Netflix Saturdays : Trance ( Malayalam )
Trance, produced and directed by Anwar Rasheed, the by-word for 'cool' in Malayalam cinema, had a lot riding on it. Anwar was directing after eight long years. (Ustad Hotel was his last outing in 2012, a landmark movie that won a National Award) and this was also touted to be Fahadh Faasil's greatest movie of his entire career. In a career studded with magnum-opus roles, this was indeed a tall claim and so we waited, with bated breath to see how Trance was going to turn out.
Trance, as the word perhaps denotes, is a visual psychedelic rollercoaster that fucks with your mind and poses uncomfortable questions to our society, done up in signature uber-cool slick stylish frames. But one that ultimately fails to impress, falling prey to a convoluted messy second half, fraught with inconsistencies, overstaying its fabulous set-up and premise carefully stitched up in the taut, brilliant first half of the movie.
Trance is about drugs.
Covertly about the psychotropic ones that would consume and slowly kill your mind and cripple your brain. But more openly, about this widespread malaise of the most powerful drug in the world, religion. Trance boldly tackles a topic that is perhaps, taboo and spoken in hush whispers in secular India - the corporate business of religion. Of Godspeakers and miracle workers. And the money-spinning empire that gets birthed thereafter.
Buoyed on by Fahadh's absolutely manic charm, the first half of the movie traces the meteoric rise and transformation of Viju Prasad, a motivational speaker from the little-town of Kanyakumari, to become the hand of God, the miracle worker Pastor Joshua Carlton whose terrific powerhouse performances in packed auditoriums has millions flocking in, to be cured of literally anything. The story starts off brilliantly, capturing the belittling circumstances of depression and suicide that surrounds the self-driven, ambitious Viju in his home-town. Having witnessed their mother's suicide when they were both really young, Viju and his younger brother Kunjan ( An absolutely fabulous performance by Sreenath Basu) live out their miserable lives in this shanty run-down beach facing house, struggling to make ends meet, with Viju's meagre income. But Viju is a driven man - his inner fire and ambition is set up really early as we watch him, monologuing to himself in the mirror about 'confidence' and how his eyes light up on imagining himself in front of a packed audience of thousands who cram in to listen to his speech.
But tragedies continue to hound the poor man. A shift to Mumbai, where he's still unable to cope with the string of personal tragedies that dog his heels [ That scene where Viju is crying to his psychiatrist about not being able to sleep, is Fahadh as pure-gold! This guy is an absolute treat.] changes his luck. A chance meeting with shady corporate business duo, of Isaac [Chemban Vinod Jose, despite the slickly cut business suits, this man cannot hide that air of suppressed violence that wafts off him] and Solomon [ Gautham Vasudev Menon, understated menace in those slant-eyes and with oodles of swag, this guy makes a crackling debut in Malayalam ] sets him up to don the mantle of Pastor, rechristened Joshua Carlton. Coached by the industrious Avarachan [ Dileesh Pothan, another actor/director in absolutely fine fettle here] this transformation is gripping. There is wry humour as the atheist Viju studies hard, to transform into the Godspeaker. After this, the movie glides along as we are introduced to behind-the-scenes detailed setup that converts swanky five-star hotel lobbies into arenas for the devotees to feel the touch of miracle. Sound cues, elaborately staged performances of 'cripples' getting cured and running around the stage, church choir in sync with the miracle performance, AV backdrops - and all of that fronted by the absolutely stunning manic, buoyant energy of Pastor booming, screaming and jumping in ecstatic joy, of doing the Lord's work. The first half is absolutely electric, in this whole set up, of bringing to life, this God speaker carefully constructed by the shady hands of man. We top off the first-half in a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat live interview at a secular TV channel, where the wily TV anchor ( the ever dependable Soubin Shahar) locks horns with the uber-confident Pastor, in an attempt to discredit him.
Post this, things take a bizarre downturn. And I have no idea how the script/story got it all twisted. The convoluted setting spikes up a conflict between the now megalomaniacal Pastor and his creditors, the conflict deepens and things get awry. Somewhere in between, they slip in a honey-trap [ Nazriya, trying hard to shrug off her cute-girl-next-door image] and also bring in a fervent devotee, Thomas [Vinayakan, in terrific form as the glassy-eyed devotee blind in his faith and belief in the works of the Pastor] in the hinterlands of Ernakulam, who believes that magic oil and prayer water is the solution to his daughter's steadily rising fever. And then there is the question of drugs. Fed to the pastor, to keep his own depression at bay, slowly eating into his mind, blurring the lines between reality and the myth he creates for himself.
Suffice to say, the movie overstays its welcome at close to three hours of reel-time. Becomes tedious to watch the Pastor devolve into a sometimes pitiful shadow of himself, searching for the hidden truths. Even the climax actually requires you to suspend disbelief a bit. By the time, redemption and resolution comes through, you feel it's too little, way too overdue.
So was this Fahadh's greatest movie of all times? Perhaps. His histrionics and his mad-eyed Godspeaker act is the stuff of unabashed brilliance. He brings in energy, unbridled and crackling. He brings out the raw emotions that would engulf a man in absolute depression so well. His performance is definitely a career-defining one. The other cast members ably support him. Amal Neerad, the DOP for this movie, outdoes himself starting with the grey tones of the sleepy hamlet in Kanyakumar to the jumping colour tones and psychedelic visuals of the grand-sweeping stage-shots of the Godspeaker.
