Heaven: "Decently made investigative thriller!!!"

Ever since the lockdown ended, there has been a gush of investigative thrillers & murder mysteries; so much so that atleast a couple of them are released every month. Well is it because that the makers made an assumption that since the OTT platform had ample series belonging to that genre, hence the public might have a tendency to favour it? Hmm...I dont think so, anyway the latest flick to join the bandwagon is Unni Govindraj's "Heaven". However, unlike quite a few others; it did possess a tale that kept the audience engaged for most parts.

The movie unfolds with a charred body being found in the middle of a forest reserve. Soon enough, the police team under the command of Bijoy Kuruvilla (Sudev Nair) with the helps of the forensic dept nabs the culprit who turned out to be CI Peter Kurishingal (Suraj Venjaramoodu). The film cuts into flash back where Peter is shown as an upright police officer who was a single father as well. However, the relationship with his son is shown as rather strained though with the help of his mother, life moved on peacefully. But when he was entrusted with the task of unravelling the mystery behind a family being murdered, little did he realize that it would push him into further misery. 

This is the debut venture of Govindraj & he has certainly done a decent job with a script that he has penned along with P.S Subramanian. There is the right amount of suspense and intrigue which keeps us engaged for most parts. At the same time, there are certain elements and sequences with regard to the antagonist that kind of felt rather underwhelming. Another aspect that I felt odd was some of the side tracks which hardly any significance in the movie (might be a strategy to fox the audience, but it didnt quite work out). On the technical side, kudos to Vinod Illampally's visuals though Gopi Sundar's music was average.

As usual, Suraj has done a fine job as the sober police officer under intense emotional turmoil. The vulnerability that he brought to the character was impressive though there will obviously be voices of dissent from some quarters that he is constantly doing such characters nowadays. However, the best among the lot for me was Jaffer Idukki who was spot on while the rest of the cast such as Alencier, Sudheesh, Shyam Mohan did their parts aptly while Abhija as the Commissioner was rather mediocre.

Verdict: Certainly one of the better crafted investigative thrillers in recent times. It does have its flaws in certain parts but it does manage to keep us engaged. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Prakashan Parakkatte: "Feel good family drama!!!"

Over the last couple of weeks, Dhyan Sreenivasan has been trending in YouTube because of the plethora of interviews that had given as part of the promotions for "Udal". His sense of humour & thug replies have obviously generated significant revenues for these channels. But will all this generate a positive vibe for Shahad Nilambur's "Prakashan Parakkatte", as he has penned the script for this family drama??? The trailer certainly had a fun feel to it & with an interesting array of artists, it certainly created some degree of expectations.

Dasan (Mathew Thomas) was a happy go lucky dude who had no interest in his studies & loved to vile away his time hanging out with his buddy. As expected his mother, Latha (Nisha Sarang) constantly admonished him but to no avail. On the other hand, despite the struggle to make ends meets, his father, Prakashan (Dileesh Pothan) was his confidante and never assumed the role of an authoritarian parent. The movie is basically about the coming of age of Dasan & the events that possibly trigger a change in the way he looked at life.

This is Shahad's directorial debut & on the whole, I did feel that he has crafted a movie that gives you a smile on our face with its humour, emotion & romance. Well Dhyan had mentioned in one of his interviews that he was keen to do a movie that was both clean and rooted in reality and this led to the genesis of this story. But I dont think he has completed succeeded in it since the screenplay as such was rather frail for most parts. However, it does keep us engaged in the manner the situations are depicted and performed by the artists. The trivialization of the acts performed by Dhyan's character to create laughs was downright appalling & even the humour track handled by Saiju's character failed to evoke laughs at times. Another confusing part was obviously the title coz I didnt quite understand the logic behind it until a voice over speaks about it in the climax. On the technical side, it was average at best be it Shaan's music or Guruprasad's cinematography.

One of the primary positives of the movie were the performances as pretty all of them have done justice to the role that was given to them. Though the role played by Mathew did have similarities with characters that he had played in the past, it was still fine. Dileesh was an apt choice as the father & shared good chemistry with Mathew while Nisha, Rithunjay (as Akhil), Malavika (as Neethu) & Govind were fine. 

