Madhavikutty is the most fearless writer to have come out of Malayalam literature . Someone whose work had formed the foundation of my idea of a writer's craft .... sincere,true to yourself and again fearless. Also she is someone who lived her life own terms. So a Bio pic on a legend like Kamala das comes with a certain responsibility. Has Kamal succeeded ? May be to a certain extent . Not entirely for sure. While documenting the life of a well known personality its crucial to make a emotional connect with the viewer which i felt this cinema lacked . The first half of the film that explores Aami's childhood and adolescence was a wholesome disappointment. Things are scattered , a bit amateurish and does not have a natural flow. Its more of episodic of Kamla's life that goes without any impact.For someone who still has fond memories of "neermaathalam poothakaalam" (read many years back) that shows the innocent Aami and the intimate bonding she shared with the"Naalapaattu tharavaadu" and a array of maids , this part of the film leaves untouched. Thankfully second half of the film that focus the phase where Kamala flourish as a writer and attains a sense of equilibrium with herself has been handled better. While it does not reach yet there to be a engrossing watch, proceedings are definitely engaging and keeps you in track. Now Aami has its share of moments and to his credit Kamal has handled few segments really well. For instance Tovino's character was one big smart idea and it worked for the film positively . Actually some of the memorable sequences in the film are those scenes between him and Aami. Surprisingly Manju and Tovino share a unique warm chemistry and somebody should get ideas of a matured , serious romance or drama with them in leads. Also Aami's equation with her husband (Murali Gopi) , Akbar ali (Anoop Menon) , sister and kids have been contained well. There are segments bordering supposed moral code of conduct and it could have gone tasteless but Kamal efficiently handled them. The scene followed by her rejection in election has to be mentioned and so is the pre funeral scene of Murali gopi. The problem with film is that Kamal who is also the writer of Aami isn't consistent. While writing and direction is half baked in many area , the graphs shows a rise in many others. Now coming to Manju warrior this is a challenging role for any actor and she have evidently taken every tool in the basket to pull this off. And how far she have managed to get it right is debatable. The major drawback of her performance is that she was unable to carry the valluvanadan accent. It did sound really forced and had she had a natural flow with the slang, the impact would have been much deeper. In the later half of the film there are few scenes where she excelled and balanced the delicate Aami by bringing the right mix of innocence , naughtiness and maturity. I thought the middle age and older version of Aami was quite safe with Manju and clearly there was no other option as well. Others in the cast like Tovino,Murali Gopi ,Anoop Menon, new girl who played teenage Aami have all done their part well. Technically the film boasts of good quality . The art work is fantastic and production values are good. Cinematography is also excellent. Music is decent though expected much more haunting BGM. Aami leaves lot much wanting for people who are familiar with her books and personality but could still work as a revisit to brush up her memories . For feel and effect grab Neermathalam again and read . Rating : 2.5/5