In conclusion, Trance is definitely a brave movie, venturing where no other has gone before, to question the unbelievable practices of miracle-working by charlatans and fake gurus. It is far from perfect, riddled with inconsistencies yes, but the sheer audacity of having attempted a critique of one of our society's greatest malaise, makes it a unique experiment. Worth a watch for sure - to see the mad gleam in Fahadh's eyes as he embraces this lifetime role and absolutely goes to town in full blown grandeur.
PS. Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Trance, as the word perhaps denotes, is a visual psychedelic rollercoaster that fucks with your mind and poses uncomfortable questions to our society, done up in signature uber-cool slick stylish frames. But one that ultimately fails to impress, falling prey to a convoluted messy second half, fraught with inconsistencies, overstaying its fabulous set-up and premise carefully stitched up in the taut, brilliant first half of the movie.
Trance is about drugs.
Covertly about the psychotropic ones that would consume and slowly kill your mind and cripple your brain. But more openly, about this widespread malaise of the most powerful drug in the world, religion. Trance boldly tackles a topic that is perhaps, taboo and spoken in hush whispers in secular India - the corporate business of religion. Of Godspeakers and miracle workers. And the money-spinning empire that gets birthed thereafter.
Buoyed on by Fahadh's absolutely manic charm, the first half of the movie traces the meteoric rise and transformation of Viju Prasad, a motivational speaker from the little-town of Kanyakumari, to become the hand of God, the miracle worker Pastor Joshua Carlton whose terrific powerhouse performances in packed auditoriums has millions flocking in, to be cured of literally anything. The story starts off brilliantly, capturing the belittling circumstances of depression and suicide that surrounds the self-driven, ambitious Viju in his home-town. Having witnessed their mother's suicide when they were both really young, Viju and his younger brother Kunjan ( An absolutely fabulous performance by Sreenath Basu) live out their miserable lives in this shanty run-down beach facing house, struggling to make ends meet, with Viju's meagre income. But Viju is a driven man - his inner fire and ambition is set up really early as we watch him, monologuing to himself in the mirror about 'confidence' and how his eyes light up on imagining himself in front of a packed audience of thousands who cram in to listen to his speech.
But tragedies continue to hound the poor man. A shift to Mumbai, where he's still unable to cope with the string of personal tragedies that dog his heels [ That scene where Viju is crying to his psychiatrist about not being able to sleep, is Fahadh as pure-gold! This guy is an absolute treat.] changes his luck. A chance meeting with shady corporate business duo, of Isaac [Chemban Vinod Jose, despite the slickly cut business suits, this man cannot hide that air of suppressed violence that wafts off him] and Solomon [ Gautham Vasudev Menon, understated menace in those slant-eyes and with oodles of swag, this guy makes a crackling debut in Malayalam ] sets him up to don the mantle of Pastor, rechristened Joshua Carlton. Coached by the industrious Avarachan [ Dileesh Pothan, another actor/director in absolutely fine fettle here] this transformation is gripping. There is wry humour as the atheist Viju studies hard, to transform into the Godspeaker. After this, the movie glides along as we are introduced to behind-the-scenes detailed setup that converts swanky five-star hotel lobbies into arenas for the devotees to feel the touch of miracle. Sound cues, elaborately staged performances of 'cripples' getting cured and running around the stage, church choir in sync with the miracle performance, AV backdrops - and all of that fronted by the absolutely stunning manic, buoyant energy of Pastor booming, screaming and jumping in ecstatic joy, of doing the Lord's work. The first half is absolutely electric, in this whole set up, of bringing to life, this God speaker carefully constructed by the shady hands of man. We top off the first-half in a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat live interview at a secular TV channel, where the wily TV anchor ( the ever dependable Soubin Shahar) locks horns with the uber-confident Pastor, in an attempt to discredit him.
Post this, things take a bizarre downturn. And I have no idea how the script/story got it all twisted. The convoluted setting spikes up a conflict between the now megalomaniacal Pastor and his creditors, the conflict deepens and things get awry. Somewhere in between, they slip in a honey-trap [ Nazriya, trying hard to shrug off her cute-girl-next-door image] and also bring in a fervent devotee, Thomas [Vinayakan, in terrific form as the glassy-eyed devotee blind in his faith and belief in the works of the Pastor] in the hinterlands of Ernakulam, who believes that magic oil and prayer water is the solution to his daughter's steadily rising fever. And then there is the question of drugs. Fed to the pastor, to keep his own depression at bay, slowly eating into his mind, blurring the lines between reality and the myth he creates for himself.
Suffice to say, the movie overstays its welcome at close to three hours of reel-time. Becomes tedious to watch the Pastor devolve into a sometimes pitiful shadow of himself, searching for the hidden truths. Even the climax actually requires you to suspend disbelief a bit. By the time, redemption and resolution comes through, you feel it's too little, way too overdue.
So was this Fahadh's greatest movie of all times? Perhaps. His histrionics and his mad-eyed Godspeaker act is the stuff of unabashed brilliance. He brings in energy, unbridled and crackling. He brings out the raw emotions that would engulf a man in absolute depression so well. His performance is definitely a career-defining one. The other cast members ably support him. Amal Neerad, the DOP for this movie, outdoes himself starting with the grey tones of the sleepy hamlet in Kanyakumar to the jumping colour tones and psychedelic visuals of the grand-sweeping stage-shots of the Godspeaker.
In conclusion, Trance is definitely a brave movie, venturing where no other has gone before, to question the unbelievable practices of miracle-working by charlatans and fake gurus. It is far from perfect, riddled with inconsistencies yes, but the sheer audacity of having attempted a critique of one of our society's greatest malaise, makes it a unique experiment. Worth a watch for sure - to see the mad gleam in Fahadh's eyes as he embraces this lifetime role and absolutely goes to town in full blown grandeur.
PS. Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
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