shibori, Giri, Photography

 19(1)(a)

Aren't we all nameless for a stranger? Are the names important for everyone? Ironically, we name people whom we know. Most of the time, the others we don't know stay nameless. I guess that's why the Director Indhu V.S. decided to keep people without names wherever possible in 19(1)(a).
We allow people to walk over our fundamental rights, as that's the norm… and we know the consequences of speaking out, like the Gauri Shankar ( Vijay Sethupathi) in the movie and the real Gauri L, who met the same fate in real life. But at the same time, most of us are like that policeman, played by Indrans, who get used to taking the salary into our hands and meeting the needs of the family… the responsibilities, again as determined by the norm.
Nithya Menen is brilliant in her portrayal of Penkutty (girl) with her silence and restraint. And the touch of affection for Penkutty in the eyes of Sakhavu (Bhagath Manuel) is touching but at the same time non-committal; very much like how we treat many relationships in our life; waiting to see what happens, just moving softly so that it doesn't hurt anyone; a manner of movement where retreating will cause minimal heartache to self. 
Indrajith as Anand is capable of much more, but it's easier said than done. I felt the helplessness in the voice and mannerism in a few places, but it didn't touch his eyes. He needs to use them more, and they are capable of expressing a lot.
Vijay Sethupathi as Gouri Shankar, does not need to hear that he is superb; he knows he is. Yet he can forget it and get into the character's skin. The smoke is blown out the way he puts caution expressed by Indrajith to the winds… but knowing well what he means. The small quantum of time shared between Indrans and Vijay is the heart of Malayalam cinema… very few have been able to assay these parts as brilliantly as it is done in quite a few Malayalam movies effortlessly. 
The sound of the scooter at the end keeps us wondering about Penkutty's fate, but we must resolve it ourselves. 

For me, the movie kept moving between Anand and Penkutty. The urge to hug Anand’s sister by Penkutty was almost like trying to get a slice of Anand.

What do we want? How would I see it, or how would you see it? Just do that, and that's the end for each of us.