Note Book

The pain that Rosshan Andrrews took in shaping his maiden venture Udayanaanu Thaaram was reflected in the totality of the film, and found it a place among one of the most exquisitely crafted movies of recent times. Now, about two years later, Rosshan has come up with his second film, Notebook, produced by P.V. Gangadharan of Grihalakshmi Productions. But this colourful film, though entertaining and good, falters on many counts and is perhaps indicative that the promising young director didn't take as much pain moulding this film as he did making Udayanaanu Thaaram.

Saira, Pooja and Sreedevi are close friends and are plus two students of Lords Academy, a boarding school in Ooty. While Saira and Sreedevi live in the hostel, Pooja is a day scholar and lives with her mother. Saira's parents are divorced. Sreedevi hails from a Brahmin family.

Under some very funny circumstances, Sreedevi and a boy named Suraj Menon fall in love. During an excursion they share some very intimate moments and get physical. As a result Sreedevi becomes pregnant. She reveals this to Saira and Pooja. The trio decides to handle the matter themselves and don't even intimate Suraj of this development. What happens in consequence forms the rest of the plot.

The film is set against the colourful backdrop of a boarding school and everything about the film is colourful. It captures the zest and joie de vivre of school life, and delves into issues like friendship, love, parental care etc in a sensitive manner. Towards the end, the film gives us some very touching moments too. Still it must be said that the script and its treatment could have been better polished. Writers Bobby and Sanjay, and Rosshan himself should have taken care of this.

The members of the cast have put in a good performance. It's Roma as Saira who impresses the most. Parvathi as Pooja and Maria as Sreedevi too are good. Suraj is a good choice. Mejo Joseph, who also tunes the songs for the film, has put in a very impressive performance as Feroz Ahmed, the rather meek and shy student who has a passion for music. Suresh Gopi as Brigadier Alexander (Saira's father) does an impressive guest role. Seeta as Pooja's mother too is impressive. Sukanya as Sreedevi's mother and Premprakash as Sreedevi's father are just average. Bobby as the principal Father Antony, nicknamed Dragon by the students, is also a good choice. Aiswarya as Saira's mother is her very usual self.

The songs penned by Vayalar Sharath Chandra Varma and set to tune by Mejo Joseph are good. Cinematography by R. Diwakar and art-work by Sunil Babu are the highlights of the film. Editor Ranjan Abraham could have made the film crispier at some points at least, especially in the first half.

To sum up, Notebook as a film is passable and falls short of what one would expect from a director like Rosshan Andrrews and a producer like P.V. Gangadharan.