover and a change of character as well over here. Huma Qureshi who has made a mark for herself with a few interesting films in Bollywood, makes her entry to Malayalam cinema with White.

Roshni Menon (Huma Qureshi) is a techie who moves to London on an assignment. She comes across Prakash Roy (Mammootty) (a billionaire with a slight air of mystery around him), in very strange circumstances, pulling him in time before he could jump in front of a train. They continue to meet over time, in a slightly unconventional fashion and soon she is drawn to him. So what happens to them eventually and does it turn out to be an actual tale of romance between the two is what we get to see from the rest of the film.

Leisurely paced, the film more or less revolves around Roshni and Prakash, especially the former as we get to see and understand Prakash from her perspective mainly. There are some interesting moments like the way the two of them playfully sneak into a brewery and later spend a night at a palatial mansion, or the way the film culminates. But then are also some bizarre and strange happenings making one wonder how Uday Ananthan could even conceive such moments. Take for example the scene when Prakash lands up in Roshni’s office and demands that she spend some time with him.

The film also takes its own sweet time to establish the premise and get you hooked, something that should have been taken care of. But the film is visually pleasing and DOP Amarjeet Singh comes up with picture perfect frames as he captures the beauty of London and the countryside wonderfully. Added to it are the main leads Mammootty and Huma Qureshi who are good in their roles, a special mention for the kind of styling that has gone in for them, including the choice of outfits which is quite well done. The songs by Rahul Raj are decent but oddly placed and maybe that’s why you don’t really remember them once the movie is over. Of the supporting cast, Shankar Ramakrishnan and Siddique get some screen time, otherwise it’s completely a Mammootty and Huma Qureshi show.

Bottomline:

White is a film which stumbles along its way before a slightly late resurrection. The basic premise might be fine and the lead pair definitely work their charm on us, but would that alone be enough for us to be impressed?

Rating: 2.5/5