Driving Licence

Lal Jr.'s 2019 Malayalam film shows how a small slight can grow until it overturns two lives. Hareendran is a famous film actor who needs to renew his driving licence. Kuruvilla, the motor vehicle inspector who will process it, has been a fan of his for years; the first meeting is misread, pride enters, and neither side steps back. The matter reaches the press and then politics, and the relationship between fan and star becomes a public war. The film criticises the mutual expectations of being famous and of admiring the famous, and finds both in the wrong by the end. The balance between Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramoodu is its strength. The tone moves between comedy and drama. Who it's for: viewers who like Malayalam cinema and character comedy. Who it's not for: anyone expecting action or a strong plot; the story rests on one small dispute.