Eesho is a Malayalam thriller headlined by Jayasurya and Jaffar Idukki, directed by Nadirshah with a screenplay by Suneesh Varanad. This SONY LIV movie deals with the themes of sexual assault against children and POCSO cases. The trailer of the movie portrayed it as a fantastic edge-of-the-seat thriller. But, does it actually live up to it? Read this review of Eesho to find out.
As predictable as it can get
Eesho is as predictable as it can get for a thriller. As the movie begins, you expect something to happen, but what actually happens is something else altogether. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. Even before Jayasurya’s character is introduced, we know very well where the movie is going with him.
Eesho begins with a young girl who is being sexually assaulted by her teacher. The authorities, however, take no action against the teacher. Instead, they turn it all around on the girl and her mother, questioning their characters. Unable to deal with the public humiliation, the mother-daughter duo kill themselves. Cut to some time later, an old ATM security guard Ramachandran Pillai agrees to be a witness to a POCSO case. As he is testifying against a rich and powerful industrialist, the film shows a conspiracy to kill him.
Every moment in this movie is easily predictable. At the very first mention of events, you can guess how it is all going to play out. This makes the movie not just predictable, but also boring. The director undermines the intelligence of the audience. So, when the big reveal happens, you were already expecting it.
Performances worth the watch
The movie is all about Jayasurya and Jaffar Idukki and they get the maximum screen time. The rest of the cast, like Namitha Pramod, Suresh Krishna, Johny Antony, Kottayam Nazeer, Rajith Kumar, and Indrans, barely have any role to play. Eesho is a dialogue-centric movie, so even if you don’t have your eyes trained on the screen, you are not missing anything.
Jayasurya’s Eesho is a little unpredictable, but that is largely due to the actor’s prowess rather than the strength of the writing. You are never really sure if Eesho is a villain or a hero even if you have clear suspicions. Jaffar Idukki is a pleasure to watch. He gets the nuances right and you feel everything he is feeling. From the resolve to do the right thing to the fear of being in the crosshairs of a powerful man, the character of Ramachandran Pillai is the star of the show. Namitha Pramod’s Advocate Aswathy is a strong woman with no real importance in driving the story.
Despite the fact that the movie deals with themes of sexual assault, the women don’t have a say on the topic. In fact, Eesho is a highly male-centric film and deals with how the men who are witnesses to a tragedy deal with the aftermath. There is no talk about how the actual survivors of such tragedies deal with the fallout.
Though predictable, Eesho is worth a watch for the strong performances of Jayasurya and Jaffar Idukki. And even if you miss it, well, you won’t be missing much.
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