Verdict: As such it doesn't have a compelling tale to narrate but it provides a feel good family drama that does not test our patience. The screenplay as such ought to have been given much more thought as some incidents could have been easily avoided. In short, you can give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben 

Vaashi: "Decent emotional drama though the legal conflict felt lukewarm!!!"

In recent times, we have been witness to the high profile courtroom drama of Johnny Depp-Amber Heard case which saw the former heave a sigh of relief after the allegations made by his ex-wife were found to be predominantly baseless. Well rather than consider the possibility of either of the individuals could be at fault, more often than not the general perception is that the male is the culprit in matters of sexual assault, harassment & domestic violence. At the same time in an Indian society, where majority are still largely judgmental most of the cases dont get reported. Hence there is no denying that it is a herculean task for the female to come forward and seek the legal route. This happens to be the premise of Vishnu Raghav's "Vaashi" which deals with a subject that is both pertinent & sensitive. 

Ebin (Tovino Thomas) & Madhavi (Keerthy Suresh) were advocates and close buddies who shared an office and were in the nascent stage of their career. With the influence of Ebin's brother in law, the former gets to don the gown of the public prosecutor & the first big case that landed on his table dealt with rape on the pretext of marriage. Incidentally, at the same time the accused had approached Madhavi to defend his case. To make matters even awkward, both Ebin & Madhavi despite feelings for each other had to tie the knot much earlier than they anticipated. So will professional competitiveness wreck their personal lives???

This is Vishnu's directorial debut though some of us would recollect seeing him as an artist in "Theevram", "Pakida" etc. Apart from calling the shots, he has penned the script based on the story by Janiz Chacko. He has certainly done a fine job as it keeps us engaged with the emotional equations,  light moments and chemistry that play out between the protagonists. With regard to the court room drama, he tries to keep it low profile rather than take cinematic liberties and make the artists blurt out bombastic dialogues. The case as such is thought provoking as it deals with consent which at times can be rather murky & has similarities with Ajay Bahl's "Section 375". However, the manner in which the conflicts inside and outside the court gets resolved felt way too simplistic and lacked the impact that the story demanded. On the technical side, all the aspects were ok and does not deserve special mention.

Coming to performances, both Tovino & Keerthy has done a fine job and giving them good support was Baiju as their friend. Anagha Narayanan did justice to her part while Anu Mohan was also fine along with Rony David and Kottayam Ramesh.

Verdict: It is a reasonably well crafted flick that works without taking a toll on our patience. It does come across as underwhelming with regard to the case, however it is still a decent one time watch. in short, give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Samrat Prithviraj: "Comes across as rather bland!!!"

Bollywood has been rife with news that pretty much all the movies irrespective of the scale at which it has been made has bit the dust in recent times. The latest one to have met with a similar fate is Chandraprakash Dwivedi's "Samrat Prithviraj" which was mounted at a production cost of more than 250 C as per reports. Most of us would have studied about Prithviraj Chauhan as part of our history classes in school & hence I was pretty keen to watch the celluloid creation of this iconic character. So what could be the reason for its abysmal performance at the box office. 

Based on Chand Bardai's 'Prithviraj Raso', the bard in the king's court; the movie unfolds with a blinded Prithviraj (Akshay) held captive by Mohammad Ghori (Manav Vij) made to battle with lions in a colosseum. Apparently, the valiant king was defeated by Ghori who had earlier tasted defeat at the former's hands but was allowed to return to his land. Prithviraj's rise as the ruler of Delhi had irked many of the regional princely states especially Jayachand (Ashutosh Rana), the ruler of Kannauj. To add salt to his wound, his daughter Sanyogita (Manushi Chillar) was in love with his enemy. As one would expect, all this paved the path for the return of Ghori. 

For many of us who used to watch the Doordarshan serials religiously in the 1990s would recollect having watched "Chanakya" which was made by Dwivedi. But he failed to recreate any of the interest with his effort on the big screen which came across as rather bland as it did not offer anything that would keep us engaged. There was hardly anything in the story that was unique from other similar tales & though the director made conscious efforts to bring in gender and religious parity, it didn't quite have the desired impact. On the technical side, the art direction, VFX & production designs were fine while the other aspects were ok.

