Anu Nair

One look at Joshua and you would know he's uncomfortable being back at home. He just wants to go back abroad where he's been working since he was 15. No, he's not a workaholic.Nor does he love his job. He just doesn't want to be at home.He doesn't feel attached to his family,only visiting them every four years. The said family consists of the dad, who is a mechanic and loves to spend his spare time repairing old broken toys of the neighborhood children. The mother,like any other,wants her son to get married and stay with them. Then there's an aunt who loves gossiping and the jobless cousin and a grand mom. But the most important of them all is Joshua's sister Jenny. She's a lively girl.Charming. And she's the complete opposite of Joshua. She wants to travel a lot unlike Joshua who gets onto the plane only to come to India once in a while. She also firmly believes in living life to the fullest. How Jenny changes Joshua's life is what the film's all about. Prithviraj is just brilliant as Joshua. No words here. His eyes convey everything Joshua feels. His emptiness on being back at home or the love he feels for his sister or the warmth when he's with Sophie, his childhood crush. He's could very easily be considered the best actor of the current generation. Parvathy as Sophie gives a perfectly balanced performance. She's graceful as a divorced young woman who finds love again. She could have been given more screen time though. Nazriya, on her return back to the silver screen, felt like she was born to portray Jenny. There's no one else imaginable who could have done Jenny justice.She captures Jenny's playful and happy go lucky personality efficiently. The supporting cast also does their job well.Be it, Renjith as Joshua's caring dad or Devan as Sophie's supportive one or Atul Kulkarni as the wonderful coach Ashraf, they have done a good job. Anjali Menon again proves why she is considered one of the best directors in the industry right now. She's a master at weaving stories about delicate human relationships. Especially Joshuas and Jennys bond and his relationship with Sophie. Menon tackles sensitive issues like abuse, with subtlety. The lingering of a hand or maybe a carefully scripted, yet very easy to miss dialogue or maybe covered up scars show us what our protagonists might have gone through. The cinematography is breathtaking. The amazing background music makes the experience all the more emotional. Nazriya's pretty best friend Brownie deserves a special mention. The only place the film looked rather bleak was the too good to be true ending. The movie is emotional. It's fun. Breezy. And beautiful and is a must watch for all Anjali Menon fans.