Hey Jude - Aqua Man

 

Hey Jude

2018, Malayalam

Directed by Shyamaprasad

Stars: Nivin Pauly, Trisha Krishnan, Siddique, Vijay Menon

Mohan's measure ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I like Hey Jude for its honesty about something which is largely taboo in Indian society, mental health.  Nivin Pauly plays Jude with sincerity and due stoicism.  Suffering from Asperger's Syndrome, he has a brilliant mind, but very little understanding of human emotion.  

Playing against him, Ms. Krishnan appears like a fish out of water in her very first role in Malayalam cinema.  But, in some ways, her obvious nervousness is to her advantage in playing a women teeter-tottering between happiness and depression as she struggles with bipolar syndrome.

Despite the sensitive issues involved, Hey Jude is not heavy handed.  Instead, it sets itself around a charming rom-com, and the ongoing personality conflict between two strong men, each thinking they know what's best for their respective kids.  The seasoned Mr. Siddique is particularly funny as the devout Catholic man who is irate at the Bohemian ways of the psychotherapist.

No need for further analysis.  Hey Jude is a really good film.