Lucky Baskhar & Amaran: "Praise worthy performances complements the impressive directorial efforts!!!"

About a fortnight back a sense of gloom & frustration swept across Wankhede as the Kiwis clean swept the series with consummate ease. However, there was no dearth in Diwali celebrations in the theatres with big banner releases in many states. Two such releases happened to be Venky Atluri's "Lucky Bhaskar" & Rajkumar Periasamy's "Amaran" & both of them turned out to be an enjoyable experience. So what were those movies about & what made it endearing???

Lucky Baskhar: "Telugu movies continues to be lucky for DQ!!!"

After the debacle of "King of Kotha", there has been hardly any releases from Dulquer except for a cameo in "Kalki 2898 AD". Anyway he is back with his next big release in the company of Venky Atluri who had penned the script as well with the focus being the life of a middle class man employed in the banking sector. Baskhar (DQ) was a bank cashier who did his work honestly & earnestly making him a much sought after person both among his colleagues & customers. However, he struggled to make ends meet & took loans to sustain the needs of his family. But his financial situation failed to improve & he opted for means that resulted in quick bucks. This was just the beginning as he started to take bigger risks & the question was whether he would be able to prevent himself from getting burned by his greed.

In terms of the theme, Venky has taken a leaf out of impressive web series like "Scam 1992" & movies like "The Big Bull" and developed it. He has crafted it well with the technical aspects also executed quite well. It is the type of story where we root for the protagonist who is the underdog despite being aware that he also possesses ample shades of grey. In the first half, the focus shows the struggles of the middle class man & later on, it is about his urge to make a change to the financial health of his life even at the cost of losing his morals. The audience is kept engaged with the proceedings even as Venky doesnt try to confuse us with difficult banking jagrons. The art team has done a fantastic job in recreating the period while GV Prakash comes up with impressive BGM. Similarly, Naveen Nooli's editing was fine while Nimish Ravi's cinematography also deserves praise.

DQ is the heart & soul of the movie and he has done an excellent job as the protagonist. It was a character that required to be both charming & yet shrewd enough to pull the strings and he was an apt choice for that. Meenakshi Chaudhary has done her part aptly and provided ample support to DQ's character along with the rest of the cast.

Verdict: It's been quite a while since we have a movie that doesnt have bloodshed & that itself was a huge relief. In all probability, it should work at the box office & continue DQ's purple patch in Tollywood. The movie as such was fine & is worth a watch!!!

Rating: 3/5

Amaran: "Among some of the best biographies to date!!!"

Even before going into the details, I would confidently say that this is undoubtedly one of the best movies of the year & among the best to have released when it came to biographies. Based on Shiv Aroor & Rahul Singh's 'India's Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military', it is the biography of Major Mukund Varadarajan & is helmed by Rajkumar Periasamy who had worked on the screenplay along with Stefan Ritcher. 

The movie takes us through Major Mukund's (Siva Karthikeyan) through the last decade of personal & professional career which begins with his college life where he meets Indhu (Sai Pallavi) & also takes the decision to join the Armed Forces. As Indhu was from a different faith & religion, there were some objections from their families early on, but in due time they warmed up to their relation. At the same time, Mukund steadily made a name for himself in the forces for his selfless nature & valour.

At first, it would sound like the standard template of most biographies but what made it unique was the manner in which Rajkumar had picturised Mukund's professional life by keeping it grounded rather than portraying chest thumping jingoism or painting with evident political undertones. The warmth of the relationship between Mukund and Indhu could be felt and the main reason for that was the performances. The technical aspects were neatly done especially the action choreography by Stephen Richter & CH Sai's visuals.

As mentioned above, the main strongpoint of this movie were the performances and all of them have done justice to their roles. Sai Pallavi is undoubtedly one of the finest artists that we have in the country & her performance as Indhu was a testament of her caliber. In all likelihood, she will be a strong contender for the best performer even in the Nationals (though her diction was quite problematic especially when you are showing her as a Malayali). SK has been going from strength to strength with his choice of movies and performances and over here, he has truly impressed with his act. The rest of the cast such as Geetha (as Mukund's mom), Bhuvan Arora (as Vikram) Rahul Bose, Shyamaprasad etc have done their parts well.

