Nadikar Review: Tovino Thomas’ Acting Brilliance Helps ‘The Superstar’ Survive

There are two layers in Nadikar in which Tovino Thomas excels; one as the protagonist of the movie that is about the films and stardom, and other is the actor or actors inside the movie. Lal Jr., the director of Honey Bee series and Driving License, has kept the movie intact which otherwise had several plots and subplots which would have somehow caused mayhem if they had not been handled carefully. Nadikar has that general trope of basic issues movies about movies face, like clichés like superstars behaving with the same traits as they have been portrayed for decades, conflicts between directors and actors, struggles of actors etc., however, though it misses sometimes, Nadikar keeps a viewer hooked into it with the pace and witty dialogues the comedy-drama carries throughout the movie.

The layers discussed above must have been difficult for Tovino as a performer. One layer is an arrogant and careless superstar with nuances of megalomania and narcissism. There, he is struggling from the trauma of childhood memories and not being recognised as a good actor. That is the real David Padikkal and people around him and his fans are aware of this situation, but the narcissist inside him is not ready to accept that fact. Then comes the moment of realisation as he was being asked to leave a set of a prominent director (Koshy Sir, donned by famous Malayalam actor-director Ranjith) as the later finds him is not acting but remains as same a tree, without emotions or the intensity the character demands.

The movie then gets into the phase of the ‘Nadikar’ in which the protagonist finds ways to better himself to be a good ‘Nadikar’ (actor). There the movie presents the second layer of acting from Tovino Thomas, who had done exceptionally well in movies like Anweshippin Kandethum, 2018, Mayanadhi and Adrishya Jalakangal. As an actor; Tovino changes his gear there and aims for what can be called as ‘qualified as genius performance’ as he is trying to prove  that he can act.

The most important scene from the movie comes in the climax. He goes back to Koshy Sir’s location and engages in a mano o mano acting performance with Anoop Menon where both of them — a father and son duo — get back to normal after meeting for the first time since the father abandoned the son — to stay with his parents. In those scenes, Tovino is exceptional and will somehow compel you to ignore the flaws you might have found in other scenes in the movie.

A better part of the movie has Soubin Shahir, as a guru to teach David acting. Him, along with the supporting cast of Suresh Krishna and Balu Varghese light the movie upto a level where the imperfections of the writing will be laid to rest by a viewer. After a long time, in her third appearance in two years in Malayalam, Bhavana is also seen in Nadikar, but something like an extended cameo role, as the ex of David.

Nadikar has flaws. One is its natural predictability, because, the moment you realise that David is struggling, your wisdom will obviously send you the message that there will come a saviour and finally David will come back. That, somehow happens.  Another flaw is, as mentioned above, the clichés. You will feel like you are watching Udayananu Thaaram, Kadha Parayumpol and Varshangalkku Shesham.

But, the movie is entertaining and has excellent acting performances, especially from Tovino Thomas.

Timeline rating: 2.5/5