I skipped it in theatres because of the mixed reviews (it would’ve meant an extra 2 hours of travel during my 15–16 hour workdays), and I genuinely regret that now.

I know a lot of people found it boring, all over the place, lacking closure, etc. That’s completely fair, not everyone has to like it. But I do feel that people who simply labelled it “mid” missed what the film was trying to say.

What I took away from it was this:

\*\*The amount of hard work, talent and passion you have doesn’t always decide the outcome. A lot of life comes down to luck, timing, societal dynamics, politics, and how you deal with people. Some things are simply outside your control. The only thing you can do is take control of everything else and keep fighting.\*\*

That realization is something I came to only recently through my own life, which is probably why this movie hit me so hard.

I’ve never dreamt of making films, but within the first few minutes I could relate to Vineeth Madhavan. That dream you’ve carried since childhood. Support slowly turning into expectations. Relentless hard work. Perfectionism. Absolute belief in your craft, sometimes confidence, sometimes arrogance. Constantly daydreaming about the future you’ve convinced yourself is inevitable.

I’ve lived that.

There was a time when everything seemed to be falling into place for me too. I had money, respect, and stability. But I wanted something bigger, so I took a huge risk, and the returns didn’t not reach upto my expectations. 

Then came an opportunity to make that risk worthwhile. Just like Vineeth had \*Manushyan\*, I had my own chance. I could’ve settled, rebuilt, and grown from there. But I wanted perfection. I wasn’t ready to accept anything less than what I believed I deserved.    
I regret that decision almost every day. And I’m sure Vineeth would’ve too.

Then another opportunity came. Once again, I thought \*this is it\*. But the streak of bad luck, politics, societal dynamics, and my own mistakes meant someone else got the glory, just like Sujith Raj.    
That was when I realized something I’d been refusing to accept: talent and hard work alone aren’t enough. You have to control every variable you can, and accept that some will never be yours to control.

If the movie had ended with Vineeth finally getting all the recognition he deserved, it would’ve been just another motivational film. Instead, it ends with him deciding to keep fighting anyway. That speech turning silence and hate into applause was the perfect ending. Vineeth is finally realizing that himself, and in that moment, urging all of us to do the same.

That’s what I’m taking away from \*Mollywood Times\*.    
\*\*“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the dog.”\*\* So\*\* \*\*keep fighting.

I may not agree with all of ASN’s worldviews or some of the things he suggests (like the movie deletion idea), but I have immense respect for him for making this film. And I hope I’m not the only one who walked away feeling this… or am I?

Mollywood Times healed something in me that I didn’t even know I wanted to heal