Verdict: Certainly an engaging biopic that gets elevated primarily coz of the performances. Do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Pani: "Apt casting & neat execution proves that Joju knows his pani!!!"

For any aspiring artist, Joju George is a name that is bound to inspire them to reach for their dreams. From a junior artist who was one among the crowd to emerging as one of the most talented actor in the industry is no mean task & it is a testament to his hard work, passion & unwavering belief in his ability. Hence when he had announced that he was venturing into direction, it had created headlines for obvious reasons. Finally after more than a year into its making, the movie have hit the screens & to be honest, it was certainly a credible effort.

Giri (Joju George) & his buddies were the main players in the Thrissur mafia syndicate who stuck with each other through thick & thin, so much so they were literally a big family. The movie unfolds with two youngsters, Don (Sagar Surya) & Siju (Juniaz) who worked as mechanics make an entry into contract killing with a murder right in the middle of the city. Soon enough, they cross paths with Giri who beats them up for misbehaving with his wife. This sets off a series of events which literally puts the city into high alert. 

Apart from calling the shots, Joju has also penned the script which had the template of a typical cat & mouse revenge action drama. Even as the story was quite normal, what made it truly unique was the attention that he had given to each main character & the emotional equations involved between them. So much so, we absolutely detest the antagonists & root for the opposite side to have their vengeance. The manner in which Joju has executed the whole thing gives it the feel of Joshy's directorial style. The technical aspects were top notch be it Venu & Jinto George's cinematography, Manu Antony's excellent cuts which made the action sequences thrilling & music by Vishnu Vijay, Sam CS & Santhosh Narayanan that blended well with the mood. 

Kudos to Joju's choice of artists was a mix of freshers & known faces and his selection was spot on as most of them did complete justice to their roles. The best among them is undoubtedly the brilliant performance showcased by Sagar & Junaiz who were so convincing in their body language & expression that it was literally hard not to hate them. Joju as usual was top notch along with Abhaya Hiranmayi and ably supported by Bobby Kurian, Seema, Prasanth Alexander etc. 

Verdict: The USP of the movie is undoubtedly Sagar & Juniaz who has given exceptional performances. It also proves Joju's ability as a film maker who gives an engaging flick which was technically well executed. Do check it out!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Bougainvillea: "An engaging psycho-thriller with an underwhelming climax!!!"

Whenever I hear about 'bougainvillea' the first visual that flashes through my mind is the numerous bougainvillae that we had in my school, Infant Jesus Thangassery. I still remember the day when one of its thorns pierced into my scalp when I was playing around it with my friends. These memories came back to me when I read that Amal Neerad's latest flick also had the same name. As a movie buff, I have been a fan of his film making skills ever since he burst into the industry with the stylish "Big B".

Based on Lajo Jose's "Ruthinte Lokam", the focus is on the couple, Reethu (Jyothirmayi) & her husband, Dr. Royce (Chackochan) who met with an accident eight years back. As a result of that, Reethu was diagnosed with retrograde amnesia though Royce made sure he took utmost care of her to ensure that they led a happy and contented life along with their two kids. Things take a turn when ACP David Koshy (Fahadh Faasil) turned up at their doorsteps as Reethu was the prime suspect in the disappearance of a minister's daughter. So was she actually involved & it seemed all the more trickier for both the parties involved to prove their point considering her medical condition.

As I haven't read Lajo's book, I had no clue as to what the story was about prior to watching it though I presumed it would be as close an adaptation as possible as he had worked on the script along with Amal. The film takes its sweet time in establishing the characters & their routines and that is essentially what wewitness in the first half. The mood & ambience is set & the mystery and intrigue is slowly yet steadily taken up by notches with each passing minute. However, in the process of this engaging build up, a couple of pointers is given to the audience which kind of drastically reduced (atleast for quite a few) the impact of the surprise element in the latter half. So much so, the back story segment, the menacing nature of the character failed to provide the sucker punch that was expected & in a way, some of the elements that Amal had used in the climax sequence reminded me of "Varathan".

