I happened to watch the new release NOTEBOOK last Saturday............ The pain that Russian Andrews took in shaping his maiden venture uDyannannu Tharum was reflected in the totality of the film, and found it a place among one of the most exquisitely crafted movies of recent times. Now, about two years later, Russian has come up with his second film, Notebook, But this colorful film, though entertaining and good, falters on many counts and is perhaps indicative that the promising young director didn’t take as much pain molding this film as he did making Dyanna Thrum. Sara, Poona and Sered are close friends and are plus two students of Lords Academy, a boarding school in Booty.
While Sara and Sered live in the hostel, Poona is a day scholar and lives with her mother. Sara’s parents are divorced. Sered hails from a Brahman family. Under some very funny circumstances, Sered and a boy named Surat Me non fall in love. During an excursion they share some very intimate moments and get physical. As a result Sered becomes pregnant. She reveals this to Sara and Poona.
The trio decides to handle the matter themselves and don’t even intimate Surat of this development. What happens in consequence forms the rest of the plot. The film is set against the colorful backdrop of a boarding school and everything about the film is colorful. It captures the zest and joie de vivre of school life, and delves into issues like friendship, love, parental care etc in a sensitive manner. Towards the end, the film gives us some very touching moments too. Still it must be said that the script and its treatment could have been better polished. Writers Bobby and Sanjay, and Rosshan himself should have taken care of this.
The members of the cast have put in a good performance. It’s Roma as Saira who impresses the most. Parvathi as Pooja and Maria as Sreedevi too are good. Skanda as Suraj is a good choice. Mejo Joseph, who also tunes the songs for the film, has put in a very impressive performance as Feroz Ahmed, the rather meek and shy student who has a passion for music. Suresh Gopi as Brigadier Alexander (Saira’s father) does an impressive guest role.
Seeta as Pooja’s mother too is impressive. Sukanya as Sreedevi’s mother and Premprakash as Sreedevi’s father are just average. Bobby as the principal Father Antony, nicknamed Dragon by the students, is also a good choice. Aiswarya as Saira’s mother is her very usual self.
The songs penned by Vayalar Sharath Chandra Varma and set to tune by Mejo Joseph are good. Cinematography by R. Diwakar and art-work by Sunil Babu are the highlights of the film. Editor Ranjan Abraham could have made the film crispier at some points at least, especially in the first half. To sum up, Notebook as a film is passable and falls short of what one would expect from a director like Rosshan Andrrews and a producer like P.V. Gangadharan.