It's celebration time courtesy of Eid & Vishu, & to cash in on the festive mood the Malayalam film industry came with three big banner releases. However, PVR threw a spanner in the works when they temporarily banned the screening of Malayalam movies for a day or so, over the visual print fee. Anyway, they have reversed the decision & people have continued to flock to the theatres. So how did the three releases pan out for me???
Varshangalkku Shesham: "Humour & earnest performances saves it!!!"
To be frank, this was the movie that I was most excited about among the three & that was primarily coz of Vineeth Sreenivasan and his ensemble cast. With the exception of "Thira", Vineeth has always penned the script whenever he had donned the director's hat & it was no different this time around as well. As was evident in the trailer, it is essentially about the bond of two friends, Venu (Dhyan) & Murali (Pranav) who decided to go to Kodambakkam to make their respective dreams in the celluloid world a reality. So what did destiny have in store for them???
It would be fair to say that this is Vineeth's weakest script to date especially when it came to the emotional aspect which was supposed to be its USP. At the same time, I felt this one had his best writing when it came to humour as his casting was spot on & his judgement as to how far to push the envelope for meta humour was precise, since a tad further would have made it tasteless. The camaraderie between the protagonists was palpable but the conflicts that happen between them at different junctures didn't feel organic or felt rather silly (especially the first one). But thanks to the humour in the second half, it manages to pull the movie from the abyss it almost found itself in.
On the technical side, Amrit Ramnath's music was fine with 'Nyabagam' rendered by himself being the standout track. At the same time, I felt that though the songs sounded fine as an album; it doesn't blend in as well in the movie (or rather it doesnt stay with us) & that is primarily coz of the failure of Vineeth to create that emotional depth which he was so excellent at in "Hridayam". Viswajith deserves praise for capturing visuals in the different eras well while Ranjan Abraham aptly paced the scenes and didn't make it feel as long as it actually is. All the other aspects were also handled neatly be it the art direction, make up of Dhyan etc.
On the performance front, this is literally a resurrection of sorts for Dhyan & Nivin as both of them have done their roles really well. The latter had an extended guest appearance & he was an absolute scream on the screen as the narcissistic superstar who was going through a slump in his career. Dhyan has improved significantly over the years & as the elderly Venu, he was impressive. Pranav has done his part well in the younger avatar & reminded me of Lalettan in quite a few sequences (as in "Kamaladalam"). However, his portrayal of the older avatar was rather average. As for the rest of the cast, Shaan Rahman rocked, Basil Joseph & Aju Varghese was good while the others were ok including Kalyani though I felt that segment didn't quite add much to the movie.
Verdict: Despite the emotional drama lacking the desired effect, the humour in the second half makes it an enjoyable feel good flick!!!
Rating: 3/5
Aavesham: "Fafa & Co. keeps us engaged for large parts!!!"
After the success of "Romancham", Jithu Madhavan is back with his second directorial venture which has Fahadh Faasil in the lead role. Whenever Fahadh is involved in a project, it is bound to attract attention & when there was mention of him being rebranded as a bindaas don in this gangster comedy, the expectations were nigh high.
As in his debut, Jithu has yet again based his story in Bangalore where three Malayali students, Aju (Hipster/Pravin Raj), Bibi (Mithun Jai Shankar) & Shanthan (Roshan Shanavas) had recently enrolled into an engineering college. It was however not easy going for the trio due to ragging from the seniors & they decided to reach out to a gangster in the locality to help them out. Their search eventually led them to Ranga (Fahadh) & what happens as a result of their acquaintance with him and his gang is what this movie is about.
The manner in which the story unfolds and the lead up to Ranga's introduction and the eccentricities that he & his henchman, Ambaan exhibits regularly tickles our funny bone. In short, this segment breezes through keeping the audience in high spirits as the back story of Ranga is revealed by Ambaan in various sequences. But the manner in which that story is revealed keeps both the characters & the audience confused as to whether it was indeed true & if yes, how much of it was believable. That was a smart ploy by Jithu & keeps us hooked with an impactful interval. But the second half was a whole different cup of tea for me as it seemed that Jithu had no clue how to take the story forward. It still manages to keep us engaged thanks to Fafa's excellent performance. On the technical side, it was neatly done be it Samir Thahir's cinematography whose choice of colour & frames, gave it a mass feel, Sushin Shyam's music which was in sync with the mood (though I felt it wasn't quite upto the level of his other recent work) & the action choreography which was damn impressive.
I think I have spoken about Fafa's performance a couple of times already but the fact is he was excellent as Ranga in all aspects & showcases the variation in the character so convincingly. Sajin Gopu was an absolute hoot & at times, outshone Fafa as well. All the three guys, Hipster/Pravin Raj, Mithun & Roshan did their parts well while the stunts showcased by the Northies & the old dude was top notch.
Verdict: It is undoubtedly a movie that is made for the gallery & the first half certainly provides that. However, the latter half does not quite cash in but Fafa made sure that he kept the audience engaged. In short, do check it out for him!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Jai Ganesh: "Unni does his part though the script doesn't make us go jai!!!"
The third movie to hit the screens last weekend was from Ranjith Sankar who had collaborated with Unni Mukundan for the first time and the duo had produced the movie as well. As always, Ranjith had penned the script where the focus is on Ganesh (Unni), who is a graphic designer for a TV channel & an ethical hacker. In addition, he harboured passion for comics & created quite a few of them titled 'Jai Ganesh'. However, an accident had left him semi-paralysed and confined to a wheelchair. But he tried to make sure that his disability didn't prevent him from helping people & one such incident whereby his friend gets kidnapped is what the focus is on here.
The primary flaw with the flick is that there are way too many things happening & yet none of them managed to provide the impact. The inability to make the audience empathise with the protagonist for most parts proved to be the bane as there is minimal emotional connect. If they had invested on the hacking sequence more, it would have been more engaging. The title is based on the comics angle which I felt was the weakest among whatever they had touched upon. The technical aspects were decent with Chandru Selvaraj's cinematography & Sangeeth Prathap's editing being neatly done.
There is no doubt that Unni has given a fine performance & does manage to strike a chord with the audience, though his emotional outbursts came across as rather amateurish at times. Mahima Nambiar barely had much to do due to a poorly etched character. Ashokan impressed despite the limited screen space along with Ravindra Vijay, whose character & performance had potential for much more.
Verdict: Certainly the weakest among the three releases & if their box office returns also reflects the same, then they have only themselves to blame.
Rating: 2/5
Regards...Ben
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