When I had initially seen the posters, it gave me the impression as to whether it was the toned down version of Akki's Bala from "Housefull 4". Thankfully it wasn't, & though he has done a decent job; it still felt like he was a miscast for this role. If you ask me, except for Ashutosh Rana & Manav Vij; I felt the rest of the cast were pretty damn ordinary.

Verdict: Well it isn't a surprise as to why it tanked at the box office as it just follows the standard template of other similar movies from the past. In short, don't bother!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Dear Friend: "An underwhelming culmination & over reliance on audience's perception will irk many!!!"

 A couple of days back when I was scrolling through YouTube, I was pleasantly surprised to see Tovino Thomas & Vineeth Kumar doing the promotion for their latest movie "Dear Friend". It seemed curious to me as to why it maintained a low profile in the lead up to its theatrical release considering the cast & crew it had on board. Anywaz Vineeth has captured the warm bond between a group of buddies based out of Bangalore in such an authentic manner that even we get immersed in their journey. However, it fails to provide the closure that many would have expected & raises the question whether OTT could have been a better financial proposition. 

Yet another birthday & this time around it was the turn of Vinod (Tovino) to have his legs pulled by his buddies who made him slip into a Superman costume coupled with heavy makeup. As the buddies enjoy the night, they get into a brawl in the pub & gets pulled up by the police. Though Vinod vows to have his payback, it does not affect their equation after all he was the glue in the group. He shared the apartment with Arjun (Arjun Lal) who was in a relationship with his college sweetheart & psychiatrist, Jannat (Darshana Rajendran); Shyam (Arjun Radhakrishan) & Sajith (Basil Joseph). The four friends were working on setting up their own startup based on a healthcare app & it seemed like they were on the brink of their first major investment, when Vinod vanishes without a trace. What made him take such a decision, was it an emotional breakdown or was there more than what met the eye???

The last time that Vineeth had donned the director's cap was for "Ayal Njanalla" about 7 years back & with his latest venture, he has come up with a subject that all of us can relate to be it the friendship vibe, relationships, parties at the bachelor pad etc. The script is penned by the trio of Sharfu, Suhas & Arjun  and I certainly liked the manner in which they gave insights into each character's life without making it too obvious. They manage to build intrigue into Vinod's character which is shown to have various layers starting off as the affable, jovial, understanding who carried sorrows and trauma unknown to even his friends. After they try to unravel the mystery behind his disappearance we are exposed to characters who portray him as someone quite unlike the person that he seemed to be. 

Despite the slow pace (which would have been a turn off for quite a few), the story still manage to keep us engaged. But the decision to leave it to the perception of the audience and come up with a culmination that kind of stuck out as a sore thumb might not have much takers. I'm not disputing the fact that these kind of things might happen in reality but the writing wasn't strong enough to make us empathetic towards Vinod nor does the pain felt by the friends is efficiently conveyed. On the technical side, it was neatly done be it Shyju Khalid's frames or Justin Varghese's music. As for the performances, each one of them have done their parts well be it Tovino, Darshana, Basil, both Arjuns & Jaffer Idukki.

Verdict: It is certainly a type of movie that is going to garner negative feedback especially because of the manner it eventually concludes. It would have been better off if they had released it on OTT as I dont think it will be able to survive in the theatres more than a few days. Personally, I kind of enjoyed it for large parts but certainly felt that it failed to do justice to the emotional build up that was created. In short, not everyone's cup of tea!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben

Innale vare: "Interesting thread let down by a mediocre screenplay!!!"

Whenever we talk about Jis Joy, the first thing that most think about his movies is the positivity that he tries to radiate through his characters; which pushes the feel good movies a bit too far. However, I have kind of liked most of his movies but was certainly eager to see whether he has anything else in his arsenal. This is when he announced his latest project, "Innale Vare" which decided to take the OTT route by streaming it on Sony LIV. Well his effort is certainly appreciable but it failed to quite live up to the expectations of a thriller.

