Producer: Malayalam Movie Makers
Director : Haridas K K
Cast: Kalabhavan Mani, Nandini, Siddique, Jagathy Sreekumar, Bindu Panicker, Riza Bawa, Manka Mahesh, Pakru, Salim Kumar
Music: Thej

Produced under the banner of Malayalam Movie Makers and directed by KK Haridas, Maanikyan, which was earlier named Kathayile Rajakumaran, has, at last, found its way to the theatres. But anyhow, the film fails to impress though it boasts of a very different and impressive story line.

Scripted by Antony Eastman, Maanikyan tells the story of Nirmala Menon (Nandini), a writer who has won the Sahitya Academy Award for her recent novel. And a team from a prominent television channel based in Delhi has arrived to interview her. The reporter is her intimate friend. And she knows that the tale narrated in the novel is actually Nirmala’s own story and that the protagonist Geethanjali is none but Nirmala herself. And it is in the course of the interview given to the television people that the whole story is unfurled. The story depicts how young Geethanjali (Nandini herself) has a very disturbing childhood, interrupted by frequent quarrels between her parents and other problems. And it is then that she meets a writer Gopikrishnan (Siddique), with whom she develops a very strong kind of attachment. She even starts loving him eventually. But his attitude is different. It is in the course of a trip with Gopikrishnan that Geethanjali happens to meet Maanikyan (Kalabhavan Mani), a very poor fellow who looks after a bungalow where they stay. Maanikyan is a very intimate kind of man, whom Geethanjali starts liking very much. And then some very untoward things happen in Geethanjali’s life into which Maanikyan too is drawn.

Nandini is okay as Nirmala while Siddique has put in a very good performance as Gopikrishnan. Though Kalabhavan Mani does the title role, he appears very late in the film and has not got much to do, performance-wise. He, anyhow, fits in perfectly with his character. Among the rest of the cast, Jagathy Sreekumar, Suresh Krishna, Bindu Panicker and Salim Kumar do justice to their respective characters. Riza Bawa and Manka Mahesh as Geethanjali’s parents are well cast. Of the songs, ‘Saayamsandhyayil oru novin suryanaayi ...’ stands out on account of the soulful rendition. Utpal V Nayanar’s cinematography, editing by G Murali and art-direction by Krishnankutty are all okay, but there is something not right with the totality of the film. And the problem, perhaps, is with the script and direction. Things seem to be moving at a very slow pace in the first half and you get bored soon. And though things quicken up somewhat in the latter half, the film fails to impress and seem to be moving in a predictable manner. The climax too doesn’t make much of an impact.