After our Men in Blue barged their way into the semis courtesy of a hard fought battle against the mighty Aussies, it was time for celebration & to cash in that festive mood, Shaji Kailas released the Mammootty starrer "August 15". Though originally slated for a pre-World Cup release, it got delayed owing to various reasons. It marked the return of "Perumal", an investigative officer immortalised on celluloid by Mammotty through its prequel "August 1", helmed by Sibi Malayil in 1988. So naturally a lot of expectations are riding on it & with Shaji Kailas wielding the mike this time around, the question is will he able to do justice to the "Perumal" character???
As it was in the prequel, the plot revolves around an assasination attempt on the CM. The movie unfolds with the CM V.G Sadasivan (Nedumudi Venu) being put in the ventilator owing to a massive cardiac arrest. In due course of time, the CM comes out of peril only to be told that he was actually poisoned which had led him to this predicament.Sensing a major lapse in security, the bigwigs assign Crime Branch Officer, Perumal to investigate & bring the culprit to justice. Being an expert of such scenarios, Perumal anticipates another assassination attempt on the CM. Will he able to foil the attempt before the killer attains his aim??? All this & more forms the framework of this sequel.
Its always tough to live upto expectations especially in the case of super-hit prequels & incidentally thats the situation here. S.N Swami, a wizard in crafting thrillers is definitely bogged down with this burden, as is evident with his inability to come up something interesting that will captivate the audience. The script just doesnt have anything out of the ordinary & seems like a revamped version of the prequel. Shaji Kailas, thankfully avoids his usual camera gimmicks which makes us reach out for Crocin. However the lack of an interesting script severely hampers his direction. As for other technical aspects, except for the background score by Rajamani nothing else deserves much of a mention.
Just as it was in the case of the prequel, the movie revolves around Perumal & the killer. Mammootty has done total justice to his character (Perumal) with details such as the swagger & style as enacted in the prequel being reproduced. As for the killer, essayed by Siddique; though has done a decent job fails to live upto the aura of Captain Raju. The other characters more or less didnt have much of substance to impart to the story.
Verdict: Though devoid of any superhero antics, the lack of an interesting script is going to be the bane for the movie. With changing times, the writers have to come up with new ideas to satiate the audience which unfortunately S.N Swami fails to realise. In my opinion, the movie is likely to incur a loss & award an extended run for "Christian Brothers". All in all, though there is nothing stupid or absurd in the film; it lacks the punch. So if you dont mind watching a revamped version, watch it or else forget it!!!
Regards...Ben
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