Into the last month of the year & as always there has been a steady release of movies over the past few weeks, hoping to cash in before the big banner movies take centre stage. Well the ones that I got to watch over the past few weeks were a mixed bag which was kind of a relief considering there were many in the past which were pathetic. So without further ado, read on to know about my opinion of the six Malayalam movies that I had watched recently.
Shesham Mike-il Fathima: "Kalyani carries the movie convincingly!!!"
As has been the trend for quite a while, Manu C Kumar became yet another director to mark his debut this year. Apart from calling the shots, he has also penned the script which focused on the journey of a young Muslim girl from Malappuram who wished to become a football commentator. It was quite an interesting thought & he touched upon the various challenges that a girl would face when they try to embark on such a dream such as patriarchy, misogyny, male dominated profession etc.
On the whole, Manu has done a fine job & does keep us entertained, though the challenges that Fathima had to go through wasn't conveyed to the audience effectively. Obviously, we are aware that it is not an easy task to break into something like the IFL; but the manner in which Fathima is shown to tackle the challenges didn't come across as authentic. Kalyani has played the role of the protagonist & though it did have shades of her 'Beepathu' from "Thallumala", she has performed her part with conviction with the energy that her character demanded. The rest of the cast included Aneesh Mohan (as her brother, Asif), Sudheesh (as her father, Muneer), both of whom did their parts well while others such as Sarasa Balussery, Femina George, Sabumon etc. were also ok. On the technical side, it was well executed be it Kiran Das's frames & Hesham Wahab's music.
Verdict: It belongs to that group of movies that gives us a laugh & an enjoyable time over the course of its run-time which to be frank isn't so common nowadays. Obviously it does have its flaws in terms of its writing, but it is still worth a watch!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Maharani: "Felt more like maha-bore!!!"
Prior to watching this, I did think twice whether I should risk my time for it especially since the recent track record of Shine Tom & G Marthandan wasn't exactly encouraging. However, I still decided to give it a try coz of the presence of Roshan Mathew & quite a few reliable veteran artists. Among the ones that Marthandan had helmed, the only one that I actually liked was "Paavada" but since he was collaborating with Ratheesh Ravi who had penned "Ishq", I presumed their combined efforts would lead to something worthwhile. Hmm...well I was completely wrong.
Viji (Roshan) was a casanova who had multiple relationships & dumped girls as per his whim & fancy. His latest romantic interest was one from a wealthy family & being a gold-digger, he decided to pursue that. In contrast, his brother, Aji (Shine) was in a serious relationship with Kavya (Sruthy Jayan) who was from an upper caste. Since her family was unlikely to agree to their relation, they decided to elope with the help of Viji. However, they had a bigger problem in store as Viji's girlfriend Rani who in a fit of anger for being dumped went missing & the blame fell on him.
Ratheesh has touched upon a host of subjects such as right/left wing politics, casteism etc and all of this has been narrated in the backdrop of humour. But to be frank, except for a couple of sequences; none of the rest managed to evoke even a chuckle. It felt like an outdated tale that didnt provide anything that we haven't seen in the past & at times, I was left wondering whether it was a spoof or did Marthandan actually believe that it would make us laugh. None of the technical aspects deserves mention while in terms of performances, Harisree Ashokan, Jaffer Idukki, Nisha Sarang & Johnny Antony were fine in the limited scope provided while Roshan & Shine was pretty mediocre along with most of the rest.
Verdict: Undoubtedly, one of the weakest movies that I saw this year!!!
Rating: 1/5
Pazhanjan Pranayam: "Execution had a pazhanjan feel to it!!!"
On the back of the success of "Kannur Squad", Rony David & Azees Nedumangad joined hands for another project with the talented Vincy Aloshious as the female lead. This was more than ample reason for me to check out Bineesh Kalarikkal's debut directorial venture titled "Pazhanjan Pranayam". Though the trailer didn't inspire much expectations, I still decided to give it a try because of the above mentioned reasons. The story by Kiranlal was about Mohan (Rony) who was a teacher by profession but presently on indefinite leave to take care of his father who suffered from dementia. He was in the search of an ideal life partner, but none of the proposals quite worked out because of his traditional & timid attitude. It was around this time that he sought the services of a caretaker for his father which brought in Maya (Vincy) to their lives. Incidentally, her presence brings in a positive change in his father's condition.
In terms of the story, this is pretty much what the movie is about & had a predictability in the manner it unfolds. This isn't a flaw at all provided it an engaging screenplay which isn't the case here. Both Rony & Vincy have done justice to their roles while the rest of the cast doesnt have much to do. Bineesh touches upon topics such as societal expectations and acceptance which judges an individual harshly especially if he doesn't fit into those norms. On the technical side, Amosh Puthiyattil's cinematography & Satish Raghunathan's music were fine.
Verdict: It was rather predictable and doesn't quite have the content to keep us engaged. However, it doesnt test our patience & hence you may give it a try if you are into such kind of flicks.
Rating: 2/5
Antony: "Not massy as Porinju but still engages!!!"
