A Promising Premise Undone By Cluttered Execution

Friendship has been a favourite theme for filmmakers, as it offers immense scope for exploring a complete emotional spectrum, ranging from joy and loyalty to betrayal, sacrifice, rivalry, and agony.

- VIGNESH MADHU

Friendship has been a favourite theme for filmmakers, as it offers immense scope for exploring a complete emotional spectrum, ranging from joy and loyalty to betrayal, sacrifice, rivalry, and agony. With Meesha, Emcy Joseph skims through multiple such emotions, but falters while attempting to tie them to a broader socio-political commentary. It has evident shades of films like Kammatipaadam and Madras, but falls short of such standards because of its superficial exploration of complex real-world issues like vote-bank politics, caste divide, and other social inequalities.

Meesha follows a non-linear structure, cutting between the past and present of Midhun (Kathir) and Anandhu (Hakim Shahjahan), two thick friends coming from contrasting social backgrounds. They are involved in local politics, serving their leader, Reghu (Jeo Baby). While Anandhu is the brain, Midhun is the muscle. All of this is not 'shown', but 'said' by other characters. There are at least a couple of action blocks to register Midhun's physical might, but we never get to see why Anandhu is dubbed a 'mastermind'. In fact, he is the last among the two to realise that they are being manipulated as mere pawns in a larger political game.