Saturday, March 5, 2022

Bheeshma Parvam review: "Amal's exceptional film making skills & solid performances elevates a predictable drama!!!"

Over the years our Malayalam film industry has gone through a sea of change which was inevitable especially when you have an audience that is pretty demanding. In this period, we have been blessed with a host of talented film makers who left their mark in the industry through their celluloid creations such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan, Padmarajan etc. One such director that has carved a niche for himself is Amal Neerad who barged into the industry with "Big B" in 2007, introducing us to a style of film making that was alien to our industry until then. Even now we talk about Mammookka's portrayal of Bilal with fondness & hence when it was announced that the duo was collaborating yet again after 14 years, the excitement just went through the roof. Interestingly, they joined hands for "Bilal" but as that project was held up by the Covid restrictions they decided to go ahead with "Bheeshma Parvam" & boy!!! that turned out to be a goose bump evoking theatrical experience. 

Michael (Mammookka) is the head of the Anjootikkaran family who literally ran a parallel justice system giving hope to anyone who came to his doorstep for help. He was a saviour for the people who revered & respected him though there were quite a few within his own family who seethed with anger and jealousy at his power and command. The audience are introduced to all these equations within the first 15 minutes & it's pretty evident as to in which direction the story is headed for. 

Well it's no secret that the movie has been inspired from Mario Puzo's 'Godfather' & the epic 'Mahabharatham' as Amal introduces us to the sequence straight out from the former which is mounted as it was in RGV's "Sarkar".  If the story is so predictable, then what's the big deal? Well that's where Amal exhibited his skills as a film maker as he ensured along with Devadath Shaji that each of the plethora of artists that had lined up had a credible character arc. Each one of them were given space to perform & does have something worthwhile to add to the story rather than merely being pawns to glorify or get bashed up by Michael. This keeps us engaged until the end though we can fairly guess with confidence as to what fate might befall on most of the characters by the time the dust settles.

Along with Amal, another person who deserves a chunk of the praise for the enthralling experience is Sushin Shyam's thumping BGM. It was undoubtedly the finest that I had come across in quite a while though in a couple of segments I felt that it kind of drowned the dialogues. Anend C Chandra's visuals were impressive & the typical slo-mo shots characteristic of Amal's was very much in place. Kudos to pretty much everyone on the technical side be it the art dept (their eye for detail was spot on), costumes, the slick editing & stunt choreography. 

It was heartening to see Mammookka in a role that gave him the chance to perform & showcase his stylish avatar. He was brilliant as Michael in all aspects & hence I dont think it is even required for me to write about it. As mentioned earlier, this is one of those unusual movies where pretty much all the artists had the opportunity to exhibit their skills & almost all of them have done justice to it. If I have to name a few, Shine Tom & Soubin Shahir rocked with others like Sreenath Bhasi, Sudev, etc doing their parts equally well. A special shout out to Nedumudi Venu & KPAC Lalitha both of whom made us realize as to how much we will miss them moving forward.

Verdict: A typical predictable drama that we have been witness to many times in the past but still made engaging courtesy of its making & performances. So what are you waiting for, jaaaooo to the theatres!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben


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