Sajan Bakery Since 1962: "This cream bun is both stale & bland!!!"

How often do you visit bakeries? I guess the answer for most of us would be 'rather frequently', as bakeries have always been an integral part of our food habits. I used to visit it pretty often especially during my school time on the way back from tuition to hog on the puffs, cutlet, lime juice etc. Even now when I am back in my hometown, Kollam; Supreme Bakers still remains to be one of my favourite places. Incidentally, "Sajan Bakery Since 1962" is the title of Arun Chandu's directorial debut & it was interesting to know as to what kind of a dish did Arun prepare for the audience.

Sajan Bakery is one of the oldest bakeries in Ranni which was managed by Betsy (Lena) & Bobin (Aju Varghese) along with their uncle, Cherian (Ganesh). Even as Betsy invested her heart & soul into their family business, Bobin lacked passion for it & was keen on migrating to Australia in search of better job opportunities & lifestyle. This was a constant thorn in their relationship & to make matters worse, Betsy was on the verge of divorce. Will the constant tussle between the brother & sister, mark the end of their relation and business???

If it wasn't for the COVID situation, this movie would have hit the screens close to a year back. Anywaz just like how a food item becomes stale with time, the same also seems to apply here except that in this case the reason was the lack of a credible storyline. The blame doesn't lie solely on Arun as he was assisted in the process by Aju & Sachin Chandran. The conflict between the brother-sister, efforts to patch up Betsy's rocky marriage or to keep their business afloat, none of the events manage to keep the audience hooked. If at all there was one aspect that really interested me, it was Merin's fourth wall breaking narration which brings a smile to our face. Unfortunately, it didn't bring any change to the overall mood of the film. All the technical aspects were average at best with Vineeth Sreenivasan's rendition of 'Thora Mazhayilum' being soothing to the ears.

Though the movie is essentially about the relation of a brother-sister, I didnt quite feel that vibe between Lena & Aju (obviously, the characters are in conflict but still you would expect some connection). Lena did her part aptly while Aju also did justice to both the avatars that he donned but the idea to cast Ganesh as their uncle deserves praise as it worked really well. However, the pick among the lot was Ranjita Menon who was both charming & lively.

Verdict: Apart from the title, there is nothing unique about the movie as it drags aimlessly for significant amount of time. Hopefully, "Sayanna Varthakal" will bring smiles on Arun as his present delicacy is unlike to whet the appetite of the audience. In short, wont hurt to give it a miss!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben

Operation Java: "Engaging take on the operations of the cyber cell!!!"

In 2016, Abrid Shine's "Action Hero Biju" gave us a glimpse about the events that unfolds in a police station. It was a refreshing take as Abrid had shown it in an organic manner rather than resort to daredevilry that majority of the film makers had done in the past. Taking cue from that, Tharun Moorthy has focused his lens on the cyber cell with his directorial debut "Operation Java". Though that unit of the law & order department are mentioned pretty regularly in the news, we haven't had a full fledged movie that focused on it. So there was more than ample reason to be excited about it.

Alphonse Puthren's "Premam" had released & it was making waves as the public flocked to the theatres. But the makers were faced with the problem of piracy, as someone had leaked the print of the movie in torrent. The cyber cell swiftly moved into action & they nabbed the culprits with the technical assistance of Antony (Balu Varghese) & Vinayadasan (Lukman). Both of them were in search of a job & their competence made the cyber cell induct them into their fold as interns. In due time, the duo gets assigned with bigger & tougher challenges and how they deal with it forms the crux of the movie. 

Apart from calling the shots, Tharun had also penned the script & deserves praise for an engaging story that takes the audience through various cases. It provides a perspective as to what exactly the cyber team deals with and how they are an integral part of the police force. Another main point they have looked at is the pressure that the temporary work force goes through & how it can be so unrewarding at times despite the best of efforts. On the technical side, each of them deserves a nod of acknowledgement be it Faiz Siddik's varied frames, Nishadh Yusuf's editing & Jakes Bejoy's music which blends well with the movie.

In "Unda", Lukman impressed with his performance & he continues to do so here as well with a natural act. Giving him competent support is Balu who got to showcase his skills in a role that is different from what he usually does. As for the rest of the cast, Irshad (do check out his awesome first look poster in "Andal"), Binu Pappu, Shine Tom, Vinayakan etc have all done justice to their roles.

Verdict: It is both engaging & a refreshing take on the day to day happenings at the cyber cell. It looks like a different version of "Action Hero Biju" but still has a uniqueness of its own. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Drishyam 2: "Befitting sequel that is on par with the steep expectations!!!"

