Friday, March 8, 2013

Shutter review: "No surprises for garnering applause!!!"

"Shutter" came into the news for the first time when it won the Silver Crow Pheasant Award at the 17th International Film Festival of Kerala. Then later on when the State Awards were announced, I did come across a news video of the director, Joy Mathew in FB where he seemed arrogant & proclaimed foul play when his movie was denied the best film award. Hmm...is there any iota of truth to what he said???


Kozhikode is well known for its honest auto drivers & Sura (Vinay Fort) seemed to be one among the famed lot when he happens to come across the bag of Manoharan (Sreenivasan), a talented yet unlucky director. Manoharan has been running from pillar to pillar to obtain the dates of the superstar & the backing of a producer; but when he finally gets that he loses the bag which contained his script. Rasheed (Lal) was back from the Middle East to enjoy his holidays with his family & friends, which includes Sura as well. However, during one of his binging nights, his testosterone goes for a toss which ultimately lands him with a sex worker (Sajitha Madathil) in his shuttered property. But things goes horribly wrong when Sura gets arrested for drunken driving leaving Rasheed & the sex worker locked within the confines of the shuttered room. Will Rasheed be able to escape from the room with his reputation intact???


Joy Mathew is a noted theatre actor, play wright & political activist who is well known for his lead role in John Abraham's "Amma Ariyan" way back in 1986. About a quarter of a century has passed & this time around he has donned the director's cap for the first time & deserves to be applauded on a well scripted thriller which posts questions on our morals & principles. Though the first half doesnt impart much of an impact, the latter half packs a punch primarily due to the impressive performances of the characters. The other technical aspects seemed fine though nothing deserves special mention.

All the characters have essayed their roles impressively especially Vinay Fort & Sajitha Madathil. Both of them were an absolute natural in their respective roles while Lal & Sreenivasan performed their parts in a manner which was expected of them. 

Verdict: Thanks to the award it won at the IFFK, it has garnered a great deal of curiosity and expectations which to a certain extent is totally justified. It's definitely a well crafted film which ought to be seen by the audience. In short, dont miss it!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben






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