Amal Neerad is an exceptional director in the Malayalam film industry who has carved an impeccable niche for his art. His films, therefore, are much-awaited ones in the industry and the same goes for his new film Bougainvillea, released on the 17th of this month. It is a psychological crime thriller scripted by the director along with Lajo Jose, based on the latter’s novel Ruthinte Lokam.
Though it stars Jyothirmayi and Kunchacko Boban, Fahadh Faasil also appears in a significant role. The pre-released Stuthi song by Sushin Syam grabbed the attention of the audience as a unique tap sequence, probably the first in the industry.
Bougainvillea is based on the events surrounding the unnoticed life of a middle-aged couple Doctor Royce and his wife Reethu. They settle in the hilly regions of Idukki after having met with an accident seven years ago, that changes their life forever.
Reethu gets diagnosed with amnesia and hallucinations after the accident throwing their life into shatters. The secluded atmosphere of the place combined with the seasoned disappearance of females in the locale adds to the eerie feel of the film.
A questionable sense of female empowerment
The prominent female presence of Reethu, Reema and Meera fills the adequate space very much absent in the recent Malayalam films. Reethu’s ability to keep track and sense of the things around her and her incessant attempts to solve the mystery show her efforts to rely on herself. She, though a loving wife, does not want to depend on her husband Royce to simplify things for her. This is because she believes that she has some issues which only she experiences and wants to correct them herself. Her mind tries to solve them by presenting puzzles to remind certain persistent questions. Eventually, she finds the answers reflecting her sense of being free and informed.
Reema is another character who shows the urge for empowerment even when she is curtailed and shadowed by her patriarchal husband Biju. She stands tall in her judgements and is also ready to assist Reethu in all her doubts and queries. Likewise, Meera too is an empowered character as a criminal psychologist assisting David Koshy IPS. She is a mature woman who is confident to take her actions and investigations based on her conclusions.
None of these women are completely overshadowed by their male counterparts, even if so, as in certain situations as for Reema; they have their judgements and decisions to make and execute. Together with this, they are highly able to perceive gimmicks, deception, gaslighting or abuse. This ability to identify these for the lead characters is impressive and supportive from the point of view of empowerment, yet the idea is questioned in the climax scene. It could have been done with a little more reflection on the female empowerment theme.
Jyothirmayi’s comeback as Reethu
From the beginning till the very end, Reethu frequently questions the reality around her. Her medical condition of retrograde and anterograde amnesia makes the life of the couple more trying, yet Royce seems to handle all of it well. Reethu’s juggling with fact and fiction makes her not trust herself, yet most of the time, it is her unreal world that gives her the hope to move forward in life.
She takes good care of the kids and tries her best to be the best partner for Royce. Whilst all this is at hand, Royce seems protecting her and her mental peace. Reethu relies on her note-writing, audio recording and photographs to trust the life around her. Every day she is reminded of her identity with the help of a diary and she paints red bougainvillea flowers endlessly to address her inner call. Her sense of helplessness, confusion, fear and mental turmoil are exquisitely conveyed by the actor Jyothirmayi. Her acting skills with Reethu appeal to the audience to help her discover her reality.
Jyothirmayi is seen as a major competitor to Kunchacko Boban in acting and both of them have come out with flying colours. Their house help Reema (played by Srinda) is more like her consciousness actively tracing out the missed ends with her. Reema never leaves out the confusions and losses with Reethu simply, she assists to help her fill in the blank spaces. For this, she sometimes seeks the help of her husband Biju as well.
Music and song sequences in Bougainvillea
Sushin Syam gave his work the best turn in Bougainvillea. Most of the background music plays a heavy meaning, giving access to a wide range of emotions. In addition to this, Stuthi song became a hit in the pre-release giving wide popularity for Bougainvillea.
The choreography of the song was also peculiar in its tap style unknown in the film industry. The other song sequence, Maravikale too is so spectacular and meaningful, situating the audience in the storyline and filling many gaps which are otherwise not widely covered in the script.
Cinematography is another treat provided visually; apart from the choice of locations, the natural beauty of the place was covered especially in the aerial and lateral views. In maximum scenes, a different combination of greens-reds was covered with grey and dark shades. The sound effects were also effectively used to generate the appropriate emotions in the right scenes.
In the overview, though Bougainvillea came with a lot of expectations before the audience, the various loopholes in the script revealed the flow of events much earlier. After the first half an hour, any viewer could predict the villain and how it is happening. The only one that could not be predicted was the reason behind the incident and that too was not an unpopular one or new idea in films. Some psychological thrillers have already been released in the industry and neighbouring industries with almost the same storyline. Thus, an ineffective script combined with revealing dialogues and an open linear narrative did not offer any scope for confusion.
The inclusion of Fahadh Faasil as David Koshy was also not that compelling since he did not have much to do in the narrative. Even his acting was seen to impact due to this, he seems to act the character with hesitation and artificiality. The tendency to include big stars together for the popularity of the film is the least desirable nowadays since the audience always looks up to what they can contribute organically.
In addition to this, Bougainvillea presents a questionable sense of female empowerment as if it is only concerned with female unity and physical and intellectual abilities. But at the same time, the film has addressed many elements of emotional and physical abuse encountered by females from males in intimate relations. The music, acting range, and cinematography of Bougainvillaea elevate it above mediocre, making it an entertaining one-time watch.
