When Kasi (Dulquer Salman) sets off on a road journey from Waynaad in Kerala to Nagaland on his motorcycle, his close buddy, Suni (Sunny Wayne) understands the reason behind it. And he joins Kasi on his expedition.
With the beautiful landscapes of Waynaad stealing your breath away, Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi is a journey of friends punctuated by incidents en route. On one night the two friends are attacked by robbers but are saved in the nick of time by a group of travellers on motorbikes. Kasi and Suni follow their new friends to Puri where they take a break before resuming their onward journey.
Taking shelter in a tribal village of West Bengal, Kasi and Suni win the hearts of the villagers when they recycle an old scooter’s motor into a rice pounding machine.
And when Kasi’s vehicle breaks down due to a punctured tyre, he finds a fellow Malayali fixing broken vehicles at a roadside shop.
Director Sameer Tahir’s narrative is slow yet riveting. Woven into the script is a romantic story between Kasi and his college mate, Assi, (Manipur actress Surja Bala) who hails from Nagaland.
Salman is evolving as a better actor with each film and his onscreen chemistry with Surja supports the story further. Sunny Wayne endears himself to viewers with his brilliant portrayal of the easy going Suni.
Seen in a brief role as an old Naxalite leader is veteran Bengali actor, Dhritiman Chatterjee. Needless to say he displays a mature performance. Bengali actress Ena Saha as his daughter, Gauri is cute.
Long after the story is over, what lingers in the mind is Gireesh Gangadharan’s photography — his camera panned across the azure sky, the emerald waters of the ocean and the undulating land.
Tahir’s story comes as a fresh breath of air amid the routine films that feature loud dance numbers, melodramatic acting and unconvincing action scenes. This is one ride you could get hitched into.