At the same time, as expected from a Amal Neerad movie, it was technically well executed. The choice of location was apt and the technical team has done complete justice to all the aspects involved. This includes Anand Chandran's fantastic frames & Sushin Shyam's BGM and music as well as Vivek Harshan's editing. It's been more than a decade since Jyothirmayi have made an appearance on the big screen & she more than made up for that absence with a brilliant performance as Reethu. It was a character that demanded her to be emotionally frail & unpredictable and she was spot on. Chackochan did a fine job as well in a role that gave him ample scope to perform though I still felt that it could have been written a bit more better while Srinda provided able support. Veena Nandakumar was just about ok as her dialogue delivery could have been better. However, I fail to understand as to why the makers wanted Fahadh for this role except for attracting more footfalls to the theatres. It was an insignificant role that barely had anything for him to do & the same also goes to Sharafudeen, who was equally wasted. 

Verdict: Coming on the back of "Kishkindha Kaandam", it also had a well constructed build-up but unlike the former it had quite an underwhelming climax. On the technical side, it was well made with fine performances from Jyothirmayi & Chackochan. In short, you can give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Vettaiyan: "Stuck between theme & stardom, manasilayo!!!"

Dussehra marks the victory of good over evil & to celebrate this festive season we have one of the most awaited anticipated flick of the year hitting the screens. It is none other than T Gnanavel's "Vettaiyan", which has quite an enviable star cast headlined by Big B & Rajini with Fahadh in a supporting role to name a few. I was quite curious to check out the flick primarily because I had loved Gnanavel's "Jai Bhim" & see as to how he was going to do justice to his story without being forced to celebrate their stardom. It was definitely not going to be an easy task. 

The theme of the story is pretty much set in the opening sequence as Justice Satyadev (Big B)in a lecture to aspiring officers makes it vehemently clear that he abhors the idea of encounter killings & the celebration of such officers as heroes. It was essentially a reference to SP Athiyan (Rajini), encounter specialist who had recently busted a drug mafia ring in Kanyakumari with the help of his informer, 'Battery' Patrick (Fahadh) a thief/tech genius on the basis of a complaint from a school teacher, Saranya (Dushara Vijayan). As usual, Athiyan manages to get scot free much to the chagrin of Satyadev. However, things take a turn when Saranya is murdered & Athiyan is called in for the investigation. 

Recently, I had come across an interview clip of  director Tamizharasan who stated that that the characters in his "Lubber Pandhu" was inspired from Sachi's "Ayyappanum Koshiyum". In a way, it seemed like Gnanavel must have been inspired by Dijo Antony's "Jana Gana Mana" which dealt with a similar theme. In an industry where killings are glorified especially when the protagonist is a police officer, Gnanavel's effort to put in a moral compass to that was appreciable. It was essentially an anti-thesis to Rajini's previous release "Jailer". However, in an effort to establish his cause & still satisfy the Superstar's fans, he is invariably stuck in a place that is in between both of them. This was not the case in "Jai Bhim" where he used the star power of Suriya to push the topic he wanted to convey. But then we have to accept that pulling off something similar with the stature of Rajini is easier said than done. In the end, we are left with a movie that is neither able to convincingly establish his relevant topic nor give us genuinely goosebumps evoking mass moments.

On the technical side, it was average at best with Anirudh Ravichander's music being quite ok though 'Manasilayo' track is a chart buster. Except for a couple of scenes, his BGM failed to elevate most of the mass moments. Thalaiva was as always has done utmost justice to his part & does the heavy lifting even when the screenplay failed. The choice of Big B made complete sense & he provided the aura that the character demanded, however the impact that his face off with Rajini lacked the punch & that was another example of the flaw in the writing. In terms of who actually provided the cheers, then it goes to Fahadh who rocked even in the supporting role with Dushara Vijayan doing a fine job as well. As for the rest of the cast, Manju Warrier did what was possible in a rather insignificant role, Rana Daggubati was the victim of a poorly written role while the others were ok.

Verdict: Despite the shortcomings, it is still a decent movie that is worthy of  one time watch. However, there is a good chance that it might falter at the box office if the fans go with the expectation of watching another "Jailer"!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Kondal, Bad Boyz, Nunakuzhi, Vaazha, Footage, Paalum Pazhavum: "Most of them failed to engage!!!"

