Review: Director Girish AD struck a surprisingly winning formula with Thanneer Mathan Dinnangal, a sweet, coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of a school, and he kind of uses the same sort of formula, giving you the same feel, with Super Sharanya, which is set in a college. But this movie, starring Anaswara Rajan in the title role, feels less like a romance, and is more slice of life and personality-based, charting out clear growth graphs in the characters.
Sharanya moves from Kollenkode to the engineering college in Thrissur. It is a very different world, but while there are some early attempts to show that a small-town girl has difficulty fitting in, this is left hanging, as is the attempts to show that she has an extra streak of bad luck. Anyway, Sharanya is one of a tight gang of four, who navigate through life, giving us glimpses of their experiences in college, with food, outings and Sharanya’s romances.
While a romance blossoms with a young man named Deepu, played by Arjun Ashokan, that she and her friends bump into, Sharanya also has to deal with the unwanted affections of annoying senior (Vineeth Vasudevan), an imprudent and tactless professor (Vineeth Viswam) and a shy classmate (Naslen Gafoor). Why the focus is solely on Sharanya and why she is so attractive to these different men is not clear, except for the guess that she seems like the more docile and nubile young woman in their gang.
But this is where the charm of the film, which is filled with endearing snippets of college and youthful life, lies. It ably meets its intention of showing the personality development and maturing of not just Sharanya, but also her best friend Sona, played by Mamitha Baiju. And funnily enough, the irritating senior and the professor both get the same treatment from Deepu and Sharanya, but in very different circumstances.
The problem is that the film gets too comfortable with the idea and the cuteness of the slice of life aspects, that it tends to drag needlessly towards the end, and the final about 25 minutes of the 161-minute film feels endless.
The chemistry between the actors is wonderful, particularly among the young men, Deepu, and his brother-in-law, played by Sajin Cherukayil, and his friend, played by Varun Dhara. Anaswara Rajan is excellent and Arjun Ashokan is endearing, but then all the actors are something of scene stealers, from Mamitha Baiju to Sajin and both Vineeths.
The story, which is also written by Girish AD, is a simple one and dwells mainly on the situations, which at some points feel like it will only go so far. The music by Justin Varghese is catchy, particularly Ashubha Mangalakaari, rendered by Meera Johny, Sarath Chettanpady and J’mymah. The cinematography by Sajith Purushan and editing by Akash Joseph Varghese give the frames a ‘fly on the wall’ feel that is apt for the film.
Super Sharanya isn’t a very meaningful film that will move or stir you, but if you are in the mood for light entertainment, this can be fun to watch particularly with friends.
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