Paradise Movie Review : An alluring tale with a fabulous cast that leaves you in a conundrum

Story: Amritha and Kesav take a trip to crisis-stricken Sri Lanka on their fifth wedding anniversary. However, their vacation takes a sour turn

Review: Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise takes us through the lives of a Malayali couple who go on a vacation to Sri Lanka on their fifth wedding anniversary. Their trip couldn’t have been more ill-timed, as the country is going through the worst economic crisis since its independence, which has sparked widespread protests.

When we are first introduced to Amritha (Darshana Rajendran) and Kesav (Roshan Mathew), we see a happy couple grinning and cheerful as they arrive on an anniversary trip. It certainly helps that this isn’t the first time we have seen Darshana and Roshan playing a couple onscreen. That familiarity instantly makes us invest in the lead characters and their relationship with each other. As the movie proceeds, we get a closer look into their marriage and their behaviour towards each other.

For Amritha and Kesav, this vacation marks an escape from their everyday lives. Right after we see them at their most intimate, something takes place that acts as a stumbling block to their vacation and also their relationship. But Amritha deals with the incident way better than Kesav does. At one point, she has to remind him that not only him but she is also enduring this situation. Kesav loses his sleep and has a poor choice of words to describe the place where he willingly decided to come for vacation. He even runs away from taking accountability, even when someone’s life is on the line.

Unarguably, the most alluring part of Paradise is its reference to the Ramayana. The film almost acts as a modern retelling of the epic. As long as it doesn’t try to make these references too in your face, the film is riveting. But when the characters directly converse with each other about Ramayana in the context of what’s happening to them at that moment, the film loses its allure. At one point, Amritha says that there are 300 versions of the Ramayana. Paradise can very well be seen as Prasanna Vithanage’s version of the epic. Interestingly, the film in itself gives us different perspectives and versions as to how it has concluded.

After the initial stretches, we see Amritha and Kesav separated from each other even when they are together. Throughout the film, we see them eating on either side of the dining table. As the film progresses, we see the difference not just in what they eat but also in the conversations that they have. We see Kesav doubting something that Amritha says and later, Amritha questions the authenticity of the accusation that Kesav made against a character.

The entire cast is fabulous, including the leads and the actors who play the three men who help the couple during their stay—Andrew (Shyam Fernando), Iqbal (Isham Samzudeen) and Sree (Sumith Ilango). Mahendra Perera as Sergeant Bandara deserves a special shoutout. His character goes from helpless to ignorant to wicked and the actor effortlessly takes us through each and every emotion. The stunning visuals by Rajeev Ravi engulf you into the world of the film, as does Sreekar Prasad’s editing. The music by K isn’t cutting-edge, but is still stirring.

Paradise makes us buy into its world, but when we come out of the film, it leaves us in a conundrum. When we look at the film as a take on interpersonal relationships or a showcase of a time of uncertainty and hardship in history, it isn’t completely gratifying. But still, the lack of precision might exactly be the reason that might make it appealing to a certain section of the audience. That ambiguity or the fact that we never get a deeper look into Amritha and Kesav’s marriage might appeal to some and distance others from the film.

All said and done, Paradise is a film that leaves you searching for answers. But while it lasts, the film manages to be fascinating.