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Halal Love Story Movie Review: Simple Yet Quirky Take On Beliefs, Marriages And Much More!
Halal Love Story, the satirical comedy has finally released on Amazon Prime Video today. The multi-starrer that stars Indrajith Sukumaran, Joju George, Grace Antony and Sharafudheen in the leading roles, marks the second outing of Sudani From Nigeria fame director Zakariya Mohammed. Halal Love Story is produced by filmmaker Aashiq Abu, Jesna Ashim and Harshad Ali.
Did the Zakariya Mohammed directorial meet the expectations of the cine-goers? Read Halal Love Story movie review here, to know...
Plot
The movie is set in a village near Kozhikode, around the time when the Muslims worldwide were facing discrimination due to the cold-blooded terrorist attacks that happened all around the world. The village arts club, headed by Shareef (Indrajith Sukumaran), tries to create awareness about the brutalities of the American government towards the Muslims, especially the then US president George Bush, through street plays.
To eliminate the misconceptions about their religion, the committee head Rahim Sahib (Nazar Karutheny) and Taufeeq, a school teacher (Sharafudheen) decide to make a telefilm and get the approval of the members. They hire Siraj (Joju George), an experienced, alcoholic AD, to direct the film. They convince Shareef and wife Suhara to play the lead roles, as they want a real-life couple as the lead pair. How the shooting of the telefilm affects their marital life forms the crux of the story.
Script & Direction
Zakariya Mohammed, the director himself has scripted the movie, along with Muhsin Parari. The biggest strength of Halal Love Story is that it is a pretty well-written, well-directed film, and has some incredible performances. The narrative begins on a slow note and takes its own sweet time to set the base for the main plot, which might not go well with some of the audiences.
But
what
makes
it
a
charming
film
is
the
light
situational
humour
that
is
handled
extremely
well.
The
movie,
which
begins
by
touching
one
of
the
most
valid
social
issues,
slowly
shifts
the
focus
into
the
making
of
a
telefilm,
thus
ending
up
as
a
satirical
comedy.
The
director-writer
duo
seems
to
have
conveniently
forgotten
the
initial
intentions
though.
However,
this
doesn't
prevent
Halal
Love
Story
from
becoming
a
heartwarming
film.
Performances
The performances by the star cast is unarguably the biggest strength of the movie. Coming to the leading men, Indrajith Sukumaran, Joju George and Sharafudheen are excellent in their roles. Indrajith has played the role of the insecure husband to near perfection, while Joju and Sharaf are at their usual best.
But it is Grace Antony, who plays Suhara, who left us awestruck with her amazing acting skills. Especially in a few scenes, she has succeeded in outshining her much senior co-stars. Waiting to see her in more author-backed roles in the future.
Soubin Shahir is simply brilliant in his cameo appearance, and totally changes the flow of the narrative with his minutes-long appearance. Parvathy Thiruvothu, who also makes a cameo, has done her part well. The rest of the star cast, including Nazar Karutheny, Seenath, Sidheek Kodiyathur, Saheer Mohammed, and so on, are perfect in their respective roles.
Technical Aspects
Ajay Menon, the director of photography has done a fantastic job with the visualisation. The songs composed by Bijibal, Shahabas Aman, and Rex Vijayan, perfectly goes with the narrative. The background score by Yakzan Gary Pereira-Neha Nair duo is totally on point.
Verdict
Halal Love Story is a simple yet quirky take on religious beliefs, marriages and much more. The excellent direction, well-written characters, seasoned performances and light humour gives a fulfilling experience.
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