Cousins review: "Yawn yourself to glory!!!"

Finally the first set of Malayalam X'mas releases has hit the screens in the form of "Aamayum Muyalum" & "Cousins", which thankfully had a simultaneous release in Bangalore as well. As the latter was screened at a feasible time, I decided to check that out though I was kinda apprehensive about Chackochan's choice of movies of late. Little did I realize as to what kind of ordeal I was getting myself into.
 

About six years had passed since Sam (Chackochan) had recovered from his fatal head injury & things seemed normal until he proclaimed that he was in love with Ann (Miya) at the altar. On medical examination, it becomes evident that Sam was a victim of a variant of anterograde amnesia. This explained the reason why he mentioned Ann's name, his school sweetheart, though that relation had been over years back. At the behest of the doctor, Sam's cousins Joji (Indrajith), Pauly (Suraj Venjaramood) & Tony (Joju) embarks on a trip to Sam's college, with the hope that this would relieve him of his condition & a possible answer as to what had caused this injury in the first place.

Vysakh is known for his masala entertainers, be it "Pokkiri Raja" or "Sound Thoma", which has always scored big with the audience. However, the person whose scripting skills he had banked on this time around was Sethu whose track record was nothing to boast about. Frankly speaking, I dont have a clue as to what Vysakh was smoking, as the script was mediocre to say the least. The first half barely had anything (you can easily miss out on this & still it wont affect the "so called" continuity), while the second half didnt inspire much as well apart from a couple of sparse chuckles (which surprisingly was also copied at times) & frequent groans. 

The only aspect that caught my eye were the sets & vibrancy extended to each of the frames which has been proficiently handled by Joseph Nellickal & Shaji respectively. I was stumped to learn that M. Jayachandran had done the music as it was below average except for "Neeyen Vennila" while Gopi Sundar seemed too lazy or judged correctly that this film doesnt deserve his talent as he just dished out BGMs from other movies. Now coming to the cast, Chackochan & Indrajith did what was required but the former needs to give some serious thought into the choices that he makes. Suraj seemed a misfit among the cousins while Joju was wasted. As for the rest, none of them deserves a mention. 

Verdict: Prior to release, "Cousins" had generated interest as it showcased the costliest song ever shot in Malayalam. Hmm... either the producer has gone nuts or he has loads of cash to bust. Whatever might be, I dont expect the movie to survive beyond this weekend unless they are damn lucky. In short, don't even bother to watch on TV!!!

Rating: 1/5

Regards...Ben