When you dare to experiment, you end up being different!
I f you ask me what the Mollywood screen was lacking for the past few years – I would say innovation, new ideas and young talents. Unlike the neighboring Tamil big screen, which brought out many different movies (from M Kumaran to Anniyan to Mozhi to Subramaniapuram to Saroja) Malayalam audience were contented either watching 2 hour stereotype substandard stories or seeing their old superstars doing the same thing all over again. Here comes a talent to look for – Ranjith Shankar – with his first movie “Passenger” that brings something different on to the screens – a thriller – which we have been missing for years. A thriller that not just glues you to your seat for a solid 2 hours but drives in a social commitment message as well.Well…the storyline: Sathyanathan (Sreenivasan) is a typical average middle class guy working in the Finance department of a private chemical firm. He commutes by a passenger train every day to his workplace, and like many others has programmed his body clock to sleep and get up at exact locations. The initial set of scenes give enough lighter moments with the co-commuters of Sathyanathan (played by Harisree Asokan, Kochupreman, Anoop Chandran and T P Madhavan) discussing the political and social issues around them and interpreting it in the way that affects their life. Sathyanathan is also portrayed to be a temple festival buff and at home he has a nagging wife (Lakshmi Sharma) a TV Crazy mother (Valsala Menon) and 2 kids.As Sathyanathan’s life goes ahead on a preset mode, we also get to see a couple whose life is on the fast lane – Adv. Nandan Menon (Dileep) and Anuradha Nandan (Mamta Mohandas) who is a reporter for a channel, Right TV. The burning issue that affects the ruling party and Minister Thomas Chacko (Jagathy Sreekumar) is about black sand extraction from a shore village by name Marankara. The minister is accused for molestation of a social activitist from the place – Thankamma Rajan (Sona Nair). As Nandan Menon appears in court for the villagers of Marankara and Anuradha gets appointed by her channel to cover a live interview of the minister, the couple becomes a pain for the minister and his gang.On one particular day, Anuradha does a risky operation on the minister and shockingly realizes that the minister and his gang have deadly plans to wreck the state. Thomas Chacko finds out that his plans have leaked out and is now in bad need of Anuradha. At about the same time, Nandan and Sathyanathan meet for the first time (Dileep & Sreenivasan sparkles the screen with comedy) during a train journey when Sathyanathan happens to oversleep. The minister’s gang decides to use Nandan as a victim to bargain with Anuradha. When they carry out the ploy, as fate would have it - Sathyanathan gets drawn into it. The story takes a special turn here, and ensures that you are at the edge of your seat till the next 90 minutes.Sreenivasan handles the role of a typical, and finicky middle class guy – he doesn’t need any special training for that role. Dileep gives out a good performance in the subtle and to be underplayed role of Advocate Nandan, though the sophistication of a leading advocate is a little too far for him. Mamta Mohandas, who is known as a glam doll in South India steals the show gets a role with a lot of stuff in it. Among all others, the actress covers maximum length of the film roll and proves her worth. The smart, and adventurous TV reporter is carried out convincingly with ease, well supported by the voice from Vimmy Mariam George. Anand Swami (as goonda “anali” shaji) and Sreejith Ravi as his assistant are good. Sathyanathan’s co-commuters have done well, but don’t have much to do. Sona Nair overacts as Thankamma Rajan, while Manikkuttan and Lakshmi Sharma are forgettable. Casting seems to be thoughtful, we haven’t seen Jagahthy in an end-to-end villain role, Dileep in a subtle role, and Nedumudi as a taxi driver for very often. Mamta was a good choice for the lead role.A thriller that has no songs, has to be supported by a good background score and Bijibal does just that. The camera and edits also adds to the pace of the movie. The animations used seemed to be a little primitive.The entire movie is the brainchild of debutante Ranjith Shankar and he surely deserves a round of applause for that. The choice of the plot (a real time movie that tells about things that happen in 2 days), the way it is scripted, and the treatment given to the subject – all make the movie special. The best part is the movie talks about real places, real trains, and real timings. The movie delivers a very good message towards social commitment of individuals and re-iterates the fact that the power of truth stands above anything else. The prevailing social and political issues and how it affects the life of lesser mortals – are analysed and laid out in the most subtle, still powerful way.Aren’t there loopholes in the script – Yes there are. When Sathyanathan comes to Adv. Nandan’s house and picks up Anuradha’s call – the house is shown as empty. There isn’t even a single person around at a house in Ernakulam, where the family living in the house is accused for the death of someone – unbelievable! It sounded a little difficult to digest the fact that, when Anuradha finally meets the colleagues in her channel, she just walks away with them forgetting about Nandan. I am also interested in knowing what wireless connection she uses that makes her send such a big file so fast to her manager at Right TV JBut, Mr. Ranjith – we forgive you for such small things, for you have given something unusual to the Malayalam big screen.
Verdict: Go ahead!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Soft Drink - Served Chilled - Bhagya Devatha - Malayalam Moive Review
Movie : Bhagyadevatha (Malayalam)
Credits:
Sathyan Anthikkad (Script & Direction)
Rajesh Jayaraman (Story)
Sarath Vayalar, Ilayaraja (Lyrics, Music)
Venu (Cinematography)
Soft Drink, Served Chilled!
…you know what it is, you know how it tastes, but when you are thirsty and it gets served chilled – you like it! Much similar is Sathyan Anthikkad’s latest offer – Bhagyadevatha. His 4th consecutive and frantic attempt after Achuvinte Amma (2005) to bring in something good, gets him a few miles close to his usual standards. The family movie maker finally casts the family actor Jayaram after a break of 6 long years and chooses the picturesque Kuttanad as the backdrop of his theme.
The protagonist Benny (Jayaram) is an average Malayali with high ambitions, who thinks a lot of money can bring him all that he dreams for. What he is actually left with is a local cable network “star shine”, the responsibilities of running a family consisting of his mother (KPAC Lalitha), sisters Sophie (Lakshmipriya), Saally and their grandmother (Rugmini). Coaxed by Sadananadan Pillai, a local tourist guide (Nedumudi Venu), Benny dreams of buying a fishing boat and making it big in life. What he needs is 5 Lakhs and the short cut as suggested by Pillai is a marriage – the dowry can get him to his dreams. The camera now spots a charming Daisy (Kaniha) who is the daughter of two teachers (Venu Nagavalli, Vanitha) who is destined to be Benny’s dame luck. Benny and Daisy get married.
You can imagine most of the part that is to follow, except for one single twist! Daisy’s father is not able to keep his promises on the dowry. A frustrated Benny denies Daisy of everything in a married life, and gives her an interval of 3 months to get the money to him. Daisy, in the meanwhile becomes the apple of the eye for Benny’s family. 3 months gone, no money and Benny drags Daisy back to her home. The news that strikes Benny the next day makes him feel stupid for what he did. Daisy is in demand now. The rest of the movie portrays how he vehemently tries to prove himself in front of her and her family.
The message that the story tries to convey is age old - the same message was delivered almost 10 times better by the same director in Ponmuttayidunna Thaaravu (1998) and Malayogam (Sibi Malayil – Lohithadas team) (1990), though at two different levels of emotions. The movie doesn’t come anyway near them. The theme by itself goes inconsistent when Sophie’s wedding happens fully adhering to the custom of dowry!
Sathyan Anthikkad deserves credit in transforming a story that lacks innovations to a rather enjoyable two+ hour script. The director has ensured enough humor content to make it interesting. The director is successful in blending lot of issues to the main theme – Benny finding it difficult to sell of his farm land due to objections from local politicians, the heroine’s father struggling to get his loan sanctioned are real good examples of current social situation. There are 4 different marriages that get into the main storyline and each one is seen from a different perspective. The interlude of social reformation messages (a little less this time as compared to the previous movies) goes overly annoying in one scene where Benny tries to patch up with Daisy at her office. The goodness of the heroine could have been projected too much making it a melodrama, which (thankfully) the director has not done. The story best fits and must have run ages if it were put as a mega serial on one of those channels – and thanks to Rajesh Jayaraman for not doing it!
Casting and performances are the highlights of the movie. Jayaram essays the role of Benny with ease – happiness, cruelty, frustration, sentiments – all comes with ease to the experienced actor. For a change, he is presented better, thanks to the makeup. Director makes an extremely good choice for the heroine. The tall, fair and charming Kaniha seems to have understood the soft spoken, but smart Daisy completely and she deserves special credits for the lead role.
The entire supporting crew adds to the entertainment value. Venu Nagavalli seemed to be a perfect cast as Antochan – Daisy’s father. Mammukkoya, Santhakumari and Rashmi Nambiar as usual and nice neighbors, KPAC Lalitha as Annamma, Sreekumar as the foodie priest, Innocent as the forward minded drama artiste – all give good performances. Nedumudi Venu – as a business minded guide who manages to make more than a living, using his limited English knowledge – the actor is probably at one his bests! Special credits to the casting of Lakshmipriya as the infatuated Sophie – she has a good future in the industry. Narein is a wasted talent as Daisy’s friend and Bank Manager Sajan, while Samvritha Sunil looks stunning in a cameo.
