A week since "Kurup" released & it has undeniably given the Malayalam film industry a much needed lease of life with the thunderous response that it received from the audience. Even as more producers lined up to showcase their wares on the big screen, Lijo Jose Pellissery opted to stick on with OTT & released his latest venture "Churuli" on Sony LIV. Interestingly, the movie was released yday which also happened to be International Men's Day & from the trailer it seemed like masculinity might take center stage yet again. The movie was appreciated at the International Film Festival of Kerala in March of this year where it won the best film award in the audience poll & LJP also won special mention for best director in the international film competition. Well the title & trailer gave ample indications that we were in for a different cinematic experience, but I (& presumably, most) certainly didn't expect what it eventually offered.
The movie unfolds with Kalpatta Narayanan's poem on the Lord of Time which is considered as the plight of the mouse in the grip of the cat. This is followed by a fable in which a Thirumeni goes in search of the Perumadan (phantom) who was leading everyone astray. The camera zooms in to two undercover cops, Antony (Chemban Vinod) & his subordinate, Shajivan (Vinay Fort) who was off to a remote village in the hills presumably located in the border area of Kerala & Karnataka., to nab the fugitive Mayiladuparambil Joy. The last leg of their journey was on a dilapidated jeep along with a group of affable passengers through treacherous terrain which eventually leads them to a derelict bridge. But the moment they crossed it, their demeanor changes as they become brash, aggressive & hurl cuss words at the drop of the hat. Naturally this shocks Antony, Shajiyan & even the viewers alike. So why were all the inhabitants in that seemingly idyllic place behaving so differently???
LJP is one of the most sought after directors as his brand of movies have always been unique & captured the fancy of the movie buffs. But at the same time, it might not be to the liking of a significant number of people as his movie sensibility is quite unlike what we are usually used to. His latest celluloid creation "Churuli" is based on Vinoy Thomas's short story 'Kaligeminnarile Kuttavalikal' which was subsequently developed into a full fledged screenplay by S Hareesh. So to which genre does it belong to? Actually kind of hard to put a finger on it as LJP has crafted it in such a manner that it could be interpreted in different ways. I felt it as a mix of fantasy and sci-fi where the crux being that whoever enters into that zone is sucked into a time loop i.e. the events gets repeated which might be the reason why Shajivan looks familiar to others (or maybe he is possessed by the Perumadan).
On the technical side, it was top notch be it Madhu Neelakandan's visuals that captures the calmness and mystery of the place, Sreerag Saji's haunting music & Renganaath Ravee's sound design. Vinay Fort was impressive in a meaty role that was presented to him, Geethi Sangeethan was fine (especially her initial voice over) & the rest of the cast such as Chemban, Idukki Jaffer, Soubin etc did their parts aptly.
Verdict: Essentially it is a wacky movie which is surely not everyone's cup of tea as some will love it while others will slam it. So where do I stand? I certainly loved the attention given to technical aspects & the mystery that LJP builds up, especially the fact it gives everyone to come up with their own interpretation (the question is what exactly did LJP think of?. However, I felt they went a bit overboard with the use of expletives (Im certainly not averse to it) & that hampered my viewing experience to a certain extent. In short, if you plan to watch it, don't forget your headphones!!!
Rating: 3/5
Regards...Ben
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