With many of the movies getting released on the OTT platform much quickly than in the past invariably meant that we end up watching more Malayalam movies. In that list, there were quite a few that I happened to watch over the past couple of months & since there wasn't much to do this weekend apart from watching the Women's T20 World Cup & Jon Watts's "Wolfs", I thought to pen about those flicks that I presume all of you would have watched as well.

Kondal: "Interesting premise & performances let down by an average screenplay!!!"

This Onam saw Ajith Mampally make his directorial debut with his own script that he had penned along with Roylin Robert & Satheesh Thonakkal that focused on a revenge drama that unfolds in a boat in the middle of the sea The movie unfolds in Achuthengu, a fishing hamlet where the people were facing a lot of heat from the public due to rotten fish being sold. Incidentally, the issue was caused by a small company in their village & Manuel (Antony Varghese) got involved when the former refused to accept the blame and manhandled the villagers. The brawl spirals out of control & Manuel is forced to leave the village for a few days during which time he takes up a job in a fishing boat that was set for sail. What subsequently unfolds was the equation among the people in that boat.

On paper, it was that typical generic revenge drama but what made it interesting was the premise that Ajit had chosen. The tension is created but for a significant amount of time, it was just people looking at each other suspiciously with hardly anything happening. The makers ought to have been more smart when it came to keeping the audience interested by providing tit bits right throughout until the reveal. Not to mention, they left way too loose ends at times be it certain characters or sub plots which just disappears abruptly. What made it engaging for me to a certain extent was the performances and the technical aspects which was decently done. 

The cinematography was impressive as it is not easy to keep the audience interested considering the confined space & both Deepak Menon and Jithin Stanislaus deserves praise for that. The VFX was also quite well done to the extent that I felt it was far better than "Devara". Another team (Vikram Mor, Kali Kingson & Thavasi Raj) that deserves special mention is the action choreography with Sam CS providing the apt BGM for it. For Antony, it felt like a role that was within his comfort zone & he has done justice to it though he does struggle with the accent. Raj B Shetty's extended cameo role provided punch while Shabeer Kallarakkal, Nandu & Pramod Veliyanad did their parts well. Both Sarath Sabha & Rahul Rajagopal had roles which was quite different from what they had done in the past & it was fine. 

Verdict: Ajit certainly had a proper idea in terms of the settings but lacked the same in the screenplay!!!

Rating: 2/5

Bad Boyz: "Indeed bad!!!"

"Why would you even bother watching this?, you deserve this...haha", I am pretty much that this would be the statement that I would hear from majority of the people. To be frank, though hesitant I decided to give it a try in the hope that Omar Lulu wouldn't make anything worser than "Nalla Samayam" & rediscover some of his form from "Happy Wedding". In addition, the presence of Rahman in Malayalam after a hiatus was a factor that tempted me to watch it. 

Trying to give a gist of the story (did Omar even write anything?) is no mean task as there is no proper structure to it with Sarang Jayaprakash's screenplay being equally abysmal as the spoofs failed to land & the jokes were like from mediocre skits. It is essentially about Antappan (Rahman) & his men, getting caught in the crossfire of the drug mafia after they unintentionally attack Vettukad Benson (Babu Antony), the leader of the drug syndicate. None of the aspects were worth mentioning & hence it would be unfair to blame the artists since there is nothing much they can do with such poorly written roles. 

Verdict: I came across a video where Omar was abusing one of the online reviewers. Well I dont know what that reviewer has said, but there is no denying that this movie was quite pathetic!!!

Rating: Forget it

Nunakuzhi: "Solid performances makes it a worthwhile comedy entertainer!!!"

This Independence Day saw Basil Joseph feature in two flicks with him headlining in Jeethu Joseph's "Nunakuzhi". Though Jeethu has done humour in the past with "My Boss", this would certainly be the one where he has gone all out as Krishna Kumar who after "12th Man" & "Kooman" has given a laugh riot against the backdrop of a crime. 

Eby Zachariah (Basil) had recently taken up the reins of his father's company following the latter's death, though he was far from equipped to lead it. Things take a turn when an IT raid happens in the company & as part of the procedure, they seize his personal laptop which had personal videos that threatened to wreck his marriage. Left with no choice, Eby goes in search of the IT officer, Bhamakrishnan (Siddique) who had orchestrated the raid. But it led to a comedy of errors that saw many other characters getting entangled in it. 

