Tiyaan aka 'The Above Mentioned' is a Malayalam socio-political drama featuring Prithviraj, Indrajith and Murali Gopy as central characters. Touted to be a pan-Indian movie, this big budget film has been written by Murali Gopy directed by Jiyen Krishnakumar.
What makes Tiyaan special?
The awe-inspiring locations and the splendid cinematography, the profound exploration of religious manuscripts and the majestic background score.
Tiyan has many different levels embedded into the story of Pattabhiraman (Indrajith), a Malayali Brahmin settled in UP. A highly powerful Swamiji, Mahashay Bhagawan (Muraly Gopi) is set to make his ashram near Pattabhiraman's house and intends to clear out the poor villagers from their homes. Pattabhiraman is physically and emotionally attacked when he refuses to yield to the persistent persuasion of Swamiji's men. The tables turn with the arrival of Aslan Muhammad (Prithviraj) and a mysterious story unfolds. Tiyaan also discusses many religious ideologies and their true purpose.
Prithviraj's powerful performance, Satheesh Kurup's brilliant cinematography and Gopi Sunder's master craftsmanship in creating spellbinding background score are what save Tiyaan and make it a good watch.
What pulls down Tiyaan?
The lengthy screenplay is rich in cliches. The evil Swamiji and the vicious land mafia are two of the rusty cliches of Indian cinema. The screenplay also has many loopholes in it which brings down the whole impact of the film with it.
A reworked and impelling screenplay deficient of overused stereotypes and rich in innovative and original ideas would have had a greater and long-lasting impact which Tiyaan deserved. Indrajith, Ananya, Shine Tom Chacko and Suraj Venjarammood deliver decent performances. Despite performing neatly Murali Gopy's endeavor to convincingly portray himself as the treacherous, deceitful and devilish Swamiji falls short in creating the intended impact.