This week saw the release of "Four Friends" which is the 3rd venture by director Saji Surendran after the hugely successful Happy husbands & Ivar Vivahitharayal prior to this. With an enviable track record & a star ensemble involving veteran Jayaram, Meera Jasmine, Jayasurya & Chakochan in addition to a cameo by legendary Kamal Hassan, naturally there was a sense of anticipation surrounding its release. So will Saji make it a hat-trick??? The story basically involves the friendship between 4 people from different walks of life & suffering from cancer, after having met at the cancer speciality hospital run by Dr.Nandagopal (Ganesh). They decide to embark on a journey to fulfill their wishes....the question now arises as to whether they will be able to do it or will they succumb to cancer??? The answer to these questions forms the framework for the plot.
Coming to the story, there is no denying that it has been inspired by Jack Nicholson-Morgan Freeman starrer "The Bucket List"...however Saji has definitely got it all wrong. His trusted script writer of the previous 2 hits, Krishna Poojapura just fails to come up with something that will grip the attention of the audience. The whole movie is melodramatic & doesnt leave the audience with anything to look forward to. To the amusement of the audience, Saji embraces friendship across religion (the protagonists being Roy, Surya, Gowri & Amir ); across gender & across class (Roy's a millionaire; Surya & Gowri : middle class & Amir's a rowdy). Another interesting thing which struck me is the family structure of the protagonists..Roy: orphan; Surya: son of loving parents & finally Gowri & Amir bereft of mother & father respectively (I presume even Saji didnt realise it!!! hahaha)
As for the performances, with not much of a well defined story to rely upon..all that the actors had to do was use loads of glycerine & rely on their acting prowess. Though all of them has given a decent performance that wont salvage the movie.
However, there are a few bright spots in this otherwise futile movie..the guest appearance by Kamal Hasan was just brilliant. His love for Kerala & his inspirational talk citing people from his professional & personal life was truly natural & moving. Jayasurya is one actor who always seems to try to bring something different to his character & here also..he deserves a pat for infusing life into his character with his varied appearance & Cochin slang.
Verdict: Taking a cue from its title..I dont think it will have substantial audience even for 4 days..So in short, dont bother watching this!!!!
Regards....Ben
Coming to the story, there is no denying that it has been inspired by Jack Nicholson-Morgan Freeman starrer "The Bucket List"...however Saji has definitely got it all wrong. His trusted script writer of the previous 2 hits, Krishna Poojapura just fails to come up with something that will grip the attention of the audience. The whole movie is melodramatic & doesnt leave the audience with anything to look forward to. To the amusement of the audience, Saji embraces friendship across religion (the protagonists being Roy, Surya, Gowri & Amir ); across gender & across class (Roy's a millionaire; Surya & Gowri : middle class & Amir's a rowdy). Another interesting thing which struck me is the family structure of the protagonists..Roy: orphan; Surya: son of loving parents & finally Gowri & Amir bereft of mother & father respectively (I presume even Saji didnt realise it!!! hahaha)
As for the performances, with not much of a well defined story to rely upon..all that the actors had to do was use loads of glycerine & rely on their acting prowess. Though all of them has given a decent performance that wont salvage the movie.
However, there are a few bright spots in this otherwise futile movie..the guest appearance by Kamal Hasan was just brilliant. His love for Kerala & his inspirational talk citing people from his professional & personal life was truly natural & moving. Jayasurya is one actor who always seems to try to bring something different to his character & here also..he deserves a pat for infusing life into his character with his varied appearance & Cochin slang.
Verdict: Taking a cue from its title..I dont think it will have substantial audience even for 4 days..So in short, dont bother watching this!!!!
Regards....Ben
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