Sad to say, Vayalar Sarath – Ilayaraja team fails to entertain on the music side. “Aazhithirathannil….” that is composed with a traditional “margam kali” base, seems to be good when you listen more. The song with Kaniha-Narain and Jayaram on the screen was not required – but is presented in a special way – quite a new idea.
Verdict: Average movie – Well enough to enjoy with your family.
Credits:
Sathyan Anthikkad (Script & Direction)
Rajesh Jayaraman (Story)
Sarath Vayalar, Ilayaraja (Lyrics, Music)
Venu (Cinematography)
Soft Drink, Served Chilled!
…you know what it is, you know how it tastes, but when you are thirsty and it gets served chilled – you like it! Much similar is Sathyan Anthikkad’s latest offer – Bhagyadevatha. His 4th consecutive and frantic attempt after Achuvinte Amma (2005) to bring in something good, gets him a few miles close to his usual standards. The family movie maker finally casts the family actor Jayaram after a break of 6 long years and chooses the picturesque Kuttanad as the backdrop of his theme.
The protagonist Benny (Jayaram) is an average Malayali with high ambitions, who thinks a lot of money can bring him all that he dreams for. What he is actually left with is a local cable network “star shine”, the responsibilities of running a family consisting of his mother (KPAC Lalitha), sisters Sophie (Lakshmipriya), Saally and their grandmother (Rugmini). Coaxed by Sadananadan Pillai, a local tourist guide (Nedumudi Venu), Benny dreams of buying a fishing boat and making it big in life. What he needs is 5 Lakhs and the short cut as suggested by Pillai is a marriage – the dowry can get him to his dreams. The camera now spots a charming Daisy (Kaniha) who is the daughter of two teachers (Venu Nagavalli, Vanitha) who is destined to be Benny’s dame luck. Benny and Daisy get married.
You can imagine most of the part that is to follow, except for one single twist! Daisy’s father is not able to keep his promises on the dowry. A frustrated Benny denies Daisy of everything in a married life, and gives her an interval of 3 months to get the money to him. Daisy, in the meanwhile becomes the apple of the eye for Benny’s family. 3 months gone, no money and Benny drags Daisy back to her home. The news that strikes Benny the next day makes him feel stupid for what he did. Daisy is in demand now. The rest of the movie portrays how he vehemently tries to prove himself in front of her and her family.
The message that the story tries to convey is age old - the same message was delivered almost 10 times better by the same director in Ponmuttayidunna Thaaravu (1998) and Malayogam (Sibi Malayil – Lohithadas team) (1990), though at two different levels of emotions. The movie doesn’t come anyway near them. The theme by itself goes inconsistent when Sophie’s wedding happens fully adhering to the custom of dowry!
Sathyan Anthikkad deserves credit in transforming a story that lacks innovations to a rather enjoyable two+ hour script. The director has ensured enough humor content to make it interesting. The director is successful in blending lot of issues to the main theme – Benny finding it difficult to sell of his farm land due to objections from local politicians, the heroine’s father struggling to get his loan sanctioned are real good examples of current social situation. There are 4 different marriages that get into the main storyline and each one is seen from a different perspective. The interlude of social reformation messages (a little less this time as compared to the previous movies) goes overly annoying in one scene where Benny tries to patch up with Daisy at her office. The goodness of the heroine could have been projected too much making it a melodrama, which (thankfully) the director has not done. The story best fits and must have run ages if it were put as a mega serial on one of those channels – and thanks to Rajesh Jayaraman for not doing it!
Casting and performances are the highlights of the movie. Jayaram essays the role of Benny with ease – happiness, cruelty, frustration, sentiments – all comes with ease to the experienced actor. For a change, he is presented better, thanks to the makeup. Director makes an extremely good choice for the heroine. The tall, fair and charming Kaniha seems to have understood the soft spoken, but smart Daisy completely and she deserves special credits for the lead role.
The entire supporting crew adds to the entertainment value. Venu Nagavalli seemed to be a perfect cast as Antochan – Daisy’s father. Mammukkoya, Santhakumari and Rashmi Nambiar as usual and nice neighbors, KPAC Lalitha as Annamma, Sreekumar as the foodie priest, Innocent as the forward minded drama artiste – all give good performances. Nedumudi Venu – as a business minded guide who manages to make more than a living, using his limited English knowledge – the actor is probably at one his bests! Special credits to the casting of Lakshmipriya as the infatuated Sophie – she has a good future in the industry. Narein is a wasted talent as Daisy’s friend and Bank Manager Sajan, while Samvritha Sunil looks stunning in a cameo.
Sad to say, Vayalar Sarath – Ilayaraja team fails to entertain on the music side. “Aazhithirathannil….” that is composed with a traditional “margam kali” base, seems to be good when you listen more. The song with Kaniha-Narain and Jayaram on the screen was not required – but is presented in a special way – quite a new idea.
Verdict: Average movie – Well enough to enjoy with your family.
It ain't all style! - Sagar Alias Jackie - Malayalam Movie Review
Movie : Sagar Alias Jackie (Malayalam)
Credits:
Amal Neerad (Direction, Cinematography)
S N Swami (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues)
Jophie Tharakan, Gopi Sundar (Lyrics, Music)
Vipin Mohan (Cinematography)
You aren’t too old to say it’s all style, are you?
Amal Neerad DOES NOT disappoint us completely with his 2nd attempt as a director. Sagar alias Jackie – is not as bad as it was bad mouthed!
The movie opens when a panicky Indu (Shobana) drives to the office of her father, - and the Chief Minister of Kerala (Nedumudi Venu). Apparently, her husband Manu (Manoj K Jayan) is missing and she has got a call asking for money to release him. The enthusiasm of the state head of police who rushes to solve the mystery is put down by Indu’s own brother Hari (Ganesan) who is against Manu and Indu, due to the politics at the minster’s home. Frustrated, Indu declares that she doesn’t need help from any of them to get her husband back and calls her friend – Sagar! Poooof!!! Electric guitars, slow motion shots, leather jackets, hummers, Dubai, Goa, guns and goons – for the rest of the 2 hours… and that’s Sagar Alias Jackie!
The hero gets introduced at Dubai, where he is helping Naina (Shivaji fame Suman) in a smuggling attempt. Sagar appoints his gang played by Jagathy, Vinayakan, Anu Anand and Sumit Nawal on the operation to rescue Manu. They trace Manu and reach Goa ruled by a don by name Rozario (Sampath) and his brothers. Sagar realizes that Manu’s kidnap was prompted most by his own deals, but however rescues and brings Manu back to the minister’s family.
The incident raises curiosity in CNN reporter Aarathi Menon (Bhavana) who tries to trace Sagar, without really knowing who he is. As Aarathi locks horns with Hari and threatens that his relationship with Naina will be revealed, she gets into the blacklist of the goons. Naina entrusts Sagar to keep an eye on her. As Aarathi survives an attack with the help of Sagar, she is all respects for him.
As the politics at the chief minister’s home end and Hari & Manu decide to join together, the villains led by Naina & Rozario see that as an opportunity to knock off Sagar. What follows is a real masala action, where the death toll of lead artistes crosses 7 (I don’t know when I stopped counting!) and ends in a rather predictable climax.
The bad things first: The script that goes pretty well in the first half slows down and leads to a very predictable, idiotic end of the movie, where the hero is almost made a super human. Technology is used, but the ideas as very primitive. Mohanlal-Bhavana pair – a little too much to digest on the first hand, and not to convincing that the hero was ready for a revenge when villains attacked her! Solo walks of Mohanlal – as many of the mail forwards mentioned, is a little overdone. Bala wasted in a guest role, while Shobana’s make up doesn’t help cover her age.
The good things: Lal – the actor who has done the re-incarnation of Sagar in the best way possible – Subtle expressions, strong dialogues – he’s unique. The director and script writer seems to have done an excellent teamwork in transforming Jackie to an international don. The lifestyle and body language changes, but the inherent character remains the same
Good thoughts from SN Swami to have retained a few characters/events from the prequel “Irupathaam Noottandu” – Sagar seems to have a say in politician families, Sagar still doesn’t support people who do drug and flesh trade, the press reporter doesn’t know Sagar initially, (Bhavana’s Aarathi Menon and Ambika’s Aswathi Varma almost follow the same pattern as they get bumped on to Sagar), few dialogues get retained from the prequel, and of course the Telugu speaking sidekick – Ashokan (Jagathy). The script writer seems to be successful in setting a standard for the character, which probably can be carried over like a Bond series! J The movie is technically very sound – cinematography, edits, and presentation. Casting is good, especially the henchmen and the villains. And of course, the style factor – many scenes seems to have a real Hollywood touch (the one where Bhavana escapes the villain attack, the entry of Rahul Dev with a sniper gun are all a few examples)
And it will be a crime not to mention a ravishing Jyothirmayi, - in near bikini costumes on the Goa beaches! Amal Neerad & Co. you have set a standard on Mollywood for an item number! Phew!
