"Sameera,Is life all about just surviving" asks a wounded Sibi when all hopes on finding the treasure are on the dead end.This pretty much sums up his character.Sibi, an aimless youth wanted to make it big in life in all sorts of unorthodox ways.He maintains silence when asked about what has he done in his life.A shot of empty road follows.While all his peers have moved on with their lives according to the conventional norms of the so called society like getting a petty job or finding a partner and settling,he is clueless about his future. There is a Sibi in all of us, maybe not all but in most of us.
Carbon is all about his journey towards achieving that one goal that according to him will fix all his problems.The film is more like a character sketch of Sibi rather than being touted as an adventure thriller.
Director Venu's next outing after the much acclaimed Munnariyippu has an array of yesteryear actors like spadikam george,ashokan,kochu preman in great character roles which makes one realize how much they have been underutilized in the industry.mamtha mohandas also gets a meaty role as Sameera, who is shown as a traveller or as she says 'jungle junkie'. But the film entirely belongs to Fahad Fasil who enacts Sibi to perfection.You just cant take your eyes of him in the screen. Be it Sibis frustration, stubbornness or helplessness , its never a challenge to this actor. The director once stated in an interview that the script was tailor made for Fahad and indeed it is.Sharafudeen and Soubin also brings a welcome change from his usual comic roles.Manikandan also gets a good break after kammattipaadam and Chethan also gets a good role.
The First half is all about establishing Sibi's character through his behavior with wide range of people. He is just waiting for an opportunity to make his plans work whether its realistic or not. While all his plans are going down the drain,he gets an offer to live in a house amidst the forest in return for a good pay. In need of urgent money,he agrees to the offer. After reaching the house, he learns of a myth regarding a treasure nearby from the locals. on learning about it , a ray of hope occurs in his mind. Then enters Sameera, who agrees to travel with him towards the treasure along with some of the guys in the village. The second half deals with their journey inside the forest to the treasure and ends with an ambiguous climax as similar to Munnariyippu.The ending has fantasy elements which may not seem digestible to some audience however they can interpret it in their own ways
Coming to the downside,Some scenes are a bit stretched out throughout the movie which hinders the movie's pace. The movie could have been trimmed by an 10-15 minutes. Also, the entertainment factor is low which could put off certain audiences. The climax may tend to be a double edged sword.
Music department is handled by Vishal Bharadwaj is consistent with the proceedings of the movie. Cinematogrpahy by KU Mohanan was excellent. The visual beauty was evident in each and every frame
When compared to Munnariyippu, carbon tends to fall short. Nevertheless, Carbon will be a treat for multiplex audiences mainly due to energetic performance by Fahad.