 Adhi Shankar (Asif Ali), the dashing young star of the industry was going through a professional slump with most of his recent flicks being panned by the audience. To make matters worse, his latest sci-fi movie that he had bankrolled also bit the dust which left him literally bankrupt and at the mercy of the loan sharks. Even his personal life wasn't in the best of shape and his bloated ego and arrogant nature threated to leave him in a pit that he would struggle to climb back from.

The basic thread of the movie belonged to Bobby-Sanjay & it would be fair to say that it certainly seemed fine. The manner in which the first half was buildup was engaging especially the glimpse into the life of the star and the struggles and troubles that he finds himself leading up to his kidnap. At this juncture it evolves into a survival thriller where the ease with which someone's life can be played with is shown interestingly. However, from that point onwards it fails to impress as the use of technology, the hideout  and the absolute inadequacies and inefficiency of the police was way too far fetched; not to mention the predictability in the climax that anyone would have easily guessed. The lighting and the dark colour shades employed certainly builds the tense mood and Bahul Ramesh deserves praise for that.

Despite the pitfalls in the screenplay, Asif Ali has done a fine job as the arrogant star as well as the helpless hostage who has literally lost everything. Nimisha impresses early on but as the movie proceeds her character failed to create much of an impact while Antony Varghese was average at best (didnt quite understand his character's motive apart from being Shani's friend). As for the rest of the cast, Rony David, Reba Monica etc did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Well to be honest, it was a wise decision to release this on the OTT platform coz I certainly dont think this would have attracted much footfalls after the first few days. Does it bore us? I dont think so as it does have the stuff to keep us engaged especially in the first half but subsequently becomes predictable and rather amateurish. In short, you may give a try without much expectations!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Udal: "Excellent performances elevates this noir fiction!!!"

Prior to the announcement of the 52nd Kerala State Awards, I presume most would have expected Rojin Thomas's "Home" to be bestowed with quite a few honours. Surprisingly, it didn't & I was flabbergasted as to how Indrans was overlooked for his brilliant performance in the same movie. This diminutive & humble artist has been an absolute revelation over the past few years to the extent that whenever his movie comes out, we can rest assured that he would have aced his part. Another example for that is his latest movie "Udal" helmed by the debutant director, Ratheesh Reghunandan; which focuses on the drama that unfolds one night in a house during the pandemic. 

Shiny (Durga Krishna) & her son stayed along with her in-laws while her husband, Reji (Jude Anthany) was based in the city. It was an arrangement that Shiny didn't approve of as she was forced to take care of her bed ridden mother-in-law. The situation became unbearable for her when the home nurse decided to leave despite the fact that her father-in-law Kuttiyachan (Indrans) pitched in with help in whichever way possible. The only solace for her was the extra-marital affair that she had with her friend & junior in college, Kiran (Dhyan Sreenivasan). However, the latest incident of the home nurse leaving pushed Shiny to the brink of her patience & she decided to make things right in her life in the manner that she wanted.

Apart from calling the shots, Ratheesh has penned the script which though reminds one of "Don't Breathe" was rooted in the milieu that we are accustomed to. I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few would have expected it to have a lot of sleaze. well it does have but doesn't get overboard with it after all the focus is on how the hunter gets to become the hunted. Without going into the details, it would be fair to say that in the initial phase we would be empathetic towards Shiny's situation. However, the choices and decisions that she takes as the story unfolds makes it a hard pill to swallow & makes us realize the extent to which she has been pushed. At the same time, the helplessness of Kuttiyachan & the stand he takes when his life gets crumbled in front of his eyes; all of which makes for an engaging viewing experience. The violence & the physical ability of Kuttiyachan might feel a bit far fetched, but I certainly didn't feel that dampened the impact of the tale. 

On the technical side, Manoj Pillai has done an impressive job as the cinematographer since it is not an easy task to shoot the sequences in a claustrophobic environment & that too in dim light. He was able to create that tension & helping him out in that task was William Francis's BGM which complimented the overall mood of the movie. Indrans was brilliant as expected & proves yet again that irrespective of what might be the genre, he will be absolutely spot on. Durga is an artist who hasn't got much opportunities & when she was offered a meaty role as Shiny she was spot on. It was not an easy role to portray as she had to pull off the femme fatale character convincingly by maintaining a proper balance between the two variations of her character. Dhyan was average at best as his dialogue delivery at times turned out to be unintentionally comical.

