#Neestream – Gopal's views

Ahaan starts by showing the habits of titular character Ahaan having down syndrome and Ozy (having OCD) both living in the same flat.
Ahaan is having active nature. He is happy go person. He interacts well with everyone. Ozy is just opposite. He is introvert. Cleanliness comes first to him. That character makes his wife restless. Ahaan is all about the changes that occur to both characters when they come to know each other.

Writer clearly shows the contrast of the 2 characters in a similar situation. For instance: When both meet in a roadside child, ozy hesitates to confront him. Moreover ,he applies sanitizer to his hand .On the other hand, Ahaan just buys flowers from the child as he understands that the child need money.

Director succeeds in portraying the transformation happening in both characters. Ahaan’s transformation to the strong desire to be independent and Ozy’s change to a simple uncomplicated person felt so organic. Ozy’s transformation had a lot of enjoyable humor added to it.

Crisp cuts ensured that even reactions from the characters convey the situation better than dialogues. Background score was minimal and soothing enough to keep the audience along with the journey of the characters. Frames were beautiful enough to capture the emotions of the characters.

Few scenes reminded me of recent Neestream original ‘Thirike’.

Arif Zakaria’s performance is a key reason due to which humour scenes with the consulting doctor worked out well. Abuli mamaji portrayed the innocence of titular character with delight.
Ahaan is an endearing and charming feel-good drama that will retain your smile after watching.

Verdict: Underrated drama

Where to watch: https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81438083?preventIntent=true

Thirike is all about brotherhood, a relation that distance cannot break. It starts with the story of Sebastian (Gopi krishnan), the elder brother and Thomas (George Kora), the younger brother.

Director George Kora shows us the affection of Thomas towards his elder brother in the opening scene itself. Soon, we are introduced to their house with a song and as the song ends, narration shifts to the present. A Muslim couple adopts the elder brother and Sebastian is now Ismail. He suffers from Down syndrome and studies in a special school. What happens when he goes missing?

George develops the protagonist as a cunning and not so likeable guy. With the initial humour scenes, he never tried to justify the character. George takes us to a heart warming ride along with his ‘achachan’ and leaves a smile throughout the film. Film never reaches to the melodramatic stage and that’s where George succeds.

George carries his character Thomas with ease to perfection. Though his he lacked conviction in the emotional scenes initially, he elevated the scenes with his humour touch and succeded in portraying the loneliness of Thomas.( Scene where he asks his brother to pack the bag and leave the place).Gopi krishnan equally does his part well as the calm Sebu alias Ismail who cares little about his problems. Their screen chemistry is just delightful to watch.Shanti Krishna’s as the possessive mother was also nice. It felt like few small characters finding it difficult to emote but it was a negligible fault. Watch out for the performance of Sarasa balusery as their grandmother, especially in her initial scene and in the scene where they both set out to visit their uncle.

Background score provided the charming ambiance for a feel good drama. Songs equally conveyed the feel of the characters. Cuts were fine enough for 105 minutes, especially while shifting the narration after the missing incident.

Thirike is a simple endearing drama that focusses more on the loneliness that Thomas faces without his brother. Though the climax was predictable, narration was intense enough.

Where to Watch: Neestream