'Mollywood Times' review: Naslen's comedy is a missed opportunity

'Mollywood Times' review: Naslen's comedy is a missed opportunity

Abhinav Sunder Nayak's second directorial, Mollywood Times, was released in theaters on June 5.

It is now streaming on JioHotstar in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.

Headlined by Naslen (Premalu, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra), it's been promoted as a "hate letter to cinema."

While it feels refreshingly original and endearing in parts, it's bogged down by its bloated screenplay and overcooked plot.

A movie about moviemaking

The film follows Vineeth Madhavan (Naslen), who aims to become one of the youngest and most celebrated directors in the Malayalam film industry.

While he has no dearth of talent and ideas, industry politics and intense scheming regularly rob him of opportunities.

The coming-of-age drama also features Vineeth Sreenivasan and Basil Joseph in brief but important roles.

Feels creative and intriguing initially

Nayak has some interesting, promising ideas and takes you inside the mechanisms of the film industry.

How do filmmakers create three hours of magic on the 70mm screen?

How do scripts come together? How do different departments collaborate to achieve perfection?

There are also jibes at nepotism, and Nayak underlines how the industry is always seemingly divided into two factions: insiders v/s outsiders.

Another memorable project for Naslen

Naslen is a competent performer and plays the lead role with confidence.

Vineeth dares to dream after watching the films of M Night Shyamalan and Ram Gopal Varma, and their impact on him is interesting to watch.

When we see Vineeth failing despite his originality, we immediately sympathize with him.

However, Naslen's repeated voiceover dampens the experience.

Lack of female characters is deeply disappointing

Nayak has built a lived-in, believable world, but forgets to make space for women in it.

Apart from Vineeth's mother (Meera Nair) and Hana (Gopika Ramesh), who plays a leading Malayalam actor, the film does not care about women.

Women's contributions across various departments of cinema remain monumental, but surprisingly, Nayak doesn't explore this aspect.