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| Happy Journey |
Happy Journey is the story of an ever-smiling, quiet young man named Aaron (Jayasurya) whose life is a constant duel between his dreams and his fate.
While narrating the tale of a blind cricketer with a heart of gold, Boban Samuel happens to drain away the traces of dynamism with each frame. Aaron is blind and persistently battered by adversities. He loves the game and strives to realize his dreams in this field. Every opportunity gifts him only tragic twists.
Although this ploy is intended for an enhanced emotional effect, abundance of tragedy neutralizes the characteristic vibrancy that typically distinguishes the inspirational narratives of glory.The film however commands credit for the way it weaves together a set of blind men into the game of cricket. Occasional flashes of beauty are seen despite the forced languor. At night Aaron sneaks out with his friend from the cricket camp to have a taste of panipuri.
He then asks his blind friend to open up his ears to the gentle clink of bangles, the fizzy crackle of delicacies bobbing in an o
il-filled frying pan and to the subtle noises that play out at night. The scene is quite tender and Jayasurya makes it even more relishing with his soft-mannered, soothing rendition.
The entire film is narrated as voiceover, the highly-favoured medium that has, of late, characterized the tale of ambitions. The characters are introduced with shreds of brief, clipped sequences, each accounting for their past. It doesn't serve the purpose for this movie. Towards the end, the director hastens to assemble the jumble he has arranged, taking the real attention away from the main character.
These sporadic bouts of inactivity spoil the earnestness that marks this film. Even the attempts to capture the bond among blind cricketers in a camp falter for the scenes look overtly orchestrated, devoid of natural human emotions.
The film throws up a surprise in the form of Balu Varghese - who play Freddy - a friend of Aaron. His easeful handling of the dialect coupled with an immaculate sense of timing makes him an extremely lovable presence in the film