Koode – A crossroads of life and death

Star Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Nazriya Fahadh, Parvathy, Maala Parvathi, Ranjith Balakrishnan and Roshan Mathew
Music Composed by M Jayachandran and Raghu Dixit
Cinematography by Littil Swayamp
Based on Happy Journey by Sachin Kundalkar
Directed & Screenplay by Anjali Menon

“Ultimate truth is that life moves on even if you wish for it to stop, go back

or

fast forward to a different time. It won’t wait for you to be ready, it just happens…“

While watching a few films you feel rejuvenated with hope, you have a smile that doesn’t wipe off your face and also a feeling that you want it to last longer than ever. You get nostalgic, you enjoy character interactions – silent and vocal, you tend to give up on social networking and smartphones in your hand become a disturbance. Such is the effect of Koode, at least on ME. Koode Movie Review.

Anjali Menon like a craftsman fills up the screen with many characters but tells the story between two or three at a time. The dynamics of the story are simple yet complicated. There is Love, Compassion and joy at the same time there is a great sorrow behind every happy moment. There is an emphasis on broader subjects at the same time they are discussed in simple details. You are asked to pay attention and never deviate from anything even for a second. The relationships are given time to build and a strong moment is allowed to sink in.

“Make way for life always..“

Life is not just about going through the routines and motions. It is about you giving yourself a chance to wake up every day with a smile. Hence, most elders say live in the moment and don’t worry about losing anything. If it has to happen, it happens. In this statement,  there is an optimistic way of looking at life while being completely aloof. You don’t need to go to a new place to feel rejuvenated, if you’re with your best friend or the loving family, you can make every day a festival. Anjali Menon discusses this as an undertone with each and every character.

“I carry my ghost from past“

We all end up being a ghost to what we were a few years ago. We never know how much we have changed over time to become this present person. Only, when a ghost in the form of memories haunts us, we tend to feel nostalgic. In a way,  it makes us realize what we were and what we have become. Such journeys help us keep our feet firmly on the ground and respect others, family members too. Anjali Menon takes us through this journey with a real ghost but actually, her main protagonist is the ghost and ghostly presence is the real lively self.

He reflects himself in his sister. His shy yet lively young self is lost in the many years he had to work and earn. The years of exploitation, years of responsibilities have burdened his soul so much that a lighter version of it had to roam in front of his eyes for them to open up wide and broaden the view. From a person who only thought his parents are using him as a money bank, he became a loving parent himself. From a person, who wants to save each penny he became a person who can gift shoes to the entire football team. This transformation is meticulously executed too.

Well, in so many positives the one negative is that the movie tends to run long at places where it could have been short and tries to explain a few important things in short. This is not a huge flaw but there is always room for perfection. Prithviraj Sukumaran and DOP performed on screen as if they are fighting with each other to use the camera well with able support from Parvathy, Nazriya Fahadh, and all other cast and crew.

“It takes time for a fruit tree to yield while useless grass grows big every day..“

This is the kind of film you don’t mind revisiting. Who would mind getting nostalgic and happy? There is a paranormal sense of normality in this film that you don’t mind such a sweet ghost haunt you after watching it. At the same time, we have to remember one thing, we all carry a ghostly self of our original self whom we can’t recognize after a wild journey. Hence, at times in the Crossroads of life and death, taking a U-turn towards our old self is necessary than a luxury.