The film Sesham is an offbeat venture by
T K Rajeev Kumar. The maker of the much acclaimed film 'Jalamarmaram'
hasn't let us down in any way. It attempts to provide an insight into
the byzantine maze of social psyche, which is caught in the vortex of
harsh realities.
The plot unfolds as Meera (Geethu Mohandas
), a committed filmmaker decides to make a documentary on the sorry predicament
of the mentally challenged who are marginalised and in a sense ostracised
from the mainstream society. She seeks to reflect the plight of psychopaths
by giving a fresh treatment to the cliche ridden documentary style. To
achieve this end , she brings the trouble torn life of Lonappan (Jayaram)
into sharp focus. He is not able to recollect his past due to the psychic
disorder. As the room in which his belongings are kept catches fire and
starts burning accidentally, Meera realizes the bitter fact that now it
is not possible to recount the traumatic experiences that he has gone
through in the past. In the meantime, she gets closer to Lonappan and
he becomes a part of her life. Meera's fiance (Biju Menon) extends his
whole hearted support for Meera who is fully engrossed in her eternal
struggle for becoming an acclaimed filmmaker. She is determined to bring
him back to normal life and she seeks the help of her fiance who is the
district collector in this regard. Being a bureaucrat, he succeeds in
his attempt to bring him back to the mainstream society.
The story takes a serious turn as Lonappan
becomes an integral part of Meera's life and she finds whole things upside
down because of his presence at home. She gives him a job in a school
but the cruel society expells him. In the meantime, Lonappan gets closer
to a child in the school. But he finally decides to go back to the mental
asylum and live the rest of life with the inmates. He discards all the
facilities offered by Meera. The film ends when her movie titled Timepiece
bags award for the best film at the Cannes Film Festival.
Jayaram's attempt at an image switch has
not turned a futile excercise after the widely hailed departure from the
image of an impish, lovable, merrymaker in the film Theerthadanam, a film
based on the celebrated short story by M T Vasudevan Nair. He puts in
a commendable performance as Lonappan and he excells in portraying the
nuances of the psychic disorder. This is the only challenging role he
has got in a career spanning one and a half decade.
Geethu Mohandas gives a marvelous performance
while Murali as the editor of her film and Biju Menon as her fiance do
full justice to their respective roles. Rajeev Ravi's cinematography,
Devi Zora's background score and editing by Sreekar Prasad have contributed
much to the aesthetic appeal of the film. Made on a shoe-string budget,
Sesham is a laudable venture despite some flaws.