Debutant Gopi Sundar bags full credits on the background score – good remix of the old score by Shyam following throught the movie. However, he does an average work on the songs. “Vennilave” featuring the lead pair, is hummable.
Verdict: The movie was definitely bad mouthed that it is all style and no substance. It is very much bearable. If you like style, go ahead…you will not regret! Ugh…Am sorry, I forget that am speaking to people who made “Veruthe oru Bhaarya” the biggest hit of last year!
Credits:
Amal Neerad (Direction, Cinematography)
S N Swami (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues)
Jophie Tharakan, Gopi Sundar (Lyrics, Music)
Vipin Mohan (Cinematography)
You aren’t too old to say it’s all style, are you?
Amal Neerad DOES NOT disappoint us completely with his 2nd attempt as a director. Sagar alias Jackie – is not as bad as it was bad mouthed!
The movie opens when a panicky Indu (Shobana) drives to the office of her father, - and the Chief Minister of Kerala (Nedumudi Venu). Apparently, her husband Manu (Manoj K Jayan) is missing and she has got a call asking for money to release him. The enthusiasm of the state head of police who rushes to solve the mystery is put down by Indu’s own brother Hari (Ganesan) who is against Manu and Indu, due to the politics at the minster’s home. Frustrated, Indu declares that she doesn’t need help from any of them to get her husband back and calls her friend – Sagar! Poooof!!! Electric guitars, slow motion shots, leather jackets, hummers, Dubai, Goa, guns and goons – for the rest of the 2 hours… and that’s Sagar Alias Jackie!
The hero gets introduced at Dubai, where he is helping Naina (Shivaji fame Suman) in a smuggling attempt. Sagar appoints his gang played by Jagathy, Vinayakan, Anu Anand and Sumit Nawal on the operation to rescue Manu. They trace Manu and reach Goa ruled by a don by name Rozario (Sampath) and his brothers. Sagar realizes that Manu’s kidnap was prompted most by his own deals, but however rescues and brings Manu back to the minister’s family.
The incident raises curiosity in CNN reporter Aarathi Menon (Bhavana) who tries to trace Sagar, without really knowing who he is. As Aarathi locks horns with Hari and threatens that his relationship with Naina will be revealed, she gets into the blacklist of the goons. Naina entrusts Sagar to keep an eye on her. As Aarathi survives an attack with the help of Sagar, she is all respects for him.
As the politics at the chief minister’s home end and Hari & Manu decide to join together, the villains led by Naina & Rozario see that as an opportunity to knock off Sagar. What follows is a real masala action, where the death toll of lead artistes crosses 7 (I don’t know when I stopped counting!) and ends in a rather predictable climax.
The bad things first: The script that goes pretty well in the first half slows down and leads to a very predictable, idiotic end of the movie, where the hero is almost made a super human. Technology is used, but the ideas as very primitive. Mohanlal-Bhavana pair – a little too much to digest on the first hand, and not to convincing that the hero was ready for a revenge when villains attacked her! Solo walks of Mohanlal – as many of the mail forwards mentioned, is a little overdone. Bala wasted in a guest role, while Shobana’s make up doesn’t help cover her age.
The good things: Lal – the actor who has done the re-incarnation of Sagar in the best way possible – Subtle expressions, strong dialogues – he’s unique. The director and script writer seems to have done an excellent teamwork in transforming Jackie to an international don. The lifestyle and body language changes, but the inherent character remains the same
Good thoughts from SN Swami to have retained a few characters/events from the prequel “Irupathaam Noottandu” – Sagar seems to have a say in politician families, Sagar still doesn’t support people who do drug and flesh trade, the press reporter doesn’t know Sagar initially, (Bhavana’s Aarathi Menon and Ambika’s Aswathi Varma almost follow the same pattern as they get bumped on to Sagar), few dialogues get retained from the prequel, and of course the Telugu speaking sidekick – Ashokan (Jagathy). The script writer seems to be successful in setting a standard for the character, which probably can be carried over like a Bond series! J The movie is technically very sound – cinematography, edits, and presentation. Casting is good, especially the henchmen and the villains. And of course, the style factor – many scenes seems to have a real Hollywood touch (the one where Bhavana escapes the villain attack, the entry of Rahul Dev with a sniper gun are all a few examples)
And it will be a crime not to mention a ravishing Jyothirmayi, - in near bikini costumes on the Goa beaches! Amal Neerad & Co. you have set a standard on Mollywood for an item number! Phew!
Debutant Gopi Sundar bags full credits on the background score – good remix of the old score by Shyam following throught the movie. However, he does an average work on the songs. “Vennilave” featuring the lead pair, is hummable.
Verdict: The movie was definitely bad mouthed that it is all style and no substance. It is very much bearable. If you like style, go ahead…you will not regret! Ugh…Am sorry, I forget that am speaking to people who made “Veruthe oru Bhaarya” the biggest hit of last year!
A good thought for the day - Innathe Chinthaavishayam
Movie : Innathe Chinthaavishayam (Malayalam)
Credits:
Sathyan Anthikkad (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, Direction)
Antony Perumbavoor – Aashirwad Cinema (Production)
Ilayaraja (Music)
Azhagappan (Cinematography)
A good thought for the day
The first poster that appeared on the walls read “Vivahamochanathinu orungi nilkkunna 3 sthreekal, avarude naduvilekku Mohanlalum Meera Jasmin um” (Three women on the verge of a divorce, and Mohanlal and Meera Jasmine into their world) The director of this movie is Sathyan Anthikkad. With these two statements, you have almost guessed the complete storyline of the movie. You’re right - no twists, no turns, no surprises! Everything is predictable!
A voice-over by the director introduces us to 3 couples, who’re going through tough times. Dr. Murali (Mukesh) is a busy dentist, who hardly gets time for his family. Once he is back at home he gets frequent missed calls and messages on his phone. Tresa (Sukanya) is sure that her husband is a skirt chaser, and her interrogation makes him quit, leaving Treesa and their daughter Lakshmi (Baby Niranjana) at home.
Prameela’s (Mohini) family married her off to Peethambaran (Vijayaraghavan) seeing the good job he holds in the gulf! Once the charming Prameela enters his life, Peethambaran loses his interest in work, develops an inferiority complex that his wife looks better, which leads him suspect and closely follow her, cutting across her personal space. Suffocated; Prameela joins her dad’s home, taking her two kids along.
Rahna (Muthumani) an aspiring lawyer is married to the aristocratic Muslim family of Noushad (Ashokan), where a lady going for work is considered as a sin. As she raises her voice, her existence in the joint family is threatened, and she leaves the place.
The script literally points fingers at the guy’s attitude that leads to strains in families, which is quite annoying to think and digest – at least from a guy’s point of view J!
As it is the director’s voice over that states that all these three ladies are good friends from their college days, we have to believe this connection. Tresa joins a driving school as instructor, Prameela’s dad helps her put up a premium coffee shop and Rahna, starts her career with as a leading lawyer’s junior.
Gopakumar or GK (Mohanlal) wants to buy the house from Dr. Murali, which is occupied by Treesa and Lakshmi. The mediator for this deal is Immanuvel (You guessed it again – Innocent). GK is planning to start his garment exports business and is in bad need of a place to stay and work. Tresa objects moving out of the house, while her husband leaves it to GK to make her vacate with the help of police or a court case. GK is a man with a golden heart and he wants to settle problems the right way and sets off on a mission to re-unite the couple. He tries solving Tresa’s problems by approaching her best friends – Prameela and Rahna, only to understand that he has just seen the tip of the iceberg!
Soon, the ladies realize the goodness in GK and he becomes their ideal man, and a loving uncle for the kids. Naturally, all three ladies become possessive of GK’s support.
Nowadays, the heroine is busier shooting in other languages and she comes late. Enter a bubbly, witty and bold Kamaladevi (Meera Jasmine) as the fashion designer for GK exports, adding more agony and jealousy to the minds of the three ladies. As the three women start thinking how to get rid of Kamala, she joins GK and Immanuel for a special mission – Bringing each family under a single roof! There ends a racy, and soothing first half of Sathyan Anthikkad’s summer special!
The long drawn melodrama in the 2nd half of the movie tells whether GK, Kamala and Immanuel succeed in their mission. The heroine has to get some justification for her time. She can’t just be the hero’s secretary role and as is the ritual, the hero and heroine have to fall in love. Hence, the audience gets to enjoy a free offer – a ride to her village with the hero, one free song, and a totally disconnected flashback – which is unsolicited and unwarranted.
