Many a movie have come and gone, touching upon the stigma of mental illness. When the lead pair both suffer from them, one would expect a bore fest; however, Hey Jude comes through, although at a slow pace, to be the feel-good film that it is.

Vintage Goan house, Hungarian Dressing Table, Chinese Flora Ceramic decorate the scene. In comes, the money minded but adorably funny father Dominique (Siddique) who is less emotional about his aunt’s death and more invested in selling the house she had left him. Maria (Neena Kurup) his wife is friendly towards their outhouse tenants Dr.Sebastian (Vijay Menon), and his daughter Crystal (Trisha) who vehemently retort all attempts by Dominique who tries to make them vacate. Dominique’s only son Jude (Nivin Pauly) gradually comes into the picture and goes on the become the center of attention. A man who has an inclination towards numbers and marine life, he rocks a pot belly and many, many blue shirts! Then comes the twists; Surprise, Jude has Asperger’s syndrome! Surprise No.2, Trisha is Bipolar! Surprise No.3, a death culminates the climax!

A laidback movie, the story does not involve itself in showing the depth of characters for us to invest a lot in, which is unlikely for a movie on mental illness. Trisha’s Malayalam debut seems underutilized with less of screen time and a whole lot of mettle in the performance during the few times she takes over the screen. We just have to mention the dubbing artist Sayanora Philip’s voice did not feel good at all!

Nivin Pauly is frown-y about 70% of the time and few moments he manages to smile, in spite of the character’s turmoil makes us smile with him. Filmmaker Shyamaprasad leaves us clamoring for more, more of Goa’s serene beaches, more of Trisha’s screen time, more of details on Jude’s condition and more of the family bonding over how special Jude is. If a feel-good movie doesn’t have an impactful feel-good factor that leaves a lasting impression, can we call it a feel-good movie in the first place? Watch it and let us know!