I am not a movie buff. Given a chance, I would any day choose any other activity over a movie. And I am quite famous in the family for sleeping through movies - my friends and family can't believe how I can sleep in a movie theatre with a dolby sound system while watching movies like Mission Impossible and such other. Coupled with this, I am an early to bed person and I hate going for late night movies. So, when a friend called me to book tickets for Jacobinte Swargarajyam, I told him immediately not to count me for the movie. But the next day, my brother's friends had a couple of extra tickets with them and so my brother took two tickets for us. It was a late night show and on our way to the theatre, both of us were feeling sleepy and we were telling each other how, for sure, we would sleep off in the theatre. But from the very first minute of watching, this movie changed our entire perception and our eyes were glued to the screen from the beginning to the end.
The movie is about a man, Jacob, who went to Dubai and is in love with the place for the opportunity it holds. He made it big over the years and got settled in Dubai. He is a content man, with a big happy family consisting of wife and four kids. Soon crisis hits, the family is in a major financial mess and the movie is about how the family overcomes the financial crisis and steps up to save the man they all look upto and the family from the mess. Being from a business family, this movie impacted me tremendously. I was shaken from my comfort zone and it left an everlasting impact in my mind. I sat still, my mind never wandered and my heart was in a turmoil the entire duration of the movie. Almost everything in the movie was so relatable. There was a scene where Renji Panikker, playing Jacob, telling his wife, Shirly, how the family was his wealth and that makes him the richest man in this world. It touched my heart deeply, because the last time I was home, Achan made the same dialogue about being wealthy because of the two kids he have and how that makes him rich enough. I am sure, almost all fathers would have said or thought about this at one point or the other. I could relate to all the advise the dad gives in the movie to his kid - all those I've heard from my dad and each one of it is true. The movie also beautifully potrayed how the entire family moved out of their comfort zone and stepped up during crisis to support the man they adore - The strength and power of the wife/mother, the dutiful son who steps up to save the whole family, the sibling support, the extent to which true friends go to help you in a crisis. Each and every scene in the movie is a message in itself.
My heart was in my mouth the entire duration of the movie. The movie is based on the real life story of director, Vineeth Srinivasan's friend, Gregory. Yet, I could relate the movie to many others as well. Many families go through this crisis and if, for me, the two hours throughout the movie was traumatic, I can't even imagine what the family would have gone through for years. I respect the son, who got his act together, stepped up to the situation and transformed from being a rich, 'nothing to worry' boy to shouldering the responsibilities of the whole family. Like my mom said, not every son/daughter can, or rather, would do that.
Amongst many things this movie reaffirmed certain points that I believe in life:
1. Family is your biggest wealth - the ones who stick by you in happiness and sadness, the ones who fight for you no matter what
2. Never underestimate the power of the woman, the matriarch of the family. On any other day, she may project herself as incapable and dependant, but when the situation arises, she is sure to be the rock, the foundation that holds the family together.
3. Life is like an ECG variation - there will definitely be ups and downs in your life and as much as you enjoy the ups, you need to fight through the lows and come up again to live. However, it will depend on how you were during your royal days, as to how you will be treated when you loose your power and money.
4. True friends may be rare to find, but when you do, they are rare gems that you will need to hold on because they will do whatever they can in their capacity and beyond to help you out of a crisis.
5. You need to be rational while dealing with people. Not many who project themselves to be trustworthy would be so.
There was never a movie before this, which impacted me as much as this. I've always valued my family as the biggest treasure I have, but this movie just sealed it for me. My biggest respect to the family, based on whom the movie was taken for stepping up and being there for each other during the stormy days - not just the mother, Shirly and Jerry but the other siblings(especially the little one who had to grow up seeing the trauma the family underwent) as well who contributed to the family needs in their own way. Big salute!
This movie is definitely a must watch in everybody's life. It is not just a movie, it is life's lesson that everyone needs to keep in mind. I have several movies in my favourite list, but this movie touched my heart and conscience. I never thought I would review a movie in this little space of mine since I totally hate screen time but I had to review this movie. Because, this did indeed leave a lasting impression on me and it is by far, the best movie I have seen in my life!
Thank you, Vineeth Sreenivasan and the entire crew for bringing this story to us. It would've been a definite miss in my life had I not watched this movie!
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