To talk about the other soaring aspects – (a) the script uses 3 accidents in the course of the movie. The script says it, we have it! A little more thought could have gone in, to look for better means to take the story forward. (b) Three songs don’t add any entertainment value to the movie. The picturisation looks like a carbon copy of the previous movie where the director and the lead pair worked together. Ilayaraja disappoints! – The only saving grace is “Kando, Kando Kakkakkuyile” well rendered by MG Sreekumar. (c) You can see one character at Prameela’s home who doesn’t have an identity - Rasmi Nambiar wasted in a role which does not have even a dialogue.
Talking about performances – Mohanlal is a visual treat! The chemistry that he exhibits with the co-stars is commendable. A scene worth special mention is where he directs little Lakshmi call her parents to the school for a patch up talk. Meera Jasmine has nothing much to do, but she has controlled her over acts. Innocent as Immanuel and Mammukkoya as Shajahan are comfortable at their usual forte. All the three couples have done their best; special mention to Muthumani who comes to the big screen from the theater.
A few people who make their presence felt – Baby Niranjana as Lakshmi, Kripa doing the role of Bhanumathi, Tresa’s servant girl with proper thrissur “slang and Vanitha in Meera Jasmine’s mother’s role.
The director’s finger print can be felt at a few places in the movie. Of most importance, he is coming up with a good message. The way he uses Immanuel’s family as a contrary to today’s nuclear world, the scene in which Tresa boldly traps her night caller, who is behind her for an extra-marital affair, and the message that kids get impacted when parents fight – which is the very reason why the hero sets off for this mission – are a few examples of good movie making. However, there are quite a few lose and unpolished ends for the movie.
The Verdict: Read that after seeing Keerthichakra, a soldier’s wife called up the director and the lead actor on phone and confessed that she understood how difficult her husband’s life was! It will be too much to expect something on those lines here; I don’t think any family is going to re-unite seeing this movie. This is a family entertainer – go with a light heart and lesser expectations to enjoy it.
Credits:
Sathyan Anthikkad (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, Direction)
Antony Perumbavoor – Aashirwad Cinema (Production)
Ilayaraja (Music)
Azhagappan (Cinematography)
A good thought for the day
The first poster that appeared on the walls read “Vivahamochanathinu orungi nilkkunna 3 sthreekal, avarude naduvilekku Mohanlalum Meera Jasmin um” (Three women on the verge of a divorce, and Mohanlal and Meera Jasmine into their world) The director of this movie is Sathyan Anthikkad. With these two statements, you have almost guessed the complete storyline of the movie. You’re right - no twists, no turns, no surprises! Everything is predictable!
A voice-over by the director introduces us to 3 couples, who’re going through tough times. Dr. Murali (Mukesh) is a busy dentist, who hardly gets time for his family. Once he is back at home he gets frequent missed calls and messages on his phone. Tresa (Sukanya) is sure that her husband is a skirt chaser, and her interrogation makes him quit, leaving Treesa and their daughter Lakshmi (Baby Niranjana) at home.
Prameela’s (Mohini) family married her off to Peethambaran (Vijayaraghavan) seeing the good job he holds in the gulf! Once the charming Prameela enters his life, Peethambaran loses his interest in work, develops an inferiority complex that his wife looks better, which leads him suspect and closely follow her, cutting across her personal space. Suffocated; Prameela joins her dad’s home, taking her two kids along.
Rahna (Muthumani) an aspiring lawyer is married to the aristocratic Muslim family of Noushad (Ashokan), where a lady going for work is considered as a sin. As she raises her voice, her existence in the joint family is threatened, and she leaves the place.
The script literally points fingers at the guy’s attitude that leads to strains in families, which is quite annoying to think and digest – at least from a guy’s point of view J!
As it is the director’s voice over that states that all these three ladies are good friends from their college days, we have to believe this connection. Tresa joins a driving school as instructor, Prameela’s dad helps her put up a premium coffee shop and Rahna, starts her career with as a leading lawyer’s junior.
Gopakumar or GK (Mohanlal) wants to buy the house from Dr. Murali, which is occupied by Treesa and Lakshmi. The mediator for this deal is Immanuvel (You guessed it again – Innocent). GK is planning to start his garment exports business and is in bad need of a place to stay and work. Tresa objects moving out of the house, while her husband leaves it to GK to make her vacate with the help of police or a court case. GK is a man with a golden heart and he wants to settle problems the right way and sets off on a mission to re-unite the couple. He tries solving Tresa’s problems by approaching her best friends – Prameela and Rahna, only to understand that he has just seen the tip of the iceberg!
Soon, the ladies realize the goodness in GK and he becomes their ideal man, and a loving uncle for the kids. Naturally, all three ladies become possessive of GK’s support.
Nowadays, the heroine is busier shooting in other languages and she comes late. Enter a bubbly, witty and bold Kamaladevi (Meera Jasmine) as the fashion designer for GK exports, adding more agony and jealousy to the minds of the three ladies. As the three women start thinking how to get rid of Kamala, she joins GK and Immanuel for a special mission – Bringing each family under a single roof! There ends a racy, and soothing first half of Sathyan Anthikkad’s summer special!
The long drawn melodrama in the 2nd half of the movie tells whether GK, Kamala and Immanuel succeed in their mission. The heroine has to get some justification for her time. She can’t just be the hero’s secretary role and as is the ritual, the hero and heroine have to fall in love. Hence, the audience gets to enjoy a free offer – a ride to her village with the hero, one free song, and a totally disconnected flashback – which is unsolicited and unwarranted.
To talk about the other soaring aspects – (a) the script uses 3 accidents in the course of the movie. The script says it, we have it! A little more thought could have gone in, to look for better means to take the story forward. (b) Three songs don’t add any entertainment value to the movie. The picturisation looks like a carbon copy of the previous movie where the director and the lead pair worked together. Ilayaraja disappoints! – The only saving grace is “Kando, Kando Kakkakkuyile” well rendered by MG Sreekumar. (c) You can see one character at Prameela’s home who doesn’t have an identity - Rasmi Nambiar wasted in a role which does not have even a dialogue.
Talking about performances – Mohanlal is a visual treat! The chemistry that he exhibits with the co-stars is commendable. A scene worth special mention is where he directs little Lakshmi call her parents to the school for a patch up talk. Meera Jasmine has nothing much to do, but she has controlled her over acts. Innocent as Immanuel and Mammukkoya as Shajahan are comfortable at their usual forte. All the three couples have done their best; special mention to Muthumani who comes to the big screen from the theater.
A few people who make their presence felt – Baby Niranjana as Lakshmi, Kripa doing the role of Bhanumathi, Tresa’s servant girl with proper thrissur “slang and Vanitha in Meera Jasmine’s mother’s role.
The director’s finger print can be felt at a few places in the movie. Of most importance, he is coming up with a good message. The way he uses Immanuel’s family as a contrary to today’s nuclear world, the scene in which Tresa boldly traps her night caller, who is behind her for an extra-marital affair, and the message that kids get impacted when parents fight – which is the very reason why the hero sets off for this mission – are a few examples of good movie making. However, there are quite a few lose and unpolished ends for the movie.
The Verdict: Read that after seeing Keerthichakra, a soldier’s wife called up the director and the lead actor on phone and confessed that she understood how difficult her husband’s life was! It will be too much to expect something on those lines here; I don’t think any family is going to re-unite seeing this movie. This is a family entertainer – go with a light heart and lesser expectations to enjoy it.
These flowers smell the same - Mulla - Malayalam Movie Review
Movie : Mulla (Malayalam)
Credits:
Lal Jose (Direction)
M. Sindhuraj (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues)
Vidyasagar, Sharath Vayalar (Music, Lyrics)
Vipin Mohan (Cinematography)
These flowers smell the same!
Oru Maravathoor Kanavu, Chandranudikkunna Dikhil, Randam Bhavam, Meesha Madhavan, Pattalam, Rasikan, Chanthupottu, Achanurangatha Veedu, Classmates, Arabikkatha – this is what the so-called “only commercially successful director alive in Malayalam tinsel town” has given us so far! You have Rasikan there, and Achanurangaatha veedu as well. Let’s go with a clean slate and see what he has to offer during this summer.
The audience accompanies Latchi (debutant Meera Nandan) in a local train compartment, full of devotees to Pazhani. As she continues her journey accompanied by a devotional song (well led by Rimi Tomy); we are introduced to the story and its lead characters through the memories of a rather tired and worn-out Latchi. In the flashback, you see a smart and bubbly Latchi, well taken care by her parents (Shivaji Guruvayoor, Vanitha). While her father was running around to make money for her marriage, he meets with an accident and passes away. With the help of her uncle Bharathan (Circle Inspector of Police, played by Saiju Kurup) she manages to get a job in a bakery. As she depends on this local train for her daily commutation, she gets a chance to meet a few special people and knows the story of this colony called Karakkadu. This colony is notorious for goondas, beggars, pimps, henchmen and prostitutes. They too commute on the same train and pull the emergency chain and gets down when the train passes by the Karakkadu colony, thus making it an unauthorized station.
