Whenever the topic of Anoop Menon comes up, the first thought that would cross anyone's mind is his tendency to squeeze in philosophy in his movies irrespective of whether it demands or not. However, I do consider him as a talented artist who needs to be reined in to make optimum use of his abilities. Anyway the last couple of months, saw quite a few of his movies hit the screens. Unsurprisingly, none of them managed to make much of an impression since though the trailer seemed like it was packaged well, the execution of it was pretty average at best.
Padma (Rating: 1.5/5)
As has been the case in recent times, Anoop has penned the script though this time around he decided to don the director's hat. Incidentally, this was his first released directorial venture & dealt on the topic of marital relationships. Dr. Ravi Shankar (Anoop) was a much sought after psychologist who had helped many to resolve their problems including marital discord. But how will he be able to handle it when a rift happens between him & his wife, Padma (Surabhi Lakshmi) is what is explored here.
The theme as such sounded interesting but rather being focused on it, he incorporates numerous sub plots which barely adds to the run time rather than anything else. There are quite a few characters like Abdu & Jolly (Ambi Neenasam & Shruti Rajanikanth), who didn't have much to do for some comic relief (pretty much like how Tamil movies had a comedy side track in the past). The only person who actually impresses is Dinesh Prabhakar while Surabhi & Anoop did a decent job though in certain sequences I felt the former kind of failed to convey the emotions convincingly.
King Fish (Rating: 1/5)
This is actually Anoop Menon's directorial debut though it released after "Padma". In this, Anoop places himself as a real estate baron, Bhaskara Verma who is informed by his uncle's lawyer that the former, Dasharata Verma (Ranjith) would like to will a considerable amount of his wealth to him. Though reluctant initially due to familial conflicts in the past, Bhaskara decides to visit his uncle & how things pan out between the two forms the crux of the flick.
It is essentially a justice drama but in typical Anoop style he packs a number of sub plots most of which are not even relevant such as a journalist trying to find out the author of a book whose pen name is King Fish. None of the technical aspects were worth mentioning though the performances despite the shoddy script was fine especially Niranjana while the others such as Ranjith, Anoop, Durga Krishna etc were ok.
Varaal (Rating: 1.5/5)
Unlike the other two, this was helmed by Kannan Thamarakulam while Anoop decided to restrict himself to the script. The manner in which certain sequences were staged & the numerous number of actors that had lined up kind of gave the impression that it was loosely inspired from "Lucifer". As you would have guessed, it is about two political parties with CM Achuthan Nair (Prakash Raj) gearing up for a third term. This is when the opposition decided to use their supposed trump card, David John Medayil (Anoop) & the impact his presence creates in both camps is what the movie talks about.
It doesn't offer anything unique that we haven't been witness to in the past & comes across as an attempt to stylize it with visuals & BGM. Ravi Chandra's has done a decent job along with the editing by Ayoob Khan. In terms of performances, few of them have done their parts aptly such as Prakash Raj, Suresh Krishna etc. In terms of the content, it did have the scope for it but what eventually unfolded was a lame version of it.
Verdict: It's high time that Anoop Menon really gave more thought to his scripts & try to make it more rooted. Presently, it feels merely like an opportunity to proclaim his so called philosophy which is misplaced & gibberish!!!
Regards...Ben
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