The Valentine's Day week saw a plethora of movies from the various genres hit the screens. Each of the these three flicks had its own USP which certainly attracted footfalls early on. However, the response has been far from encouraging as the week drew to a close & it would be fair to say that some of them failed to do justice to what they had promised in their promos.
Enkilum Chandrike: "Provides a vague vibe of Kunjiramayanam"
Hmm...did my statement raise a few eyebrows? Well I'm pretty sure that it did after all Basil Joseph's "Kunjiramayanam" is one of the cleanest & most hilarious movie that our industry has seen in the past decade. Aditya Chadrasekhar in his directorial debut has knowingly or unknowingly crafted his creation that gives us a feel of that in certain sequences. As the project is bankrolled by Friday House & given their track record there is always a certain degree of expectation regarding the quality of the movies that they churn out.
For the uninitiated, Aditya has made quite a name for himself through mini series like 'Average Ambili'. Apart from calling the shots, he had also penned the script in the company of Arjun Narayanan where the focus is on a group of friends who are members of the Sumalatha Arts Club. The senior among them was Pavithran (Suraj Venjaramoodu) whose efforts to end his bachelorhood extended endlessly until he met Sujina (Tanvi Ram). However, she was willing to consider his proposal if he helps her sister, Chandrika (Niranjana Anoop) to call off the wedding that was fixed without the latter's consent. Though Pavithran takes up the challenge, it was way difficult that he had envisioned.
Well it's essentially a combination of fun elements put together which takes an extremely predictable route. It doesn't test our patience & keeps us engaged with humour that is sprinkled right throughout which I felt is the primary highlight. The technical aspects were fine be it Ifthi's music & Jithin Stanislaus's visuals. On the performance front, incidentally the protagonist essayed by Niranjana had limited screen space & was extremely average, while Tanvi was good. The pick of the lot for me was Bhanumathi (as Pavi's aunt) & Narayanan (as broker Chandran), both of whom were impressive and bang on with the portrayal of their characters. As for the rest of the cast, Suraj seemed rather rigid at times, Basil though good overacts in certain sequences, Maniyanpillai Raju was cringy in a role that resembled like the one from "Minnaram" while Saiju Kurup, Ashwin & Abhiram (as Bibeesh) were ok.
Verdict: A predictable humorous flick that keeps us in good spirits.
Rating: 2.75/5
Christy: "Fails to establish emotional connect with the audience!!!"
When the promos of Alvin Henry's "Christy" was released, it understandably generated a significant amount of interest for two reasons. The primary being that it was about the relationship between a teenager & his elder tuition teacher. Another reason was that the screenplay for the story by Alvin based on true events was drafted by Benyamin & G R Indugopan. Surprisingly, the story came across as rather dull & failed to evoke any sense of empathy.
The story unfolds in Poovar where Roy (Mathew) is a carefree teenager who stayed with his aunt & viled away time in extra curricular activities. In order to improve upon his failing grades, he is asked to seek the help of their neighbour & teacher, Christy (Malavika Mohan). Apparently, she had recently divorced & the impact that she had on him in due course of time forms the basis of the story.
Though the title is named after the female lead, Alvin for reasons best known to him decided to focus the story from Roy's perspective & in that regard, he has done a decent job.. However, in the process, we are left to ponder as to what goes through Christy even as Roy starts developing feelings for her. It's true that the makers state that it is a true story (& that too twice), but I don't think that is a valid argument as to not raise questions about the screenplay. Some of the dialogues in the climax segment was rather mediocre & unwarranted whereby Roy is made to feel that he a true lover; though in reality it was just plain selfishness and a means to impose his feelings with scant regard for Christy's discomfort. At the same time, the eventual manner in which the climax panned out was fine & appreciate the makers for not deviating towards lust in terms of visuals etc.
On the technical side, Govind Vasantha's BGM was the biggest positive as it effectively manages to elevate many of the sequences courtesy of being in sync with the mood. Even Anend Chandran deserves praise for the visuals. But the same cant be said about the performances as I felt both the lead weren't able to do justice to their roles. Malavika's diction & body language somehow didnt seem to gel with what we would expect from Christy while Mathew was average at best and didn't offer anything that we haven't seen in the past.
Verdict: Even as the technical aspects stands out, both the screenplay & the performances fails to optimize the impact that a complex story like this could have generated!!!
Rating: 2/5
Dear Vaappi: "Moving movie about father-daughter relationship despite the cliche!!!"
The third among the list of the debutants is Shan Thulasi's "Dear Vaappi" which is about the heart warming story about the relationship between a father & his daughter. Shan in the company of his Shanu Samad talks about Basheer (Lal) who had worked as a tailor in Mumbai for many years. Eventually he decides to open his own textile business in his hometown & inspires his daughter, Amira (Anagha Narayanan) to believe in the dream. However, it was never going to be an easy dream & Amira realizes it soon enough.
In terms of the story as such, it is predictable & cliched; however it still manages to keeps us engaged coz of the emotional drama that unfolds. The chemistry shared between Lal & Anagha goes a long way in making it engaging for the audience with credible support from Sreerekha & Niranjan. The rest of the cast have done their parts aptly while the technical aspects were ok.
Verdict: Shan opted to tread a path that we have seen in the past as well but he still manages to keep the audience engaged with its motivational and emotional tone!!!
Rating: 2.5/5
Regards...Ben
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