In life, we all must have come across overenthusiastic strangers who love poking their noses into others’ business, but most of us prefer not to entertain them because of a lack of trust. In , Asif Ali plays one such free-spirited person who loves barging into others’ lives, mostly uninvited. Meanwhile, there’s Suraj Venjaramoodu as a reticent Kattappana native with an air of naivety around him.
A fateful day in Kochi brings together these two contrasting personalities and before they know it, they embark on a journey to Thiruvananthapuram. The reason? To have a drink by the beach during sunset! Nahas Nazar’s directorial debut pivots around this road trip, starting off as a fun ride before turning bumpy, and by the end, exhausting. , which translates to Goodbye Friend in Spanish, is also a tale of an unexpected friendship between two unlikely people.
Beyond their contrasting natures, they also belong to different stratas of the society. What connects them both is money. While Prince (Asif) has it in plenty and is looking for ways to splurge, Priyan (Suraj) is in urgent need of it for his mother’s treatment.
This desperation leads Priyan to stick along with Prince and his impromptu travel plans—some fun, some tedious. After an interesting setup, starts derailing majorly because of its inconsistent writing, with the screenplay dragging around pointlessly for at least an extra half hour. So, Priyan befriends Prince with the hope of getting some financial assistance, but is too hesitant to ask.
Fair enough. You don’t want your new friend to know that you accompanied him for the sake of money, but for how long will you conceal it? His reluctance to open up about his needs drags the film to needless stretches and we, as an audience, can’t help but start feeling impatient. It also doesn’t help that the makers are keen to stick to mandatory commercial ingredients like having an ‘intriguing interval block’ and a ‘fun dance number’.
The interval point where the two characters have a minor fallout is evidently manipulative as it doesn’t sync with their traits shown till then. Amidst these issues, the film’s biggest strength Iies with its two lead performers and their rapport. The Idukki and North Paravur dialects handled expertly by both the actors deserve a special mention.
Ideally, the roles played by Asif and Suraj would have been reversed as they both have excelled in such spaces before. Suraj, who shot to fame with his drunkard acts, takes a backseat here and lets Asif do the honours. His character Prince leads a life that’s true to his name.
Or at least, that’s what it initially looks like. But during his interactions with Priyan, we can see his deep yearning for love and validation. He’s also guilt-ridden about his past relationship.
Maybe all the exuberance is a mask to hide his real self. It’s beautiful to see Asif switch smoothly between the character’s different shades. To play a carefree and perpetually inebriated man, the actor also employs a completely new body language where he’s mostly restless and sweaty.
His distinct look with a paunch and receding hairline also helps him transform into an entirely new person. Despite the risks of going overboard, Asif manoeuvres it carefully, delivering an enjoyable performance. By now, it is a given that Suraj can be trusted with any role.
While Prince is a more layered character, we hardly learn anything about Priyan except for the fact that he’s cash-strapped. Despite the absence of a deft characterisation, Suraj is able to make us root for him. Unlike Asif, Suraj isn’t loud with his portrayal, but still makes a lasting impact as he internalises the innocence and vulnerability of an Idukkikaaran perfectly.
It is also heartening to see the actor back in his famed comic zone after a while. Anagha, in a brief cameo, also makes a graceful presence. The whole track between her character Hema and Prince is neatly written and enacted.
kicks off with the two Amigos’ journey from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram. But with prolonged halts at Kollam, Alappuzha, and circling back to Kochi, the duo never reach the intended destination. It sums up the film’s overall experience as well—going round in circles aimlessly.
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