Ithiri Neram Movie Review: When Love Shows Up Uninvited And On Time, For Once
Love could have.That’s the feeling that stays long after Ithiri Neram ends — love could have stayed, could have spoken sooner, could have waited just a little while longer. But it didn’t. Or maybe, in some quiet way, it did. And perhaps that’s what makes Prasanth Vijay’s Ithiri Neram (A Little While) so quietly devastating and beautiful — it is a film about what love almost was, and what it still could be, even after years of silence.
Roshan Mathew’s Aneesh and Zarin Shihab’s Anjana meet again after long years — an evening that begins with casual catching-up soon turns into a night thick with nostalgia, laughter, and the kind of awkward tenderness only ‘first’ loves share. They are older, seemingly settled, yet emotionally unfinished. Aneesh is now a husband and a father; Anjana, visiting Thiruvananthapuram for a day, still carries the fragments of their past. When they meet and later wander into places,the night becomes their stage — one where longing, regret, and reality collide.
Director Prasanth Vijay and writer Vishak Shakti treat this reunion not as a fantasy, which it is, Their brilliance lies in not idealising these characters; Aneesh and Anjana are flawed, vulnerable, impulsive. They drink, argue, tease, and in those hazy hours, become the people they once were and maybe, still are.
Prasanth doesn’t rush their rediscovery. He gives them the quiet of the city at night, the rhythm of the rain, and the honesty that comes only after a few sips of drink. The film’s tone dances between realism and reminiscence — at times intimate like Before Sunrise, at others tense like Ishq.
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Rakesh Dharan’s cinematography beautifully captures this transition — the play of light and shadows. In one stunning moment, as the conversation turns uneasy, Rakesh breaks the 180-degree rule — visually marking how their once-straight bond begins to bend under the weight of truth.
Francies Louis’ editing keeps the narrative fluid, balancing stillness with spurts of tension. And Sandeep Kurissery’s sound design surrounds their night with an atmospheric hum, the distant chatter — all creating a space that feels both real and dreamlike.
There’s a line from Basil CJ’s soulful composition that echoes the film’s essence: “Without touching the shore, we saw the sea from afar.” That’s exactly what Aneesh and Anjana do — they come close enough to feel the pull of what once was, yet remain just far enough to not cross the invisible line drawn by life. It’s the film’s emotional undercurrent — a reminder that sometimes, love’s purity lies in restraint.
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While many films romanticize reunion — think 96’s Ram and Jaanu — Ithiri Neram dares to be more honest. It doesn’t promise closure; it simply offers understanding. Aneesh and Anjana’s chemistry is electric, yes, but it’s also painfully real — the way Roshan and Zarin, friends in real life, slip into these roles gives the film its rare authenticity.
When Aneesh tells his friend Rajan (played with subtle warmth by Nandu) that he doesn’t know what’s right or wrong anymore, you feel the weight of every choice made and unmade. Their brief meeting becomes a mirror for everyone who’s ever looked back at a lost love and wondered, “What if?”
Even when the narrative shifts toward lighter,in the later half, Prasanth manages to bring it back down to earth. Because Ithiri Neram isn’t just about love rekindled — it’s about how life, with all its interruptions and imperfections, refuses to let emotions stay pure for too long.
‘Ithiri Neram’ is more about recognition. Recognition that love, no matter how old, still leaves its trace; that one night can bring back years; that even a brief call from the past can echo like a song we never stopped humming. Sure, it stumbles here and there, but its a good watch. It’s not flawless, but then again, neither is love — and that’s exactly why it works.
