An often-told story about a young man wanting to make quick bucks but a refreshingly new film that is what Indian Rupee is! Written and directed by Ranjith and starring Prithviraj, Thilakan in lead roles the film boasts of superlative performances and a moral message to the society and the youth today at large.
The film speaks about a very average young man of our generation who does not represent the FB-ing, iPhone-ing youth but the other part of our generation - a youth that is in the mad race to quick money irrespective of the path taken. The film takes us through the life of a young man – Jayaprakash aka JP who is a small time real estate dealer in Kozhikode (Calicut). JP and his friend CH work with a senior real estate dealer Rayeen and dream of breaking away as independent entities as soon as they land on a big land deal that will earn them a big commission. Amongst all this Achuthan Menon, an old lawyer comes into acquaintance with JP to sell off a land that Menon owns. Though the deal never comes through, Menon stays back to become a part of JP and CH’s life after helping JP out of a major crisis. JP along with CH and Menon goes through some major events, enters some major risks and nearly goes to jail eventually paying for the folly of adopting not-so-honest modes to earn money.
The high point of Indian Rupee is the performances by Prithviraj and Thilakan. This can possibly be called one of Prithvi’s best performance and Thilikan is subtle and powerful in his role as Menon. The low point of the film is its script. Nothing new or original about the story though the way it is narrated and presented has its freshness but it is a story that has found its way to us earlier also in some way or the other. Rima does not has much to do, she is a heroine for the sake of a heroine. Her role is akin to the one Asin had in Bollywood flick London Dreams – eye candy. The film basically belongs to Prithviraj in terms of role as well as performance though wish he would have got the Calicut slang a bit better. That would have been the knockout punch missing in the film.
Overall Indian Rupee is a must watch for its performances and subject.
iVerdict: Good. Must watch.
Rating: 4