Verdict: With a run time of about 2 h & majority of the sequences shot as the events that unfold inside a house on one night, it definitely manages to engage the audience. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Vikram: "Lokesh's Cinematic Universe set up with all guns blazing!!!"

One of the most awaited movies of the year, "Vikram" hit the screens & created a frenzy among the audience. Was it surprising??? Of course not, especially since it marked the return of the Ulaganayagan back to celluloid after four years & giving him company were two powerhouse performers in Fahadh Faasil & Vijay Sethupathi. The talented director who took on the herculean task of ensuring that he did justice to their talents & lived upto the insane expectations was Lokesh Kanagaraj. Well it would be fair to say that he has done a fantastic job in providing a high octane thriller that works in most accounts. 

For the benefit of those who haven't watched "Kaithi", as Lokesh mentioned in his tweet it would be helpful if you check it out as it picks up from the events that unfolded there. A group of masked vigilantes had taken down a couple of officials from the Narcotics division such as Stephen Raj (Hareesh Peradi), ACP Prabhanjan (Kalidas Jayaram) & his adopted father, Karnan (Kamal Haasan). This prompts Police Chief Jose (Chemban Vinod) to call in a special task force headed by Amar (Fahadh) to nab the culprits behind the crime. It soon dawns upon Amar, that the murders were committed in relation to a missing container which belonged to Sandhanam (Sethupathi) who ran a drug syndicate. But what didn't make sense was the murder of Karnan who seemed nothing more than an alcoholic and womanizer or was there more than what met the eye???

Without a shadow of doubt, Lokesh has done a fantastic job in coming up with a script that ties together both the movies. He sets the ball rolling in the opening sequence itself with Fahadh taking center stage in the first half as he goes about figuring the plot. There is a whole lot of content packed in the first half which after a point of time kinda get tiresome despite the thrills. This is what I felt was the flaw as Lokesh & Philomin Raj ought to have kept it crisper. But the interval block sequence inspired from "Dark Knight Rises" marks the beginning of taking the thrills up more than a few notches. The second half was full on with exquisitely choreographed action sequences, some delightful surprises, cool cameos & to add onto the spice, top notch performances by the cast.  Anyway the stage is set for a goose bumping evoking sequel with a massive star cast. On the technical side, pretty much everything was excellent be it Anirudh's BGM (definitely his best work to date) which elevated the effect of many of the sequences, Girish Gangadharan's excellent frames & the action choreographers. 

There is no point in even mentioning how brilliant an artist is Ulaganayagan & despite being away from the screen for so many years, the legend was fantastic as the protagonist be it in action or the emotional sequences that he shared with his character's grandchild. Fahadh was brilliant & I personally felt that he was the best among the lot which in itself is a huge compliment considering that he was sharing screen space with the legend. Sethupathi did his part aptly though I felt his character wasn't etched as well as the other two. Even his dialogue delivery wasn't quite legible & his portrayal of it felt like an extension of  Bhavani from "Master". As for the rest of the cast, Narain, Chemban Vinod, Kalidas Jayaram etc did their parts well while Suriya's cameo was impressive.

Verdict: At close to 3 hours, it does drag quite a bit in the first half though the latter half was impressive. Over the course of the last few months, we have had huge blockbusters in the form of "KGF-2" & "RRR" and in all probability, "Vikram" will follow suit. Hmm...it's time for our Malayalam industry to conjure something similar & hopefully we will get to celebrate that soon. Anywaz definitely check out this flick & that too in theatres!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

John Luther: "Engaging investigative thriller that could have been more impactful!!!"

Over the past couple of years, Jayasurya has transformed himself into an artist of such caliber that more often than not he aces the roles that he takes up. Irrespective of how the movie performs at the box office, we can rest assured that he would have given a credible performance. His latest release "John Luther" is helmed by the debutant Abhijith Joseph & from the looks of it, it had all the makings of an engaging investigative thriller. With numerous movies from the same genre being churned out, was this able to do stand tall among those???

