Apart from the Champions League & IPL finals, this weekend also saw the release of Rosshan Andrews's "School Bus" which had an inconspicuous build up towards its judgement day. While Real Madrid had me grinning from ear to ear, RCB's collapse wiped that off my face. But all of this happened after I had checked out the movie on Saturday with the hope that Bobby-Sanjay will yet again manage to arrest the attention of the audience. So did they manage to do that???
Ajoy (Akash Muraleedharan) & Anju (Angelina Rosshan) were from an affluent background as their parents, Joseph (Jayasurya) & Aparna (Aparna Gopinath) had flourishing careers of their own.This invariably meant they didnt get to spent quality time with their children though Aparna tried to keep a tab on their studies. Ajoy's mischievous nature usually got him into trouble in school that he always managed to defuse with his buddies before it reached the ear of their parents. But one of his impish acts spiraled out of control which prompted the school authorities to seek their presence. However, knowing Joseph's authoritarian nature Ajoy tried to tide over the storm on his own but it was a matter of time before his parents knew about it.
As been the trend in recent times, the script by Bobby-Sanjay is said to be inspired from a real life incident. Rosshan Andrew's collaboration with the duo has produced praise worthy movies in the past & the manner in which this film unfolded did evoke similar reactions. The first half had the charm of a kid's movie which gradually get transformed into a thriller genre. But in the second half as the story moved into the forest terrain, except for the occasional thrills I kinda felt it hit a road block as nothing much happened beyond that. It definitely as a good message for the parents and will surely work with the family audience. Muraleedharan's credentials as a cinematographer needs no introduction & his visuals in the forest was apt testament for that. The BGM by Gopi Sunder deserves praise while Vivek Harshan's editing was smooth.
Inspite of names like Jayasurya & Chackochan, the movie well & truly belonged to the two kids who as their name suggests was the son and daughter of Muraleedharan & Rosshan respectively. Both Akash & Angelina have done their parts well, though I felt the latter had a more natural flair for the camera. As usual, Jayasurya did utmost justice to his role while Chackochan was fine along with Aparna. The rest of the cast also did their jobs adequately.
Verdict: The credibility of the makers will ensure a sizable number of footfalls in the theatres & to add to that, it will surely appeal to the family audience. However, the script isnt as taut as we would expect from Bobby-Sanjay which is quite evident in the latter half. In a nutshell, it falls short of expectations but still worth giving a try!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Regards...Ben
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