When the veteran Joshiy announced his latest directorial venture, "Antony"; the first thing that would have struck out for most of us would have been the similarity in the cast & crew of his previous flick, "Porinju Mariyam Jose". So much so, it almost seemed as to whether it was a spin off. This time around, Rajesh Varma had penned the script for the legend & I was pretty keen to check it out since I did enjoy Rajesh's "Life of Josutty" on repeated watch when it came on TV.
The movie unfolds with the murder of Xavier (Tini Tom) by Antony (Joju George) who subsequently goes to jail for it. However, due to lack of convincing evidence; he is let off but as fate would have it he becomes the guardian of Xavier's daughter, Ann Maria (Kalyani Priyadarshan) on the insistence of his godfather, Avaran (Vijayaraghavan) & his friend, Fr Paul Kattakayam (Chemban Vinod). As one would expect, the two were at loggerheads with each other & how this relation influence their lives is what this movie is about.
It is essentially an emotional action drama & comes across as a decent entertainer that is worth a one time watch. The action sequences were pretty standard affair while the emotional segments were neatly done for most parts. One aspect that was not well thought of was the antagonist, as none of them had any standout moments. Joju as always was impressive in a role that is tailor made for him and his chemistry with Chemban evokes laugh. Kalyani has done a decent job though her action sequences didnt come across as convincing. The rest of the cast have done their parts aptly be it Vijayaraghavan, Nyla Usha, Asha Sharath etc. Even the crew have done justice to their craft with Renadive's frames & Jakes Bejoy's music being fine.
Verdict: It provides what was expected of the movie with emphasis for both emotion & action. In short, a decent entertainer though it could have been a tad shorter!!!
Rating: 2.5/5
Philip's: "A family drama that has both pain & the feel good elements!!!"
To be frank, I had no clue that this movie was lined up for release until I saw some articles which mentioned about Alfred Kurian's "Philip's" as being the last movie in which the late Innocent had performed. To add to that, it was Mukesh's 300th movie & not to forget that it was from the same team that had made "Helen" which I had enjoyed. These were more than ample reason for me to watch this family drama & I would have to admit that I enjoyed it.
Philip (Mukesh) was a widower who was settled in Bangalore with his children which consisted of his son, Basil (Noble Babu Thomas) & his two daughters, Blessy (Navani Devanand) and Bitty (Quinn Vipin). Basil shared the responsibilities with his father & life moved along peacefully until an unprecedented tragedy hit them which threatened to tear the family apart. Whether they managed to tide over the crisis & if so, at what cost is what this movie is about.
In "Helen", Mathukutty Xavier had called the shots while Alfred had penned the script for it. However, this time around they have exchanged their roles as the latter made his directorial debut. Even though it starts off as that feel good family dramas, the makers made sure that the pain and insecurities that each of the characters goes through is also captured. That is essentially what made this movie work for me as we empathise with them. The situational humour works as both Mukesh & Innocent get their moments to showcase it. Both the veterans were fine be it with humour or emotion. Quinn was fine while both Navani & Noble who had more scope for performance in terms of the emotions that they go through, had done their parts pretty well. Whenever we talk about 'feel good' flicks, we instantly know the color tone & frames that such movies comes with & Jaison Jacob has done justice to it. Another important factor for such genre is music & in the hands of Hesham Wahab, it was safe.
Verdict: An engaging family drama that makes us smile & feel the pain that the characters experience. Certainly, a befitting swansong for the veteran legend Innocent. In short, do give it a try!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
A Ranjith Cinema: "Manages to engage in the latter half!!!"
I am pretty sure that the first thing that would have made the movie catch the attention of many was the smart choice for the title. Incidentally, Nishanth Sattu's debut venture also had an interesting name "IDI: Inspector Dawood Ibrahim". But then that was the only thing that I liked in that film apart from the funny pose that Joju & Sudhi Koppa used to show, which still cracks me up. Anyway will his second movie also have a similar fate???
This time around Nishanth decided to pen the life of an aspiring film-maker, Ranjith (Asif Ali) who also worked occasionally in a prank show for a television channel. On one of such shows, the prank was on a businessman, Sunny Cherian (Saiju Kurup) & that incident turned out to be life changing for Ranjith & Sunny, to such an extent that it seemed to threaten their very existence of them & their loved ones.
We have seem quite a few movies in the past where the focus is on the movie within a movie & Nishanth has added a psychological element to it by bringing in the 'deja vu syndrome' (kind of reminded me of Mamas's "Cinema Company"). On paper it sounded like an interesting thought, but the primary flaw over here is that it takes its own sweet time to set the stage & that undoubtedly failed to entertain the audience. It however picks up on the intrigue factor in the second half & to be frank, that did engage me. On the technical side, it was average at best while on the performance front, Asif Ali has done a decent job along with Saiju Kurup. The rest of the cast such as Anson Paul, Hannah Reji Koshy, Harisree Ashokan were ok.
Verdict: The lack of a coherent & engaging first half is likely to be its bane, despite the latter segment being reasonably good. In short, if you can sit through the initial sequences, you might end up enjoying it!!!
Rating: 2.5/5
Regards...Ben
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