The theme (on cancer diagnosis and treatment) is in fact a grim one, but the writers do not wish to unleash a truckload of sentiments on the viewer and make them seek tissues. The scene-stealers here are Lal who is in terrific form, Saiju Kurup as Sheela's oncologist who makes us smile/laugh with his responses to the queries from the family members and lastly, K L Antony Kochi (who we saw earlier in 'Maheshinte Prethikaaram') playing the grandpa who mouths some non-sensical lines. Their son Kurien (Pauly) flies all the way down from London but is not exactly told the reason for his urgent home-coming which he misinterprets as a plan to get him married. When Sheela (a returning Shanthi Krishna who still retains her mature-woman appeal at 52) is diagnosed with breast cancer, her husband Chacko (Lal) undergoes sleepless nights. While the makers would like to market 'Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela' essentially as a Nivin Pauly vehicle, this movie doesn't solely ride on his charm. Oh yes, Sharafudheen pops up in the second half to kindle a few laughs. There's Siju Wilson and Krishna Sankar in prominent supporting roles. For instance, the movie is directed by Althaf Salim, the guy who play's Mary's friend in 'Premam', while Mary's boyfriend is the co-writer (along with the director) and plays a minuscule role in the movie as well. We do see a good bunch of 'Premam' actors returning in some role either on or behind the screen. While there's not much newness to boast of in terms of storyline, the endearing performances from the ensemble makes the movie worth watching. How an upper middle-class, slightly dysfunctional Christian family deals with the scenario of the mom character developing breast cancer, narrated in a thoroughly feel-good, jovial manner is what 'Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela' is all about. You can just sail through this one.I don't think anyone in that packed theatre in Pune, Maharashtra went home disappointed. Most movies however good tends to drag after a while. I would say that this is one of the easiest movies that I have sat through in like forever. Its not a serious movie so no one is going to win an Oscar for it but everyone who has acted in it has done a commendable job.
The best part about the movie are the dialogues. For his first movie Althaf Salim has done a pretty good job. The bloke who plays Mary's boy-friend George in Premam is one of the writer and the bloke who plays Mary's friend Jehangir is the Director. The movie stars a lot of the cast members of Premam. It is a very light- hearted comedy that is a joy to sit through. You would tend to assume that maybe the movie gets serious in the second half but it rarely does. Its only after watching the movie that I realized that Crab is the symbol for the star-sign Cancer.Nivin Pauly's mother is diagnosed with early onset of cancer and the movie deals with how the family comes to term with the circumstances. Its only later that I realized that it is Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela(An interval in the land of crabs). I used to think that its Nhangalude Naattil Oridavela(An Interval in our Land). I genuinely had no idea what the name of the movie meant for a while. Then I saw Vellimoonga & 1983 and have been watching Malayalam movies since.I have since watched some absolute gems like Maheshinthe Prathikaram & Action Hero Biju. Neram was the first Malayalam movie I saw in a very long time. Then around 3-4 years back someone informed me that Malayalam Cinema is slowly undergoing a transformation with meaningful well made movies and good actors like Fahadh, Prithviraj, Nivin and the likes. Most of the 2000's was a really bad phase for Malayalam Cinema. It was either the same old goofball comedy in different contexts, or some guy beating up hundreds of people while mumbling English nonsense or some guy romancing girls 1/3rd his age.
I had fallen out of love with Malayalam movies a long time back.
He is one of the reasons I started watching Malayalam movies again. Let me begin by saying that I am a huge Nivin Pauly fan.