Poke – Review

A seemingly innocent word that causes a humorous tiff between a husband and wife. Who ever knew, ‘poke’ has a sly edge to it.

The films begins with incidents in which the director Nishanth Nair tries to showcase the disparate meaning of the word in the Malayalam diction itself. Citing examples from different situations, he brings to light the casual way our vocabulary has taken a turn today.

Anie manages all the household work and is frustrated with her husband’s laid back attitude. The film also captures the recent development in technology and how it is affecting our lives. A virtual saga has been imposed upon us, and her husband Tony is the perfect example. A Facebook addict, he constantly compares his likes and dislikes (from his wife’s dressing sense to her button like dosas) with the Facebook world. At the grocery shop, Priya (Jaya Ajit) tells Anie that her husband pokes her on Facebook. As the common usage of the word ‘poke’ in Malayalam (shown at the beginning) just doesn’t fit in this context, her curiosity gets the better of her. The English English Malayalam dictionary clears the cloud in her mind. The unsuspecting husband is in for a shock when he returns from the club.

The film is nice with a simple concept. A word can have different meanings in different languages, basically, in a non­technical context a homonym in different languages can lead to a funny twist. The direction is done really well, there was a feeling of continuity between the shots as there is no time lag. A sense of rhythm is established. The film is a one day scene, but there was this inconsistent jump from light to darkness at the doors and windows making it difficult to comprehend the time. The actor’s performance is middling at best but, Cinu Stephen must be commended for his execution. Roshni as the lead actress played her part diligently.

The visual effects is apt for the film, the vibrant colours and popups just added a nice touch to the film, Good job. It just fit in like a puzzle without distracting or shifting the focus from the main point. There were areas where the dubbing went slightly askew and it seemed that Anie was mouthing something else. I think the music fused different emotions together, loved the way it is used to define the personalities of different characters and the title track is still stuck in my head.

Overall, it’s a simple idea visualized quite nicely into a film. It is great for a one time watch as it definitely tickles your funny bone.