Theevram review: "Oscillating between good & amateurish!!!"

2012 kicked off with the launch of Dulquer Salman, one of the most anticipated personalities into the film world. Being the scion of the legendary Mammukka, expectations were bound to be sky high & in all fairness it wont be prudent to accept the fact that Dulquer has done his father proud with impressive performances in his previous two ventures. So the question now is whether he can complete a hat-trick with debutant Roopesh Peethambaran's "Theevram"???

Alexander (Sreenivasan) is one of the most brilliant police officers in the department as is evident by his knack to solve the queerest of murder mysteries as showcased in the initial sequences by his ability to think with a logical mind & patience like piecing together a jigsaw. At around the same time, Harshvardhan (Dulquer Salman), a musician makes an entry into the scene & before long it becomes evident that he is a man on a mission as he kidnaps a person & religiously slices him into pieces with as much finesse as a forensic surgeon. As expected. Alexander takes up the case but can he out-think the criminal genius of Harsh???

This is for sure one of the most gruesome murder mysteries shot in Malayalam & Roopesh Peethambaran deserves praise for treading a path not frequented by the others. His unconventional treatment of the subject captures the attention of the audience especially in the first half. However all along there were sequences which showed the shakiness of a debutant as it oscillates from being fantastic to amateurish. But there is no doubt that he is one director to look out for in the future. The music by Roby Abraham was quite average with Ennariyathe being the noticeable one while the visuals by Hari Nair was praise worthy especially for the grey tone which imparted a cold ghastly feeling to the reels.

Dulquer Salman has again come up with an impressive performance & deserves kudos for his choice of films. Sreenivasan was brilliant portraying the characteristics of Alexander with panache be it his intelligence, philosophical discourses or non-violent nature. Vinay Fort who essays the role of Ramachandran (Sreenivasan's assistant) was as impressive as the other two. As for the rest of the cast, they have done a decent job as well.

Verdict: There is no doubt that the second half fails to live upto the expectations built up initially. However, inspite of these flaws the unorthodox treatment of the subject makes it for an interesting watch. In short, it's worth a try!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben