Seconds’ is an absolute mess.
When filmmakers show the audacity to experiment with narrative patterns,they should at least ensure that they have an idea about what they intend to put across to the viewer.Aneesh Upasana’s ‘Seconds’ is a painstaking cinematic experience which has precious little to offer when measured by any yardstick of sensibility.Conceived as a thriller the movie resorts to some hazy gimmicks in the manner in which the plot unfolds,and it proves to be its complete undoing.
The film starts off in a shocking manner with an accidental death and a couple of murders inside the lift of a multistoreyed building.Then it goes into a flashback mode as to show how the characters reached the present pass.
Veeramani Swamy(Jayasurya), a struggling insurance agent,Teena (Aparna) a sales girl in a jewelry, Feroz(Vinay Fort), a camera man and Thampi (Vinayakan),a cold blooded criminal and drug addict are the protagonists.Though they have nothing in common or they don’t know each other,destiny deemed it fit that their paths should cross. Not exactly a multilinear narrative but an assemblage of occurrences in the lives of the quartet. Veeramani Swamy’s struggles to get going in his life and to fend for his small family.While Feroze is a small time photographer who wishes to own a studio of his own. Teena is a smart sales girl but her meager income doesn’t allow her to repay her substantial debts.She is desperately looking for a job change.All the three of them look to move up in life,but Thampi is a criminal who wanders around without having any clarity in life.He has two wives and he cares two hoots in picking up a quarrel with anybody,even if it is a Police Officer.
As we go back into the stories of the protagonists we see Sathyadevan(Shankar Ramakrishnan),a filmmaker who is on the verge of entering into big time politics.He is a scheming man and on a particular day his life gets tangled with that of Feroze. A particular incident that happens between them is the trigger for a chain of events that affect the lives of all of them directly or indirectly.
There is an effort to infuse some suspense with the introduction of Salim Kumar’s character and there is the customary big twist in the end.But by the time it arrives it had become a damp squib.And as the end credits start rolling there is a collective sigh of relief from the sparse crowd inside.
Aneesh Upasana who made a rather promising debut with ‘Matinee’, has come down several rungs down with ‘Seconds’. Inept screen writing is the film’s biggest baggage. Technically the film hovers around the average mark. Gopi Sundar’s BGM too is not special.
Performances are not particularly noteworthy and Jayasurya would be rueing this role at a time when his career is on upswing. Vinayakan is his usual self while Vinay Fort and Aparna are passable. Shankar Ramakrishnan, Salim Kumar, Anusree etc. are part of the cast as well. The movie which had its share of troubles prior to its release, looks like a worn out second hand product. Without a second thought it can be said that this ‘Seconds’ can be given a miss.
Cinema Lokam 