Pranayam is endless, Blessy says in an interview. In life, you do not choose Pranayam. But Pranayam chooses you. It gallops by and sweeps into its saddle only those it finds sensitive and strong enough to juggle it. Blessy's 'Pranayam' does the same.The posters, the songs as well as the trailers heralded a rare combination of actors not seen so far in Malayalam cinema: Mohanlal, Jayaprada and Anupam Kher and a subtle feeling of something very fragile that Blessy is preparing for Malayalam movie goers this time. But still, I bet, no one could calculate how this gifted craftsman was knitting it this time after his works like ‘Kazhcha’ (2004) and ‘Thanmathra’ (2005). Blessy himself does the story, screenplay and the dialogues of ‘Pranayam’.

Three faces, aged and mature but filled with deep and intense emotions are the main gateway to 'Pranayam' before you hit the theatre. But only if you cross the gate of Sreekumar theatre and watch this piece of creation will you get the unique experience of travelling with them. And mind you, this is not a reckless, boisterous and short-lived picnic of feelings that young minds indulge in. There is no doubt that in the hands of the three stalwarts of talent in Indian cinema, the characters of Mathews, as a retired philosophy professor (Mohanlal), Gracy (JayaPrada) and Achutha Menon (AnupamKher), as a former football player rain upon you with emotions that are powerful, painful, mature, mischievous and liberating at the same time.The two young faces in the movie, played by Apoorva Bose as Achutha Menon’s grand daughter and Sreenath as her boyfriend stand curious and moved by the Pranayam that they watch unraveling between those who are supposed to be in the fag end of their lives.

‘Pranayam’s titles come with sweet one-liners on love. Then Achutha Menon is shown sitting stooped and getting his eyes tested. When he is told to read words from the Bible, he laughingly says that his wife has made him do it so many times. He lives with his daughter-in- law and granddaughter and his son (Anoop Menon) is working abroad. On the phone he chides his father for leaving his wife years back. Later, in a lift Achutha Menon’s eyes falls on Grace…there the story begins.

It softly moves through the alleyways of the human heart, where a woman is caught between two men, who have known her, physically and emotionally and long for her still. But standing their ground, the men show us how serene Pranayam can be. On Jayaprada’s beautiful face the myriad feelings of a woman in love still dances with panache. Their younger years are shown with a steam engine to add to the old time flavour of love. With old age would follow the ailments. But Blessy has used those moments in the hospital as some of the most touching.

Cinematographer Satheesh Kurup has totally supported Blessy in capturing exactly what the sensitive topic demands in creating the right tone and mood with his lighting and camera angles. The sea is also licked in by the lens to show the tumult and calmness of the human mind, not to mention the editing by Raja Mohammed.