By Baiju NT [ December 22, 2011 ]
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Ranjith, the master director has done it again, and this time with Prithviraj. His Indian Rupee, produced by Prithviraj, Santosh Sivan and Shaji Natesan under the banner of August Cinema, discusses about the popular sentiment that money is often the deciding factor in our lives. Ranjith narrates it through the life of a small time real estate broker.

Prithviraj plays the very common and average young man named Jayaprakash or JP who is struggling to get a foot in, in a crooked world filled with false personalities and backstabbing allies. He is not much educated but has big hopes about his future. He has started off as a sub agent in certain real estate transactions with some bigwigs and is slowly making his presence felt in real estate business in Kozhikode. Hameed (Tini Tom) is his friend and the two tries to make some fast bucks as they help to sell the property owned by an old man named Achutha Menon (Thilakan).

Though the deal never happens, Achutha Menon becomes a part of their life and things start happening in a fantastic way for JP, soon after. He is in love with Beena (Rima Kallingal), a doctor, though her parents are not too keen about the alliance. JP manages to earn a decent fortune after some smart moves, but he learns some valuable lessons about the importance of money in life, in the process.

The first half of the movie is essentially dull, but the second half is of a quicker pace, with several twists, predicaments and arresting scenes of performance delivered by Prithviraj. It certainly is a 'welcome back!' to veteran actor Thilakan for his excellent performance as the aging ' Achutha Menon'. But disappointingly the character of 'Achutha Menon' fades off post interval, revealing emptiness in the story line.

Tini Tom has played a very significant role as 'CH', the loyal friend and Jayaprakash's partner. The film gets a fillip with the arrival of Jagathy Sreekumar as 'Gold Pappy', the miserly millionaire. Maamukkoya plays the crooked and influential agent.

Ranjith once again proves why he is regarded as one of the finest filmmakers in the business, with a well written script and nice execution. Though he has adopted a conventional style to convey the plot, he has succeeded in making it look genuine. Indian Rupee is easily one of the finest films of the year.