Ivide, out in the UAE on July 23, opens with the murder of an Indian IT worker, Nageshwar Rao, in Atlanta, US. Following another techie’s murder, this time that of Sunny Singh, the investigating officer, Varun Blake (Prithviraj), believes that a serial killer is on the prowl.
Varun was born in India and grew up in an orphanage but was later adopted by an American and her hippie boyfriend.
Raised in the US, Blake feels that his brown skin alienates him from others. Consequently there is a deep-seated anger that he is never able to let go of.
Many a time his anger gets the better of him; in one instance he points his revolver at his wife, Roshini (Bhavana). That triggers the breakdown of their marriage. Roshini leaves him taking with her their daughter, Trisha.
She takes up work at Infotech, an IT company where she meets her schoolmate Krish Hebbar (Nivin Pauly), a much respected team leader. Krish hails from a middle-class home, is an ambitious young man and his goal is the top post in the company. To achieve that, Krish will go to any lengths, even if it means manipulating situations.
Love blossoms between Krish and Roshini. While the main story probes the murders of Indian techies, underlying this is an emotional tale of three people, that of Varun, Krish and Roshini.
Ajayan Venugopalan’s script explores the lives of Indian expatriates and the repercussions of outsourcing work to Indian companies. Naturally a greater part of the story is in English. Venugopalan’s crisp dialogue is the strength of the story. Shyamaprasad’s craftsmanship is evident in every frame, well matched by cinematographer Eric Dickinson visuals. It’s like watching a Hollywood film.
Prithviraj’s salt-and-pepper look will set many a heart aflutter. The actor reinforces his talent once again with a brilliant performance. Bringing to the fore Varun’s insecurities and his cockiness, Prithviraj plays a caring father, too.
Fully in sync with him is Pauly. Krish is a typical middle-class boy and a dutiful son who Skypes regularly with his mum, but there are grey shades to him. Bhavana as a young mother brings out the independent streak in Roshini. Gopi Sundar’s music blends well into this tale of human emotions.
