Indian Rupee is not a great movie, neither is it a different one. But it has got an aura that keeps the audience charmed. It is difficult to analyze this film without considering Ranjith’s previous film Pranchi ettan and the Saint. Both these films are about a person’s desire for fame. The only difference is that in Pranchi there is a wealthy protagonist when compared to an economically shy one in Indian Rupee.

Indian Rupee is a thriller-cum-drama which tells the tale of a common man’s aspiration to become a big time player in the real estate market that rules Kerala. Prithviraj plays the protagonist Jayaprakash (J.P). Thilakan as Achutha Menon and Tini Tom as C.H play pivotal roles in the film. The script is the invisible fourth character in the film which is engaging and keeps the audience glued to the screen from end to end.

Like most Malayalam films, here too we have a heroine (Rima Kallingal) who has nothing much to do. There is also the angry hero which viewers are so accustomed to. But such sins by Ranjith can be forgotten for the simple reason that he pulled off an impeccable script that just don’t go off-track. It binds all the characters, compresses the entire plot within its entity and doesn’t let anything out of it.

Prithviraj as Jayaprakash gives a restricted performance in the movie. He delivers the varying sentiments in the right proportions without overdoing it. Thilakan is a class act to watch and delivers dialogues with such severity, that they are like a smack on the viewer’s face. Jagathy, who plays the shrewd real estate business man Gold Pappi is amazing with his mannerisms, an actor who effortlessly brings in all the navarasas on his face. Music by Shahbaz Aman is soothing to the ears, at times in an unconventional manner.

Indian Rupee is a strictly regional film. Just like Pranchi Ettan and the Saint, here too we have a set of characters canvassed against a particular rural and urban Kerala background. The film takes place in the small towns and villages ofKozhikode. Even though J.P dreams big and has high aspirations, the film never shows them outwardly. Most of the action takes place inside rooms or offices. So there are more dialogues and the characters get closer to the audience, thus making it an emotionally intense movie. Indian Rupee is worth watching for the filmic moments that it brings, for the intense drama it creates and for the old school story telling that it reproduces with ease.