Latchi sees Ambi Annan (Biju Menon) who currently is the head and one among the 3 leads of the henchmen gang. Their unwritten rule – all three go together for their “assignments” and if one of gets killed nobody will go claiming his body and someone else from the colony takes that place, keeping the total number of the lead gang always 3. Mulla (Dileep) is the second in line at Karakkadu colony and is Ambi’s right hand. We also meet “Thotti Sasi” (Salim Kumar), who claims to be an entrepreneur as he runs a brothel-cum-arrack shop, J and Idiyappam (Anoop Chandran), yet another goonda for whom food is a weakness!
The story takes a turn as Mulla forcefully hands over to Latchi, an abandoned child from the train compartment. Through this baby boy, Mulla and Latchi get closer, leading to a transformation in Mulla. A rather uneventful and sloppy first half ends here. Latchi’s family objects their relationship and even try to get the baby out of their way, but Ambi Annan and his wife Malathi (Reena Bashir) offers their full support to Mulla getting married to Latchi and leading a normal life. What happens next is quite predictable. How does Mulla-Latchi affair become a reason for changing the life of Ambi Annan, Malathi and the entire colony is shown in a racy latter half and an overly melodramatic climax of the movie, which ends with a message “crime never pays”.
The movie stands way high on characterization. Sindhuraj can be proud of it. Lal Jose has also done a director’s justice to a mediocre script that he got. The art direction by Gokul Das that has transformed the Palakkad fort to Karakkad colony and cinematography by Vipin Mohan are good. The stunt master deserves a special mention for a couple of fights, especially the one in the train.
Talking about performances, Dileep does a good job as Mulla – a character which has fewer dialogues, and is quite unconventional in the actor’s career. Meera Nandan is good; considering that it is her first film. Little more grooming, homework and some dancing can make her a better heroine. Biju Menon gives full life to one of the well portrayed characters Ambi Annan - a henchman with a heart and carries a special love towards his family. Reena Basheer (Vanitha Ratnam fame) has done an incredible debut. I hope the Mollywood promote this talent and bring it up further. Saiju Kurup does a brilliant job in a villain role. Salim Kumar Anoop Chandran adds a bit of comedy in their usual way. Bhavana in a cameo appearance looks stunning.
Vidyasagar and Sharat Vayalar have put 2 good numbers – Kannil vaathil chaarathe, and Kanalukalaadiya. The Tamil song is forgettable, while the song which tries to capture the sensual side of the lead pair is a counterproductive attempt in all respects.
The biggest negative of this movie is that there is zero innovation. Almost everything is predictable. At many points in the first half, the script is goofed up by sudden returns from the flashback, and fails to glue the audience on to the screen. theme. If you are venturing with your children for this movie, be careful that there is violation of language content at a couple of places.
Verdict: It is a pretty serious movie. You don’t see the Lal Jose touch of humor in this. If you love to read/listen to a story that is told like a story, go for it. Missing this movie wouldn’t be a big miss, and at the same time, it is not bad.
Credits:
Lal Jose (Direction)
M. Sindhuraj (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues)
Vidyasagar, Sharath Vayalar (Music, Lyrics)
Vipin Mohan (Cinematography)
These flowers smell the same!
Oru Maravathoor Kanavu, Chandranudikkunna Dikhil, Randam Bhavam, Meesha Madhavan, Pattalam, Rasikan, Chanthupottu, Achanurangatha Veedu, Classmates, Arabikkatha – this is what the so-called “only commercially successful director alive in Malayalam tinsel town” has given us so far! You have Rasikan there, and Achanurangaatha veedu as well. Let’s go with a clean slate and see what he has to offer during this summer.
The audience accompanies Latchi (debutant Meera Nandan) in a local train compartment, full of devotees to Pazhani. As she continues her journey accompanied by a devotional song (well led by Rimi Tomy); we are introduced to the story and its lead characters through the memories of a rather tired and worn-out Latchi. In the flashback, you see a smart and bubbly Latchi, well taken care by her parents (Shivaji Guruvayoor, Vanitha). While her father was running around to make money for her marriage, he meets with an accident and passes away. With the help of her uncle Bharathan (Circle Inspector of Police, played by Saiju Kurup) she manages to get a job in a bakery. As she depends on this local train for her daily commutation, she gets a chance to meet a few special people and knows the story of this colony called Karakkadu. This colony is notorious for goondas, beggars, pimps, henchmen and prostitutes. They too commute on the same train and pull the emergency chain and gets down when the train passes by the Karakkadu colony, thus making it an unauthorized station.
Latchi sees Ambi Annan (Biju Menon) who currently is the head and one among the 3 leads of the henchmen gang. Their unwritten rule – all three go together for their “assignments” and if one of gets killed nobody will go claiming his body and someone else from the colony takes that place, keeping the total number of the lead gang always 3. Mulla (Dileep) is the second in line at Karakkadu colony and is Ambi’s right hand. We also meet “Thotti Sasi” (Salim Kumar), who claims to be an entrepreneur as he runs a brothel-cum-arrack shop, J and Idiyappam (Anoop Chandran), yet another goonda for whom food is a weakness!
The story takes a turn as Mulla forcefully hands over to Latchi, an abandoned child from the train compartment. Through this baby boy, Mulla and Latchi get closer, leading to a transformation in Mulla. A rather uneventful and sloppy first half ends here. Latchi’s family objects their relationship and even try to get the baby out of their way, but Ambi Annan and his wife Malathi (Reena Bashir) offers their full support to Mulla getting married to Latchi and leading a normal life. What happens next is quite predictable. How does Mulla-Latchi affair become a reason for changing the life of Ambi Annan, Malathi and the entire colony is shown in a racy latter half and an overly melodramatic climax of the movie, which ends with a message “crime never pays”.
The movie stands way high on characterization. Sindhuraj can be proud of it. Lal Jose has also done a director’s justice to a mediocre script that he got. The art direction by Gokul Das that has transformed the Palakkad fort to Karakkad colony and cinematography by Vipin Mohan are good. The stunt master deserves a special mention for a couple of fights, especially the one in the train.
Talking about performances, Dileep does a good job as Mulla – a character which has fewer dialogues, and is quite unconventional in the actor’s career. Meera Nandan is good; considering that it is her first film. Little more grooming, homework and some dancing can make her a better heroine. Biju Menon gives full life to one of the well portrayed characters Ambi Annan - a henchman with a heart and carries a special love towards his family. Reena Basheer (Vanitha Ratnam fame) has done an incredible debut. I hope the Mollywood promote this talent and bring it up further. Saiju Kurup does a brilliant job in a villain role. Salim Kumar Anoop Chandran adds a bit of comedy in their usual way. Bhavana in a cameo appearance looks stunning.
Vidyasagar and Sharat Vayalar have put 2 good numbers – Kannil vaathil chaarathe, and Kanalukalaadiya. The Tamil song is forgettable, while the song which tries to capture the sensual side of the lead pair is a counterproductive attempt in all respects.
The biggest negative of this movie is that there is zero innovation. Almost everything is predictable. At many points in the first half, the script is goofed up by sudden returns from the flashback, and fails to glue the audience on to the screen. theme. If you are venturing with your children for this movie, be careful that there is violation of language content at a couple of places.
Verdict: It is a pretty serious movie. You don’t see the Lal Jose touch of humor in this. If you love to read/listen to a story that is told like a story, go for it. Missing this movie wouldn’t be a big miss, and at the same time, it is not bad.
Simple & Good - Kadha Parayumbol - Malayalam movie review
Movie : Kadha Parayumbol (Malayalam)
Credits:
M. Mohanan (Direction)
Sreenivasan (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues)
Sreenivasan & Mukesh – Lumiere Pictures (Production)
M Jayachandran (Music)
Anil Panachooran, Girish Puthencherry (Lyrics)
P Sukumar (Cinematography)
Simple, Good!
Sreenivasan and Mukesh – two stalwarts who have contributed a lot to the development of Mollywood, coming out with a movie scripted by Sreenivasan – This statement would be enough to sky rocket your expectations. This good team work from a group of experienced movie professionals doesn’t disappoint you in any way. In retrospect, if you ask – Have they done their best? The answer is “Good Question!”
The audience is taken to Melukavu – a remote village in Kerala where the protagonist – Balan (Sreenivasan) is fighting hard with life to take it forward. He runs and old-style saloon, “New Kerala Barber shop”, but faces a crisis as Sarasan (Jagadeesh) starts a modern saloon with a revolving chair, new cutting tools, and new hair styles. The idealist in Balan prevents him from bribing the Government to get any loans for improving his shop. As he is unable to remit the fees for his kids, kids are denied education by the school headmistress (KPAC Lalitha). Though Balan finds a temporary solution for it by sending his elder daughter to “Excellent tuition Center” run by Venu Master (Mukesh), Balan’s life is still unhappy. Things get worse, as he finds it difficult to run his family – Sreedevi (Meena), and 3 kids – Sona, Seena and Satyan (named after Balan’s admiration to the erstwhile Malayalam actor).