Sequels are never easy to be made & it turns out to be a humongous task especially if the prequel is a blockbuster like "Drishyam". Jeethu Joseph decided to embark on this strenuous mission  a couple of years back when he decided to pen down the script for "Drishyam 2" which was undoubtedly a risky move as the expectations were sky high & more often than not, it's hard to please the audience. Though quite a few movies has made its way to the theatres, Aashirvad Cinemas decided to stick onto the OTT platform & released its movie on Amazon Prime last night. Despite a long hectic day yday, I couldn't stop myself from checking it out as soon as it was beamed on my laptop.

Six years has passed since Georgekutty (Lalettan) & his family went through the ordeal of Varun's missing and subsequent investigations. Life has moved on & with time, the family prospered financially as Georgekutty moved onto to open a theatre & harboured dreams of making a movie. However, the fear of their guilt being caught constantly worried the family especially Anju (Ansiba Hassan) who suffered from seizures coz of post traumatic stress. Even the good will that the family had among the public gradually started to wear off as more people believed that there was more to the truth than what meets the eye. In the meantime, the police continued to pursue with the investigation but to no avail. However, IG Thomas Bastin (Murali Gopy) & his team found a chink in the armor of the family. Was it the end of the road for Georgekutty???

In 2013 when "Drishyam" released it created box office history as both the public and critics were floored with the manner that Jeethu had constructed the plot. The second part can be termed more as a family drama/thriller as he has brilliantly captured the emotional trauma that they go through on a regular basis. There is no doubt that the first half might turn out to be tedious for quite a few as Jeethu has taken his own sweet time to set the stage for a captivating latter half or rather the last half an hour. There are surely a couple of questions regarding certain characters who had screen space but then faded away & some procedural anomalies as well, that will arise in the climax. But then as Georgekutty says, the hero can also get lucky in certain scenarios. Kudos to Jeethu for his choice of his artists which includes newbies like Sumesh Chandra (as Sabu) & Anil Koothattukulam (as Jose), all of whom delivered as well. On the technical side, pretty much everything were impressive be it Sathish Kurup's visuals, Anil Johnson's music & Vinayak's editing. 

What do I say about Lalettan? Give him a meaty & meaningful role and he mesmerizes the audience with ease. If at all there was something amiss, it was with regard to his expressions (in certain segments) especially his eyes which seems to have lost some of its grace. I guess it might be the botox but it is evident ever since that forgetful "Odiyan" had happened. Standing up to Lalettan on screen is no mean task & Murali Gopy has done just that with a praise worthy act. Is it the rebirth of Murali, the actor...only time will say. As for the rest of the cast, Meena, Esther, Ansiba, Saikumar, Siddique etc have all done justice to their roles.

Verdict: The movie has lived upto expectations as Jeethu captivates the audience with his elaborate plans. It certainly has its pitfalls however it is trivial on the broader sense as it does not affect the viewing experience. So will there be a third part? Hmm..maybe or maybe not... but make sure you watch this at the earliest!!!

Rating: 3.75/5

Regards...Ben

Vellam review: "Jayettaaa....take a bow!!!"

Finally the theatres have opened & we have Malayalam movies making its presence felt after close to ten months. The first one to hit the screen was Prajesh Sen's "Vellam" & from the trailer itself it was evident that we were in for another brilliant performance by Jayasurya. It deals with the topic of alcoholism & how it alienates the person from his family and society. All of us would have seen such individuals at close quarters either within our own family, friends or neighborhood. We have laughed at memes saying that alcoholics ensures that the coffers of the State Govt isn't drained, though the fact is that it is indeed true. This movie is about one such alcoholic who almost went to the point of no return.

Murali (Jayasurya) was a chronic alcoholic who had immersed himself in it to such an extent that he couldn't even pay heed to the pleas of his family. He had lost all sense of control over his life and each day was spent in the hope of getting his hand to the next glass of alcohol. Incidentally, this movie is the biopic of Murali Kunnampurath, a successful businessman who is truly an inspiration for all of us. After a well crafted "Captain", Prajesh joined hands with Jayasurya for yet another winner. Rather than the storyline, it is the manner in which Jayasurya captures the mannerisms of the character that mesmerizes the audience. However, there are certain portions that didnt quite work with me such as the climax which I felt was way too lengthy and lacked the realism of the earlier segments though I do accept that the real Murali did scale heights of success. Bijibal's music was soulful but it felt overloaded towards the latter half while Roby Raj's visuals were impressive.

What do I say about Jayasurya??? The man has grown in stature with each passing movie be it "Njan Marykutty", "Captain" and similar others and this one was just brilliance personified. It would be an absolute challenge for anyone even on a National level to upstage Jayasurya for the next year's best actor. Samyukta has surely done a decent job though I felt Shivada Nair would have been a better choice while the rest of the cast have done their parts aptly be it Siddique, Sreelekshmi etc.

Verdict: There are no other words to say except that Jayasurya has just nailed it & you definitely got to check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben