Movie Review
Alphonse Puthren – Thanks to his films, Neram and the much-loved Premam, the name is enough to put a smile on anyone’s face. Seven years later, the director is back with his third outing, Kizyl, which managed to generate interest with almost zero promotions. So did Alphonse strike gold with Puthren Gold?
Storyline
The film starts with Joshi (Prithviraj Sukumaran), a mobile shop owner. His mother (Mallika Sukumaran) wakes him up to find that someone has parked a truck full of speakers at their gate. Despite complaining to the police, the truck remains there for several days. Much to his surprise, he learns that they are not just speakers, but gold nuggets.
Nayanthara
Meanwhile, Unnikrishnan has arranged a wedding for his daughter Sumangali (Nayanthara) with a rich family. What does Unnikrishna have to do with gold bars? Who stopped the car? Will Joshi take advantage of it? Gold has the answer to all these questions.
Alphonse Puthren has developed a cult following with only two films to his credit. Naturally, expectations were high for Gyzyl as this was his comeback film. However, Gold is not the comeback film that fans have been expecting from Alphonse. In fact, there was hardly any substance that Gold could convey through a short film.
Two and a half hours of reading Gold, you can’t help but think about your science lessons. Can time stand still? Why does two hours feel like five hours? In addition to the story about gold nuggets, you also get answers to these scientific questions.
Interesting Ideas
So, Gold had some interesting ideas to explore as well. However, Alphonse penned an uneven scenario that has us wondering. For example, it is interesting to know how Prithviraj’s Joshi will outwit the cops. But imagine the whole sequence lasting half an hour. Alphonse, we get the point. It doesn’t have to be a half-hour sequence.
Prithviraj Sukumaran
Prithviraj Sukumaran is the soul of Gold (what’s left of this movie). As Joshi, he brought out the weaknesses of the character. But he can only do so much to save this mess. Nayanthara barely makes a cameo in the film. With less screen time, it looks great.
Cinematographers Anend C Chandran and Viswajith Odukkathil’s work was impeccable, especially the lighting. Gold also had solid music thanks to Rajesh Murugesan.
Alphonse Puthre’s Gold could have been a decent heist comedy thriller if he had paid attention to the details in his screenplay.
