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This review will be short; probably the shortest I have ever written. Mainly because there’s no way I can write about Secret , renowned screenwriter SN Swamy’s debut directorial venture, for long without it sounding like a rant. Yet, I will give it a go and be as diplomatic as possible. While in Thanjavur, Midhun ( Dhyan Sreenivasan ), along with friends Ameya ( Aparna Das ) and Prince (Jacob Gregory), encounters an astrologer who predicts that Midhun’s impending marriage won’t happen because his fiancée is destined to die soon. Confused and frightened, Midhun starts distancing himself from Shreya (Ardra Mohan). However, his love for her drives him to seek a solution. Through his friends, Midhun meets Mathew (Ranjith), a psychology professor. After hearing the story and much thought, using ‘reasoning and logic,’ the professor suggests that Midhun can save Shreya’s life if he rescues three other people. Only then, the professor says, will nature alter its course and spare Shreya. I didn’t know nature operated on a barter system, though. Anyway, once the idea is floated, random people begin lining up in front of Midhun, out of the blue, seeking help in life-threatening situations. He ends up saving not three but six lives in total, just in case nature isn’t satisfied — after all, you can’t take chances in such matters, right? But will this be enough? Will Shreya survive? That question drives the rest of the movie. Though the writer of some of the most celebrated crime, investigation and mystery movies in Malayalam cinema’s history, including the CBI franchise , SN Swamy, has, of late, been disappointing with one project after another, the previous addition to this list was the colossal misfire CBI 5: The Brain , the fifth instalment in the celebrated series. However, Secret has outdone all his poor works till now, with its sloppy writing, abysmal performances, forgettable technical aspects and overall lacklustre nature. The most infuriating aspect of Secret is its propagation of pseudoscience using scientific terms like synchronicity, thermodynamics and the system of entropy, along with psychology and the name of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. If you thought CBI 5’s climax was incoherent, just wait until you watch Secret and the explanations provided by each ‘educated’ character, supposedly well-versed in science, on how to prevent one’s girlfriend from dying — and that too predicted by an astrologer. When a similar plot point was used by director Shafi and writer Benny P Nayarambalam in Kalyanaraman (2002), the film didn’t attempt to dress it up with science and instead presented it as an astrologer’s prediction directly that coincidentally matched past events in a family. Here, however, the writer-director uses the guise of science to introduce a set of unfounded beliefs. Even if you overlook these issues, Secret remains essentially a two-hour motivational seminar aimed at boosting self-confidence, which Swamy suggests might delay death — though it’s unclear how. From the characterisations and dialogues to the instances depicted, everything feels contrived, silly and amateurish, besides disconnected from reality, with the actors, including Dhyan, not making any attempts to provide the film with some respite. Secret also includes a couple of songs, three of which appear in the first 30 minutes, along with an extended dance practice scene, seeming like an attempt to fill gaps and stretch the film to at least 100 minutes, so that it is considered a feature film. I just want to end by saying that even schoolchildren create better short films with far smaller budgets and amateur actors than this. In the movie, Dhyan saves six people — good. But what about the viewers in the theatres watching Secret ? Who will save them? No idea. Secret movie cast: Dhyan Sreenivasan, Ranjith, Aparna Das Secret movie director: SN Swamy Secret movie rating: 0.5 stars Anandu Suresh is a Senior sub-editor at Indian Express Online. He specialises in Malayalam cinema, but doesn't limit himself to it and explores various aspects of the art form. He also pens a column titled Cinema Anatomy, where he delves extensively into the diverse layers and dimensions of cinema, aiming to uncover deeper meanings and foster continuous discourse. Anandu previously worked with The New Indian Express' news desk in Hyderabad, Telangana. You can follow him on Twitter @anandu_suresh_ and write (or send movie recommendations) to him at ... Read More None
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