Farhana Movie Review

Aishwarya Rajesh carved out a niche for herself with her characters on screen. Notwithstanding criticism for her colour and personality, Aishwarya made her mark. She broke stereotypes. She is back with Farhana, an author-backed-role. Written and directed by Nelson Venkatesan, the film is bankrolled by Dream Warrior Pictures which promises to be a film with strong content. Will it meet the expectations? Let’s find out.

What is it about?

Farhana (Aishwarya Rajesh) is an ordinary housewife and mom of two kids who comes from a conservative Muslim family. Her husband runs a footwear shop in Old City that fails to make the ends meet. Owing to her family’s financial problems, she convinces her husband and father to take up a job. Farhana ends up at a call-centre which unexpectedly changes her life. She manages to earn well and look after the family and her kids. But new problems come into her life. It changes her life upside down. Who is Dayakar (Selva Raghavan)? How does Farhana handle him and the problems that come her way forms the crux of the story.

Performances

Farhana has one of the best and honest performances which make it thoroughly engaging and gripping. Aishwarya Rajesh walks away with all the laurels for her acting in the titular role. Undoubtedly, she is apt for the role and she carried off the film on her shoulders which is not easy. Jithan Ramesh as Aishwarya’s husband Kareem does complete justice for his character as a good husband. Actor Kitty plays Azeez Bhai, a religious and restrictive father of Farhana. He does his part well. Anumol as Nitya delivers what is expected from a supporting character. Aishwarya Dutta as modern girl Sofia gets noticed. It is Selva Raghavan who makes it even more engaging and gripping. His role as musician Dayakar has a lot of depth and the story revolves around him. Scenes between Aishwarya Rajesh and Selva Raghavan have worked out well.

Technicalities

The plot-line of Farhana is pretty simple. But the manner in which it is weaved into a story with engaging twists made it work. Writing and direction score the points. Justin Prabhakaran’s Background music is commendable. Gokul Benoy’s visuals appeal. Editing is good, barring slow-paced narration. Production design is decent. Technically, Farhana has nothing much to point out at.

Highlights

Aishwarya Rajesh & Villain
Concept & Direction
Emotional Depth

Drawbacks

Slow-paced Narration
Predictable Elements
Simple Climax

Analysis

Farhana is not the usual film one comes across. Its writing, set-up and direction is honest and stays true to the story. Director made audiences take into the world of Farhana’s life effortlessly and connect with her problems on screen. This is where writer-director Nelson Venkatesan succeeded big. He roped in the best actors to play the suitable roles which acted as icing on the cake. The performances took the film forward. Interestingly, the face of the villain is not revealed until in the later portion of the second-half. Till then, it was just villain Dayakar’s voice that did the trick. This is a good experiment which really worked for Farhana. The emotional-depth in Farhana’s character is the biggest strength of the film and how she fears her family is well conceived. The metro train sequence and the shopping mall sequence raised the curiosity quotient.

Having said these, like any other movie, Farhana is not without flaws. Its slow-paced narration tests patience. At portions, one may want the film’s proceedings to pick up the pace and end the things. After witnessing good writing with twists and impressive performances, the climax appears to be very toned down. It is a simple and usual climax. The predictable elements made Farhana an ordinary watch. The film has gripping and engaging elements. The first-half of Farhana till interval is thoroughly engaging. The second-half is a little flat after the reveal of the villain’s face. Overall, Farhana is an emotional thriller with a message. For some, this message connects and others it is messy.

Bottom-line: Emotional Thriller With Message

Rating: 2.75/5