There is a scene about halfway through Aashiq Abu’s Neelavelicham. The film’s unnamed writer protagonist (Tovino Thomas) is walking towards his rented bungalow, only to suddenly stop in his tracks, his eyes wide, staring spellbound at the vision in front of him. Bathed in a magical blue glow, the house, famously inhabited by a forlorn ghost, is beckoning him to come in and finish writing her story. As he enters the house in awe, transcendent blue hues enveloping him, he thanks his dear ghost, Bhargavi, for giving him this ‘neela velicham’ (blue radiance).
It is at this point that Aashiq’s vision as a filmmaker, to remake A Vincent’s 1964 classic Bhargavi Nilayam, truly comes alive. The black-and-white film may have had no means to encapsulate the magic of this titular neela velicham — the “astonishing incident” that beloved Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer based his short story on. But Aashiq’s version compensates with charm, capitalising on the enormous technological advancements over the past six decades, Girish Gangadharan's marvelous frames elevating the visual experience at every step of the way.
While Neelavelicham has technical superiority to its credit, which is its biggest advantage, the film could have benefitted from a rewrite in parts at least. There are small attempts to do this, with references from Basheer’s other works such as Anuragathinte Dinangal weaved into the narrative. But even those elements never get more than a cursory mention, with the film instead fettering itself to a nearly 60-year-old script, its story and dialogues mostly faithful to the original.
The film begins at a slow pace, with Tovino’s writer — assumed to be a reflection of Basheer himself though he remains unnamed — moving into the abandoned bungalow of Bhargavi Nilayam. The horror element is immediately amped up, with the background score designed to indicate a sense of impending doom. As was the case with the original though, the film never fully transcends into the realm of horror, despite the peppering of a few jumpscares here and there.
Neelavelicham picks up out of the blue, quite literally if I may say so, with KS Chithra’s version of the classic ‘Pottithakarnna Kinavu’. This is when Bhargavi (Rima Kallingal) finally makes a full-fledged appearance in the film, a combination of breathtaking visuals and a nostalgic auditory experience elevating this sequence to a magnificent cinematic experience. Every song in the film, in fact, is an alluring trip down memory lane. MS Baburaj’s music and P Bhaskaran’s lyrics remain as charming as they were nearly 60 years ago.
Tovino is endearing as the writer, deftly capturing the unique circumstances his character keeps finding himself in with nuance and restraint, conveying fear, wonder, and amusement in turn with an easy charm. He falters at times, however, in the dialogue delivery. It is certainly no mean task, spouting dialogues from decades ago to an invisible friend, in a manner that suits modern-day sensibilities. While his efforts come through for a lion’s share of the film, the lines take on a theatrical quality now and then, and they stick out like a sore thumb amid the film’s otherwise grounded tone.
Dancer Bhargavi is a role right up Rima’s alley. She plays the character charmingly, her doe eyes conveying her blossoming love for the neighbouring musician with elan. She too, however, struggles to tailor her dialogue delivery to what is expected from modern cinema. Basheer’s lines remain as irresistible as ever, the other half of the romance equation safe in the hands of a delightful Roshan Mathew. Shine Tom Chacko’s villain role comes as no surprise, and he does his part well, even though the eccentricities his character displays remain a close parallel to the actor’s much-discussed off-screen, interview persona.
It's a tall order, remaking a yesteryear classic etched in golden letters in Malayali minds, and Neelavelicham is a deferential tribute that stays true to its roots. But years have passed and the climactic twist of Bhargavi Nilayam, which may well have been a novelty at the time, is now a tried-and-tested trope that Malayalam cinema had long cast aside. For all its charm, Neelavelicham makes no effort to advance or modernise the original plot. This leaves the film with nothing more to offer viewers in 2023 than its nostalgia factor, period charm, and visual spectacle.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.