​Now I know I’m kind of late here. I’ve been hearing mixed reviews on the film Solo but decided not to make any comments until I’ve watched it myself.

So finally, today I did and I have to admit, this movie made me go through an emotional ride.
The film, in its totality, captures the four elements – water, air, fire and earth. The four forms of Siva, the Ultimate God, is also weaved into the story so perfectly that you stay dazed throughout the movie. It speaks of the multitudes of human emotions, of love and loss, perhaps indicating of Siva’s struggle of losing Sati, his one true love.
Shekar – He’s warm yet cold, smooth yet quirky, calm yet a storm. Element of water is flawlessly portrayed in this part as we get to see so many beautiful visuals surrounded in water. The story starts off on a low pace but creates a deep impact in the end and leaves you teary eyed.

Trilok – The reverse sequence is applied here and doesn’t fail to do its duty as you sit back and smirk at how Trilok achieves what he always wanted, yet feels the sense of loss that he’s going through. He is a hurricane himself as the playful breeziness leaves him. You’d call this a thriller, but I’d call it human emotions.
Siva – My God. He’s fire literally fire as he sets the screen ablaze with his mere presence. His face, stance n walk tells it all. This is quite a slap for other Mollywood movies that uses too much of dialogues and unwanted explanations. The music here is compelling and the only sound that you need. Here,there’s heat, there’s warmth and there’s the unending burn that’s left behind by loss. Siva is thus,my favourite out of all.
Rudra – The earthy and vibrant colours make you feel so much at ease as you enter the world of Rudra. The energy is almost contagious. This is where you’ll get warm fuzzy feels in your stomach and smile like and idiot. And then, bam! They cut off the ending!

Yes! It’s such a stupid, abrupt ending and it left me so frustrated. It seems like there are many newly developed Censor Boards in Kerala(like we haven’t had enough of one already). This is pure injustice towards the artists, directors and the whole crew. It doesn’t matter if the ending was good or bad, it’s upto the viewers to like it or not. But editing it off and making changes irrespective of the director’s wishes is murder. Murder of good art.

Bejoy Nambiar, thank you so much for this film. You can see his efforts as the big screen offers you beautiful shots in all the four parts.This is original and I don’t see how some feel like it’s similar to other movies. Yes, there maybe similarities, but there are more differences than similarities.

Dulquer Salmaan, once again, you’ve proved your versatility as an actor. Four characters, all of them so touching and so real that you feel connected to each of them. Some stellar performances can be found by other actors as well. Camera and music deserves special mention I suppose.

I do not understand how someone can hate it, but I guess, choices are different. If you’re into mass dialogues, peaceful romances, feel good movies, then this may not be for you. But if you’d want to see something original, then go ahead with Solo as this is indeed “Solo”, in the world of Malayalam cinema.

Contributor: Sruthi