A tourist bus that was caught up in the rain found a dead body fall onto its roof as it navigated the hairpins in Munnar. This brought in CI John Luther (Jayasurya) & his team to take charge of the situation but the mystery behind the accident soon evolves into a missing person investigation. With time, the number of missing people increase & it becomes evident from the modus operandi that there was indeed a connection between all the three cases. To make matters worse, John endures an attack from a culprit which leaves him partially deaf. But that didn't deter John as he pursued relentlessly despite his handicap to get to the bottom of the case. 

As mentioned earlier, this is Abhijith's debut venture & he has certainly done a fine job in creating a movie that engaged the audience with its suspense as well as execution style. The choice of location, rain, mist & the dark colour tone facilitated in creating an aura that was in keeping with the mood. However, the writing falters in the last segment as the culprit, motive etc just didn't have the impact that it was supposed to convey considering the manner in which the story was set up early on. Coming to the technical side, Shaan Rahman's BGM was good while Roby Varghese deserves praise for the impressive visuals. 

Jayasurya as usual was impressive as the protagonist & though we might feel there are similarities with some of his recent movies where he is subjected to physical challenges; I still felt that he was able to keep it unique & did utmost justice to the role. As for the rest of the cast, Deepak Parambol, Sivadas Kannur, Siddique etc did their parts aptly though the latter needs to reconsider his choices in father roles as it turning out to be rather cliched. 

Verdict:  An engaging investigative thriller that was impressive both in style of making & performances. However, the last half an hour couldn't quite do justice to the anticipation that it had created later on. But still do check it out!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Kuttavum Shikshayum: "Realistic but with a rather tame culmination !!!"

Last weekend saw the release of quite a few Malayalam flicks among which the one that I was most eager to check out was Rajeev Ravi's "Kuttavum Shikshayum". Well I'm pretty sure that most would have felt along similar lines after all whenever this cinematographer/director par excellence showcased his celluloid creations it was both critically & commercially acclaimed. Incidentally due to the COVID crisis, two of his directorial ventures will be hitting the screens within the span of a week. The trailer & poster conveyed that it is rooted in reality like his previous flicks but does it manage to engage the audience???

CI Sajan Philip (Asif Ali) was entrusted with the task of nabbing the culprits behind a jewellery store heist in Idukki. Soon enough, Sajan & his team zero down on the people behind the crime who happened to be immigrant workers from Rajasthan. They decide to pursue the offenders & bring them before justice which leads them to embark on a journey to a land quite alien to what they have ever come across. With the police force in the region also reluctant to venture into the village where the criminals resides, it turned out to be a task which was much tougher than what they have envisioned. 

Unlike Rajiv's previous ventures, this was scripted by CI Sibi Thomas & Sreejith Divakaran and apparently this was a real crime event that had occurred during the professional career of the former. In terms of the way the story is set up, it reminds one of Vinoth's "Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru" but the similarity ends there. It is a deglamourized & realistic presentation of the procedures that the officers employed and that in itself certainly builds up the anticipation. Unfortunately that is where many (I certainly was) are likely to be disappointed as there is no grand reveal or thrilling culmination. Even the hype regarding the notoriety of the region expressed in dialogues never actually got shown on the screen. On the technical side, it was pretty impressive as Rajiv's style of picturization which was captured in a raw & authentic manner by Suresh Rajan. 

Among the various artists that had lined up, Asif Ali & Alencier were the only ones who were given some sort of a backstory and both of them have done justice to their roles. Asif was spot on as the officer who suffered from post traumatic trauma while the rest of the cast also did their parts aptly be it Sunny Wayne, Sharafudeen, Senthil etc. 

Verdict: With regard to the way that the movie was narrated in a minimalistic manner, it certainly keeps the audience engaged for a significant part. However, the slow pace & a rather cold climax will turn out to be a damp squib for quite a few. It certainly had scope for much more if more attention was paid to the latter half of the movie. Despite that it is still worth a try!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben