Rajiv Anchal's "Made in USA" stands out from the routine Malayalam films being released in Kerala.

The film, premiered here Thursday, has a simple story that has been said forcefully without any melodrama.

Shot entirely in the US with technicians and the equipment hired from Hollywood, Anchal, unlike other directors, has not wasted time on showing off the location.

He has given importance to the storyline, which deals with a suicide attempt by the hero Madhavan.

Madhavan is crestfallen when he finds that all the savings of his close friend Madhupal, which was entrusted to him, is lost a day before Madhupal is to return to Kerala after a long gap.

Madhavan attempts suicide, but fails and lands instead in the psychiatric ward of a hospital. In the hospital Madhavan again attempts suicide but fails.

Veteran character actor Sreenivasan plays the role of the doctor who treats Madhavan. In order to wean away Madhavan from more suicide attempts he tells him that he is suffering from cancer and his death is imminent.

Madhavan is overjoyed to hear this. The turning point of the film comes when he meets Kaveri, a nurse at the hospital who he feels was his childhood mate back home.

Madhavan slowly feels that since he has got back his childhood mate he wants to live and the film picks up speed.

Anchal has taken care to see that he does not let the tempo of the film slack by packing it with romance. He concentrates on the story line.

The screenplay is by former journalist Bobby Nair who has ventured into filmdom. He has included various incidents in the film to make it lively - like shutdowns, a kidney organ transplant controversy and also the ultimate dream of securing a Green Card by a Keralite to settle down in the US.

Madhavan plays a stellar role and so does Sreenivasan, Innocent, Thampi Antony and Kaveri. After the screening, Anchal said he was pleased that the film had come out well and it was for the audience to make the final judgment.

The film will be released Friday. Given the present crisis in Malayalam films where good themes are in short supply, "Made in USA" is certainly a welcome change.