For the first time in the history of Melukavu, a movie unit lands in their neighborhood. To add to the excitement, the movie has none other than superstar Ashok Raj (Mammootty) in the lead. The villagers come to know about one more news – Ashok Raj and Balan used to be friends. All of a sudden, Balan and his family become important, and the entire village look up to them; for they are the only and the best way to get in touch with Ashok Raj. Demands coming to Balan never end - The greedy moneylender Eapachan (Innocent) wants to prove that he is the only one capable of hosting a celebrity in that area, and try if he can sign up the star for a movie. The poet – “Pothusalyam” Das Vadakkemuri (Salim Kumar) wants to be a lyricist for movies, while the headmistress wants Ashok Raj to come for the jubilee function. Balan is scared to show up in front of the actor and ask for any favour. He gets annoyed as more and more favors backed up by unwarranted interests come to him, and even thinks of leaving the place. Balan does make some attempts to reach the hero, but fails. Before long, the entire village and even his own kids, suspects the credibility of his claims and go against him. Balan is in a fix.
Does the village get a chance to see the star at all, and will Balan be able to prove his innocence and credibility – these are answered in a much expected climax that relieves Balan from his short-term issues and leaves him with hopes for a brighter future.
Sreenivasan quite convincingly essays the role of Balan in all his neutrality, though the make-up given to him looks a little odd. For the role of superstar Ashok Raj, Malayalam industry could not have had a better cast other than Mammootty. He does it well, though he has not many scenes to do. As time goes by heroines improvise – be it looks, or acting – Meena is fabulous as Sridevi. The rest of the crew, are all experienced actors and there is hardly anything that can go wrong from them. Mukesh, Jagadeesh, Innocent, Kottayam Nazeer (as Innocents henchman who never gets the name of his master right), Suraaj Venjaarammoodu (who introduces himself as Pappan Kudamaloor – production controller), Mammukkoya (running the tea shop at the junction), Salim Kumar – all have done their parts well. KPAC Lalitha, giving a class touch to the role of the school head mistress is a treat to the eyes. Even other minor characters like the Politician, Sivaji Guruvayoor (as the PTA president), and a few who come as villagers – are quite natural.
To point out the negatives, there are not much of happenings in the movie. Balan and Ashok Raj’s meeting was quite predictably to be at the end and the script had to be live till that time. For that sake, there are many scenes that are repetitive (Venu coming up with a trick to make his students pay the fees), and some are placed wrong in the sequence (the money lender’s interference to the. Dialogues that happen in Balan’s family – the son being darker, the wife looking better – We have heard the same in many previous scripts – Vadakkunokkiyanthram, Chindhaavishtayaaya Syamala, and more. What Sreenivasan as a script writer, could have improved is the climax – which is fine, but was not even a millimeter different from what was expected. The story of the acquaintance of the two lead characters could have been made a bit more convincing.
Cinematographer Sukumar has captured the scenic locations pretty well. M Jayachandran’s work on both the songs and the background music are good. The comedy song – Vyathasthanaayoru……featuring Salim Kumar is different in all respects and well rendered. The second song “Maambulliikaavill…” doesn’t justify its existence, other than Vineeth Sreenivasan getting a song to sing. It is better if listened with eyes closed – thanks to the excessive amount of chemistry between Mammootty and the item girl, and their efforts to dance!
Verdict: Good effort, nice way to pass time and would be a hit with the masses. A little more of thought and homework, would have been made it better!
Credits:
M. Mohanan (Direction)
Sreenivasan (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues)
Sreenivasan & Mukesh – Lumiere Pictures (Production)
M Jayachandran (Music)
Anil Panachooran, Girish Puthencherry (Lyrics)
P Sukumar (Cinematography)
Simple, Good!
Sreenivasan and Mukesh – two stalwarts who have contributed a lot to the development of Mollywood, coming out with a movie scripted by Sreenivasan – This statement would be enough to sky rocket your expectations. This good team work from a group of experienced movie professionals doesn’t disappoint you in any way. In retrospect, if you ask – Have they done their best? The answer is “Good Question!”
The audience is taken to Melukavu – a remote village in Kerala where the protagonist – Balan (Sreenivasan) is fighting hard with life to take it forward. He runs and old-style saloon, “New Kerala Barber shop”, but faces a crisis as Sarasan (Jagadeesh) starts a modern saloon with a revolving chair, new cutting tools, and new hair styles. The idealist in Balan prevents him from bribing the Government to get any loans for improving his shop. As he is unable to remit the fees for his kids, kids are denied education by the school headmistress (KPAC Lalitha). Though Balan finds a temporary solution for it by sending his elder daughter to “Excellent tuition Center” run by Venu Master (Mukesh), Balan’s life is still unhappy. Things get worse, as he finds it difficult to run his family – Sreedevi (Meena), and 3 kids – Sona, Seena and Satyan (named after Balan’s admiration to the erstwhile Malayalam actor).
For the first time in the history of Melukavu, a movie unit lands in their neighborhood. To add to the excitement, the movie has none other than superstar Ashok Raj (Mammootty) in the lead. The villagers come to know about one more news – Ashok Raj and Balan used to be friends. All of a sudden, Balan and his family become important, and the entire village look up to them; for they are the only and the best way to get in touch with Ashok Raj. Demands coming to Balan never end - The greedy moneylender Eapachan (Innocent) wants to prove that he is the only one capable of hosting a celebrity in that area, and try if he can sign up the star for a movie. The poet – “Pothusalyam” Das Vadakkemuri (Salim Kumar) wants to be a lyricist for movies, while the headmistress wants Ashok Raj to come for the jubilee function. Balan is scared to show up in front of the actor and ask for any favour. He gets annoyed as more and more favors backed up by unwarranted interests come to him, and even thinks of leaving the place. Balan does make some attempts to reach the hero, but fails. Before long, the entire village and even his own kids, suspects the credibility of his claims and go against him. Balan is in a fix.
Does the village get a chance to see the star at all, and will Balan be able to prove his innocence and credibility – these are answered in a much expected climax that relieves Balan from his short-term issues and leaves him with hopes for a brighter future.
Sreenivasan quite convincingly essays the role of Balan in all his neutrality, though the make-up given to him looks a little odd. For the role of superstar Ashok Raj, Malayalam industry could not have had a better cast other than Mammootty. He does it well, though he has not many scenes to do. As time goes by heroines improvise – be it looks, or acting – Meena is fabulous as Sridevi. The rest of the crew, are all experienced actors and there is hardly anything that can go wrong from them. Mukesh, Jagadeesh, Innocent, Kottayam Nazeer (as Innocents henchman who never gets the name of his master right), Suraaj Venjaarammoodu (who introduces himself as Pappan Kudamaloor – production controller), Mammukkoya (running the tea shop at the junction), Salim Kumar – all have done their parts well. KPAC Lalitha, giving a class touch to the role of the school head mistress is a treat to the eyes. Even other minor characters like the Politician, Sivaji Guruvayoor (as the PTA president), and a few who come as villagers – are quite natural.
To point out the negatives, there are not much of happenings in the movie. Balan and Ashok Raj’s meeting was quite predictably to be at the end and the script had to be live till that time. For that sake, there are many scenes that are repetitive (Venu coming up with a trick to make his students pay the fees), and some are placed wrong in the sequence (the money lender’s interference to the. Dialogues that happen in Balan’s family – the son being darker, the wife looking better – We have heard the same in many previous scripts – Vadakkunokkiyanthram, Chindhaavishtayaaya Syamala, and more. What Sreenivasan as a script writer, could have improved is the climax – which is fine, but was not even a millimeter different from what was expected. The story of the acquaintance of the two lead characters could have been made a bit more convincing.
Cinematographer Sukumar has captured the scenic locations pretty well. M Jayachandran’s work on both the songs and the background music are good. The comedy song – Vyathasthanaayoru……featuring Salim Kumar is different in all respects and well rendered. The second song “Maambulliikaavill…” doesn’t justify its existence, other than Vineeth Sreenivasan getting a song to sing. It is better if listened with eyes closed – thanks to the excessive amount of chemistry between Mammootty and the item girl, and their efforts to dance!
Verdict: Good effort, nice way to pass time and would be a hit with the masses. A little more of thought and homework, would have been made it better!
All that begins well, doesn't end well - Vinodayathra
Movie : Vinodayathra (Malayalam)
Credits:
Sathyan Anthikkad (Story, Screenplay, Dialogue, Direction)
M M Hamsa (Producer)
Ilayaraja (Music)
Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma (Lyrics)
S Kumar (Cinematography)
K Rajagopal (Editing)
All that begins well doesn’t end well!
A safe bet to enjoy your weekend with family, paisa vasool, a sensible movie – all these are set expectations, when you step in to see a movie from Sathyan Anthikkad and crew. Unfortunately, for the second time consecutively (earlier one being Rasathanthram), the director disappoints.
