Most of us are fans of Priyadarshan's comic capers as it provided unbridled fun. Though many of them were blatant rip offs without much of an acknowledgement (it doesn't imply that he hasn't made originals), there is no denying the fact that he is a master craftsman. Hence I was pleasantly surprised to see him nod his hat to Akira Kurasowa's "Stray Dogs" for being the inspiration for his latest flick "Corona Papers". Incidentally, the former had already been the inspiration for Sri Ganesh's "8 Thottakal" who in turn has collaborated with Priyan to pen for this project. So will the box office returns bring smiles to the legend???
The movie opens with a police team led by Officer Gracy (Sandhya Shetty) orchestrating an encounter on a murder suspect despite the evidence not being conclusive. Inspector Shankaraman (Siddique) was against her actions and retaliated, though her clout in the force got him suspended. The next sequence happens a few years later where Rahul (Shane Nigam) gets recruited into the force as a SI & is given the assignment to track a suspect. But his induction was far from smooth as he was suspended shortly after since his service revolver was stolen & traced to be used for a bank robbery. This brought in Officer Gracy & her team, with Rahul also allowed to be part of it. What unfolds as part of this investigation forms the basic content.
Except for the idea of the stolen gun, the rest of the premise is more or less like an upgraded version of "8 Thottakal". The main difference that I felt between the two flicks is that this was crafted as an investigation thriller while Sri Ganesh opted to explore an emotional angle in his Tamil version. But that hasn't hampered the viewing experience as Priyan as he has brought in some dramatic elements most of which has worked here though the climax twist wasn't quite required. Kudos to the technical team as they have done a fine job be it Divakar Mani's visuals, Aiyappan Nair's editing & the sound department.
I happened to see a promotional press meet of the team on YouTube & was of the impression that Shane & Shine were the lead artists. But apparently, it turned out that Siddique was indeed the main protagonist along with Shane. The veteran as always was fantastic as the suspended officer as he effectively conveys the various emotions that the character goes through. But for some reason, some of his reactions reminded me of Abraham from "August 15". Shane has done a fine job along with Lal Jr & Hannah Reji Koshy. At the same time, Shine was average, Sandhya Shetty felt like a miscast & Gayathrie Shankar barely had much to do.
Verdict: With the type of movies that are lined up for this Easter being quite different & this being a reasonably engaging movie, I believe it should garner decent footfalls. In short, give it a try!!!
Rating: 2.5/5
Regards...Ben
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