Dear Friend

Dear Friend is one of those films that should inspire young aspiring filmmakers who think out of the box because this is a work that screams simplicity. It tells you that you don't need big, earth-shattering ideas to make a film. You can do that even with the simplest thoughts and then get supremely gifted actors to enrich it with their performances. Yes, one can argue that Malayalam cinema has been doing that for a while, but very rarely have I come across something where this philosophy seems as pronounced. The essential idea is to capture a certain feeling, and Dear Friend succeeds. This is a difficult film to review. How does one describe it without stepping on spoiler mines? I'll try.

Vineeth Kumar as a director keeps it real. I expected the movie to go after familiar conflicts in friendship films. But the writing and the making kept avoiding such paths. The bonding of the gang is shown through sequences that put a smile on our faces. Shyju Khalid presents a charming Bangalore in front of us, and the room sequences were captured to make us feel like someone sitting in that room. Deepu Joseph maintains intrigue in the narrative despite having a slow tempo. Justin Varghese’s background score also works for the movie’s emotional arc. Tovino Thomas is immensely likable as Vinod in the movie’s first half. And that pleasant nature of the character really helps the film make that second-half dilemma strong.