Vinodayathra is Vinod’s (Dileep) journey through life. The movie begins when Shaji Raghavan (Mukesh) an Engineer in the irrigation department, is informed by his wife Vimala (Seeta) that her brother Vinod is coming to stay with them for a while. Vinod had been a loafer and fiddling around with his life for sometime, not sticking to any job and getting involved in petty fights with his neighbors. Shaji, on the other hand is an ideal guy, with lot of principles. Vinod is sent to observe the lifestyle and principles of his brother-in-law so that he can improve. The news of Vinod’s arrival gives jitters to Shaji, as he is concerned about a possible affair that can happen between his sister Reshmi (Parvathy) and Vinod. Shaji introduces Vinod to a retired I. G – John Mathew (Nedumudi Venu) who is in need of an assistant to help him in preparing service story. Vinod ends up doing all domestic chores for John Mathew and is unhappy about his job. In an “official” trip, Vinod bumps into Anupama (Meera Jasmine) who happens to be drugged. Being a Good Samaritan helps her by putting her in a safe place and leaving his mobile number for her. This lands him up in more trouble and he slowly gets driven to Anupama seeing her problems.
There ends the racy and entertaining first half of the movie. What follows is a dragging second half, where the entertainment value just plummets to zero. Sathyan’s message to this generation youth is almost clear – he urges the youth to know what life is before they actually start to live! There are many scenes where the protagonist gets insights of life from various other characters in the movie. Unfortunately, these messages went a little overboard, and scattered across different characters, affecting the flow of movie. In short, the director has dished out something, which is not very edible. It is definitely better than Rasathanthram, but cannot be rated equal to any other movie from the director.
On the positives, the director has handled Dileep extremely well. Mukesh puts in one of his best performances and Ganapathi – a new child artiste, who plays a juvenile home runaway, proves himself as an upcoming asset to the industry. The supporting cast, Murali, Parvathy, Seeta, Innocent, Rashmi Nambiar – all have done their part well. However, a few talents like Nedumudi Venu, KPAC Lalitha, Innocent, Mamukkoya seems to be wasted. The biggest disappointment is a bloated up and stereotyped Meera Jasmine, who exhibits no chemistry with the hero. Her character is a repeat telecast of Samyuktha’s role in Veendum Chila Veettukaaryangal and her own role in Kasturiman.
Verdict: “Just” bearable, provided you have nothing else to do on a weekend!
Credits:
Sathyan Anthikkad (Story, Screenplay, Dialogue, Direction)
M M Hamsa (Producer)
Ilayaraja (Music)
Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma (Lyrics)
S Kumar (Cinematography)
K Rajagopal (Editing)
All that begins well doesn’t end well!
A safe bet to enjoy your weekend with family, paisa vasool, a sensible movie – all these are set expectations, when you step in to see a movie from Sathyan Anthikkad and crew. Unfortunately, for the second time consecutively (earlier one being Rasathanthram), the director disappoints.
Vinodayathra is Vinod’s (Dileep) journey through life. The movie begins when Shaji Raghavan (Mukesh) an Engineer in the irrigation department, is informed by his wife Vimala (Seeta) that her brother Vinod is coming to stay with them for a while. Vinod had been a loafer and fiddling around with his life for sometime, not sticking to any job and getting involved in petty fights with his neighbors. Shaji, on the other hand is an ideal guy, with lot of principles. Vinod is sent to observe the lifestyle and principles of his brother-in-law so that he can improve. The news of Vinod’s arrival gives jitters to Shaji, as he is concerned about a possible affair that can happen between his sister Reshmi (Parvathy) and Vinod. Shaji introduces Vinod to a retired I. G – John Mathew (Nedumudi Venu) who is in need of an assistant to help him in preparing service story. Vinod ends up doing all domestic chores for John Mathew and is unhappy about his job. In an “official” trip, Vinod bumps into Anupama (Meera Jasmine) who happens to be drugged. Being a Good Samaritan helps her by putting her in a safe place and leaving his mobile number for her. This lands him up in more trouble and he slowly gets driven to Anupama seeing her problems.
There ends the racy and entertaining first half of the movie. What follows is a dragging second half, where the entertainment value just plummets to zero. Sathyan’s message to this generation youth is almost clear – he urges the youth to know what life is before they actually start to live! There are many scenes where the protagonist gets insights of life from various other characters in the movie. Unfortunately, these messages went a little overboard, and scattered across different characters, affecting the flow of movie. In short, the director has dished out something, which is not very edible. It is definitely better than Rasathanthram, but cannot be rated equal to any other movie from the director.
On the positives, the director has handled Dileep extremely well. Mukesh puts in one of his best performances and Ganapathi – a new child artiste, who plays a juvenile home runaway, proves himself as an upcoming asset to the industry. The supporting cast, Murali, Parvathy, Seeta, Innocent, Rashmi Nambiar – all have done their part well. However, a few talents like Nedumudi Venu, KPAC Lalitha, Innocent, Mamukkoya seems to be wasted. The biggest disappointment is a bloated up and stereotyped Meera Jasmine, who exhibits no chemistry with the hero. Her character is a repeat telecast of Samyuktha’s role in Veendum Chila Veettukaaryangal and her own role in Kasturiman.
Verdict: “Just” bearable, provided you have nothing else to do on a weekend!
Packed with Style - Big B - Malayalam Movie Review
Movie : BigB (Malayalam)
Credits:
Amal Neerad : Story, Direction
Amal Neerad - Unni R : Screenplay
Shahul Hameed, Anto Joseph : Producers
Alphonse Joseph : Music
Jophi Tharakan, Santhosh Varma : Lyrics
Joseph Nellickal : Art direction
Cast: Mammootty, Manoj K Jayan, Bala, Sumit Naval, Innocent, Vijayaraghavan, Manianpilla Raju, Mamta, Nafiza Ali, Pasupathy, Manasa, Lena.
Packed with Style!
Amal Neerad, came to Mollywood, as the cinematographer for the movie “Black”(that starred Mammotty). Having cranked the camera for many gangster movies by Ram Gopal Varma, Amal makes an attempt of the RGV lines through “Big B” – his first ever directorial venture.
Mary John Kurishinkal (a.k.a. Mary Teacher – played by Nafiza Ali) is brutally murdered on the streets of Kochi, during a Christmas eve. That sets off the movie – Big B. Mary teacher had been instrumental in rehabilitating many orphans and had devoted her life for social and charity initiatives. Teacher’s death makes her foster children re-unite - Bilal (Mammotty), Eddie (Manoj K Jayan), Murugan (Bala) and Bijo (Sumit Naval). From the flashback, we realise that once Mary teacher had asked Bilal to move out of the house, following his involvement in a stabbing incident. Eddie runs his restaurant and lives with his wife Celina (Lena) and two daughters. Murugan is a stunt master for movies and is in love with Rimi (Mamta), while Bijo is still studying. What follows is an investigation by Bilal & Co. to find out the reasons for their mother’s death. The police – led by ACP Balaji Sakthivel (Pasupathi) and C.I George (Vijayaraghavan) - also probe the issue. As their hunt for the culprits continue Bilal makes some surprising revelations.
That was just the storyline of the movie, which per say has nothing great to offer, apart from a rather quick and unexpected climax, that is well rendered. What makes the movie different is a classic packaging done for the whole plot. The technical quality of the movie – be it the styling done to the characters, cinematography (Sameer Thahir) or editing (Vivek Harshan) – are superior. A couple of scenes that deserve a special mention are: Bilal’s past as a mafia body guard in Mumbai, the explosion scene just before the first half ends, and the murder scenes – of both Mary Teacher and the ACP.
It is without doubt a director’s movie, where Amal seems to have concentrated on almost everything, right from casting. A majority of the actors are fresh to the Malayalam tinsel town. Nafisa Ali is an example, and you can see the director taking special care not to have any close-up dialogues from her. Mamta gets a good role, probably for the first time in her career, which she has done convincingly and Manasa (daughter of old timer Kanakadurga) coming as Bijo’s silent crush is charming. Others, Bala, Manoj K Jayan, Lena, Pasupathi, Vijayaraghavan, all have played their part well. There are 2 people who steal the show – Mammotty of course, as the less spoken, stylish and brave Bilal, walks away with all honor doing full justice to the character. Innocent coming as a cameo for just 2 scenes light up the audience with his dialogues. Dialogues form another highlight of the movie; they are to the point, different and match the Kochi mafia gang style. The music section (Jophi Tharakan, Santosh Varma, Alphonse) is also good. “Vidaparayukayaano” by Shreya Ghoshal is haunting and “Muthumazha konjal” by Vineeth Sreenivasan & Jyotsna is good.
To conclude, Amal can be proud to have dished out something different to the audience, and should be careful about his next attempts, as this sets the expectations high.
