Arjun Rajkumar

OverviewReviewsShowtimesCastTrailers & clips Ratings 8.9/10 · IMDb Audience rating summary 5 4 3 2 1 4.8 5058 ratings Rate and review Profile image Arjun Rajkumar Posting publicly. What do you think about this film? Audience reviews Filter by All Review menu icon Profile image Nidhun Thankachan a week ago Vineeth Sreenivasan is a celebrated musician, screenwriter and actor but I firmly believe that his true craft comes through in his vivid, imaginative and soul-stirring direction, lending heart and joy to even the most cliché and commonplace narratives. Hridayam is not a new story by any stretch of the imagination but the deft hand of Malayalam’s most beloved director in the nostalgic romance genre weaves his magic wand to create a canvas that instantly builds a connection with audiences and reels you in as the story moves along. We are taken through the life of Arun Neelakantan (Pranav Mohanlal), first as the quintessential reluctant millennial engineering student, new to Chennai and experiencing ragging, love and heartbreak all at once. Having done my engineering in the exact same batch (2006-2010) as the characters in the storyline, the nostalgia of it all was hitting me in waves, scene after scene as everything from the bulky mobile phones to the ragging to the struggle to clear semester exams took me back to what was definitely the "good old days". Darshana Rajendran is expectedly terrific as Arun’s college girlfriend lending her own distinct voice to a nuanced character that would have come off as petulant and even childish if handled by an actress of lesser calibre. She is the centrepiece that holds the narrative together, generating the moments of conflict that takes the initial story forward and finally playing a compelling role in the final act as well. Kalyani Priyadarshan is charming and relatable as “Nithya” with the role carrying shades of “Nikhita”, another character she essayed in the blockbuster Varane Avashyamund (2020). I could write pages and pages about Hesham Abdul Wahab’s ethereal music in the film. You would think that he has already outdone himself with chartbusters like “Darshana” and “Onakka Munthiri”, only to be blown away by the ton of nostalgia-infused bricks that is “Manasse Manasse” and the heartwarming “Nagumo”. Veteran editor Ranjan Abraham and again, the deft hand of Vineeth Sreenivasan must be appreciated for infusing as many as 13 songs astutely into the narrative, never letting us feel that they are out of place or jarring. In fact, they elevate most of the clutch sequences, especially an exquisitely designed climax shot that is sure to stay with you long after you have left the theatres. I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the exquisite coterie of supporting characters that Vineeth Sreenivasan has assembled for the film. Aswath Lal as Arun’s best friend “Abraham” and Kalesh Ramanand as “Selva” are the standout performers, generating some of the best emotional moments in the film while Aju Varghese and Johny Antony deliver genuine laugh-out-loud moments to add a humour dimension where the story would have otherwise seemed to drift a bit. Ultimately, Hridayam is a mesmeric, nostalgia-laden coming-of-age musical that warms the soul. Master director in Vineeth Sreenivasan has managed to design a character that is tailor-made to fit Pranav Mohanlal’s strengths and the young actor has, in turn, put in an earnest performance that ranks right up there with Prithviraj in “Classmates” (2006) or Nivin Pauly in “Thattathin Marayathu” (2012).