Verdict: For those who like style and action – don’t miss it. Those who rate themselves as conventional – sit at home, and watch a serial.
Credits:
Amal Neerad : Story, Direction
Amal Neerad - Unni R : Screenplay
Shahul Hameed, Anto Joseph : Producers
Alphonse Joseph : Music
Jophi Tharakan, Santhosh Varma : Lyrics
Joseph Nellickal : Art direction
Cast: Mammootty, Manoj K Jayan, Bala, Sumit Naval, Innocent, Vijayaraghavan, Manianpilla Raju, Mamta, Nafiza Ali, Pasupathy, Manasa, Lena.
Packed with Style!
Amal Neerad, came to Mollywood, as the cinematographer for the movie “Black”(that starred Mammotty). Having cranked the camera for many gangster movies by Ram Gopal Varma, Amal makes an attempt of the RGV lines through “Big B” – his first ever directorial venture.
Mary John Kurishinkal (a.k.a. Mary Teacher – played by Nafiza Ali) is brutally murdered on the streets of Kochi, during a Christmas eve. That sets off the movie – Big B. Mary teacher had been instrumental in rehabilitating many orphans and had devoted her life for social and charity initiatives. Teacher’s death makes her foster children re-unite - Bilal (Mammotty), Eddie (Manoj K Jayan), Murugan (Bala) and Bijo (Sumit Naval). From the flashback, we realise that once Mary teacher had asked Bilal to move out of the house, following his involvement in a stabbing incident. Eddie runs his restaurant and lives with his wife Celina (Lena) and two daughters. Murugan is a stunt master for movies and is in love with Rimi (Mamta), while Bijo is still studying. What follows is an investigation by Bilal & Co. to find out the reasons for their mother’s death. The police – led by ACP Balaji Sakthivel (Pasupathi) and C.I George (Vijayaraghavan) - also probe the issue. As their hunt for the culprits continue Bilal makes some surprising revelations.
That was just the storyline of the movie, which per say has nothing great to offer, apart from a rather quick and unexpected climax, that is well rendered. What makes the movie different is a classic packaging done for the whole plot. The technical quality of the movie – be it the styling done to the characters, cinematography (Sameer Thahir) or editing (Vivek Harshan) – are superior. A couple of scenes that deserve a special mention are: Bilal’s past as a mafia body guard in Mumbai, the explosion scene just before the first half ends, and the murder scenes – of both Mary Teacher and the ACP.
It is without doubt a director’s movie, where Amal seems to have concentrated on almost everything, right from casting. A majority of the actors are fresh to the Malayalam tinsel town. Nafisa Ali is an example, and you can see the director taking special care not to have any close-up dialogues from her. Mamta gets a good role, probably for the first time in her career, which she has done convincingly and Manasa (daughter of old timer Kanakadurga) coming as Bijo’s silent crush is charming. Others, Bala, Manoj K Jayan, Lena, Pasupathi, Vijayaraghavan, all have played their part well. There are 2 people who steal the show – Mammotty of course, as the less spoken, stylish and brave Bilal, walks away with all honor doing full justice to the character. Innocent coming as a cameo for just 2 scenes light up the audience with his dialogues. Dialogues form another highlight of the movie; they are to the point, different and match the Kochi mafia gang style. The music section (Jophi Tharakan, Santosh Varma, Alphonse) is also good. “Vidaparayukayaano” by Shreya Ghoshal is haunting and “Muthumazha konjal” by Vineeth Sreenivasan & Jyotsna is good.
To conclude, Amal can be proud to have dished out something different to the audience, and should be careful about his next attempts, as this sets the expectations high.
Verdict: For those who like style and action – don’t miss it. Those who rate themselves as conventional – sit at home, and watch a serial.
A brave Attempt - Notebook - Malayalam Movie Review
Movie : Notebook (Malayalam)
Credits:
Roshan Andrews (Director)
PV Gangadharan (Producer)
Bobby & Sanjay (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues)
Mejo Joseph (Music)
Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma (Lyrics)
A brave attempt
As the advertisement goes, Notebook comes from the director of “Udayanaanu Thaaram” and the script writers of “Ente Veedu, Appoontem” Quite natural that the audience develops very high expectations about the movie. Roshan Andrews, Bobby- Sanjay team doesn’t disappoint the viewers completely.
The movie is shot against the picturesque Lords Academy campus at Ootty. Saira (Roma), Pooja (Kiran TV VJ Parvathi), Sreedevi (Maria Roy) are close friends and Plus-One students at this school. Saira is naughty and smart, but with a golden heart. Pooja is the head girl and good at academics, while Sreedevi is the quiet and innocent one. Sreedevi falls in love with Sooraj Menon (Skanda) of the same school. Saira and Pooja, are skeptical about it, but later support the pair. During a school excursion Sreedevi and Sooraj end up making love and Sreedevi conceives. She confesses to Saira and Pooja and trio tries to handle the matter all by themselves, without involving their parents or even Sooraj. The racy second half of the movie shows the hurdles they encounter and how their relationships evolve as they face the realities.
The plus-es of the movie include the characterisation of the 3 lead roles, the location, the art direction by Sunil Babu, and the camera by Viswanath. Mejo Joseph, a 19 year old, is the music director of the movie and 2 of the songs (Hridayavum and Changaathikkootam) are flying high on the hit charts. Mejo also does a small role, of Feroz Ahamed – a school drop-out-in the movie. The scenes – Sreedevi’s confession to Saira, Sooraj meeting Sreedevi’s dad, Saira spotting Feroz at the airport are a few scenes where the filmmakers have shown their class.
On the performance side, all new comers deserve praise. Roma has put in an excellent performance, considering the fact that Malayalam is a new language to her. Among the parent roles – Suresh Gopi (as Saira’s father), and Seetha (as Pooja’s mother) are impressive.
The negatives: Poor editing by Ranjan Abraham leading to a bit of boredom during the first half. The dialogues sound a little artificial towards the beginning of the movie, probably the issue of involving too many new comers. Too many events happening in the school – New Year, Christmas, Founder’s day and again a New Year towards the end – Could have been controlled!
Overall, the team has made a brave and brilliant attempt in bringing out a theme of teenage pregnancy before a rather conventional Mallu audience. What our industry needs is such bold experiments that would make a difference. The movie leaves a couple of excellent messages for the teenagers and parents to take home.
Verdict: Worth the time and money!
Credits:
Roshan Andrews (Director)
PV Gangadharan (Producer)
Bobby & Sanjay (Story, Screenplay, Dialogues)
Mejo Joseph (Music)
Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma (Lyrics)
A brave attempt
As the advertisement goes, Notebook comes from the director of “Udayanaanu Thaaram” and the script writers of “Ente Veedu, Appoontem” Quite natural that the audience develops very high expectations about the movie. Roshan Andrews, Bobby- Sanjay team doesn’t disappoint the viewers completely.
The movie is shot against the picturesque Lords Academy campus at Ootty. Saira (Roma), Pooja (Kiran TV VJ Parvathi), Sreedevi (Maria Roy) are close friends and Plus-One students at this school. Saira is naughty and smart, but with a golden heart. Pooja is the head girl and good at academics, while Sreedevi is the quiet and innocent one. Sreedevi falls in love with Sooraj Menon (Skanda) of the same school. Saira and Pooja, are skeptical about it, but later support the pair. During a school excursion Sreedevi and Sooraj end up making love and Sreedevi conceives. She confesses to Saira and Pooja and trio tries to handle the matter all by themselves, without involving their parents or even Sooraj. The racy second half of the movie shows the hurdles they encounter and how their relationships evolve as they face the realities.
The plus-es of the movie include the characterisation of the 3 lead roles, the location, the art direction by Sunil Babu, and the camera by Viswanath. Mejo Joseph, a 19 year old, is the music director of the movie and 2 of the songs (Hridayavum and Changaathikkootam) are flying high on the hit charts. Mejo also does a small role, of Feroz Ahamed – a school drop-out-in the movie. The scenes – Sreedevi’s confession to Saira, Sooraj meeting Sreedevi’s dad, Saira spotting Feroz at the airport are a few scenes where the filmmakers have shown their class.
On the performance side, all new comers deserve praise. Roma has put in an excellent performance, considering the fact that Malayalam is a new language to her. Among the parent roles – Suresh Gopi (as Saira’s father), and Seetha (as Pooja’s mother) are impressive.
The negatives: Poor editing by Ranjan Abraham leading to a bit of boredom during the first half. The dialogues sound a little artificial towards the beginning of the movie, probably the issue of involving too many new comers. Too many events happening in the school – New Year, Christmas, Founder’s day and again a New Year towards the end – Could have been controlled!
Overall, the team has made a brave and brilliant attempt in bringing out a theme of teenage pregnancy before a rather conventional Mallu audience. What our industry needs is such bold experiments that would make a difference. The movie leaves a couple of excellent messages for the teenagers and parents to take home.
Verdict: Worth the time and money!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)