The main strength of the movie is the manner in which the situations are blended with humour & requires the audience to accept the fact that the performances are required to be over the top. In typical Jeethu style, the mystery aspect is all thrown into the proceedings & all of it makes it a reasonably hilarious affair. The story pattern had that typical Priyadarshan flair where there a couple of parallel narratives before everything comes together at the end. On the technical side, it was neatly done thogh it doesn't warrant special mention. 

Such movies primarily work on the ability of the artists to pull it off convincingly & in that sense pretty much every artist have pulled their weight. Basil continues to shine in whichever movie he features & this was no exception. As I mentioned in one of my earlier reviews, I personally rate as the Grace Antony as the most versatile among the present generation & she was impressive. There were quite a few of the senior artists as well such as Siddique, Baiju & Manoj K Jayan & they were fine, while the rest also did their parts aptly.

Verdict: A pretty clean comedy entertainer that works for most parts due to solid performances!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Vaazha: "Emotional moments, athane athinte beauty!!!"

When the trailer of "Vaazha" was released, it felt more like an extension of Vipin Das's "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil" as many of the artists featured in both the flicks. Later on, it became evident that the reason for that was that Vipin had penned the script and had also partially bank rolled this project. The movie belonged to Anand Menen who had earlier made "Gauthamante Ratham" & his latest movie belonged to the comedy genre drama that was enjoyed by many. 

As it was clear in the trailer, it is about five buddies who were together right from their school days & traces their journey until their late 20s. With academics not quite in their agenda, they vile away their time in merriment & invariably found themselves in troubles much to the chagrin of their families especially their fathers. In terms of the story, there isn't much to talk about but rather it is a take on the various experiences they had over the course of their lives. The makers intended to connect the audience in that aspect whereby a significant number will be able to relate with what those characters went through. Personally, the humour didn't have him laughing out loud except for the occasional chuckles. However, the emotional sequences worked well especially the ones that involved the fathers. 

On the technical side, Kannan Mohan's seamless editing was a stand out along with Babu Pillai's production design that captured the time period well. When it comes to performances, though the younger lot were the protagonists, Jagadish, Anees Nedumangad, Kottayam Naseer & Noby Marcose rocked in  the emotional segments. As for the youngsters, Joemon Jyothir (as Moosa), Siju Sunny (as Ajo), Amith Mohan (as Vishnu) etc. did their parts aptly with support from Basil in a cameo along with Hashir. 

Verdict: Unlike the humour, the emotional sequences were the ones which worked for me!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Footage: "Saiju's effort is commendable but the story isn't!!!"

Found-footage genre is not something that has been explored much in Malayalam & hence when talented editor Saiju Sreedharan announced his directorial debut through this genre, it certainly attracted attention. Apart from calling the shots, he has also donned the cap of a co-producer & in collaboration with Shabna Muhammed has written the story about a vlogger couple & their experience. 

The movie unfolds during the pandemic where a vlogger couple, (Vishak Nair & Gayathri Ashok) documented pretty much every detail of their lives including intimate moments, not to mention such moments of other couples as well. Their main topic was obviously exploring urban legends, though their latest interest was unravelling the mystery of their neighbour (Manju Warrier) who seemed quite secretive & eccentric. 

There is no doubt that Saiju has done a fine job in creating the ambience which was a blend of suspense & tension. As an audience, we are hooked onto the thrills expecting some sort of horror to unfold since we have been conditioned to such kind of subjects in this genre courtesy of "The Blair Witch Project", "Paranormal Activity", to name a few. This is where I felt Saiju & Shabna did a smart move but they weren't able to build on it convincingly. so much so, despite it's short run time, I still felt it was a tad too long as they didnt quite have the content to justify it. The manner in which Sharath George has captured the frames was impressive coupled with Saiju's editing skills & well conceived action choreography sequences makes it a technically sound movie.

Both Vishak & Gayathri had a palpable on-screen chemistry & did their parts reasonably well, though I felt the latter did struggle in the tense sequences while Bhanumathi Payyanur did a fine job as the maid. Manju has an important role though she doesn't have a dialogue as such & gave a decent performance, but I cant help thinking that the role required someone more imposing or intimidating. 

Verdict: It was technically well made but the story lacked in content especially to keep the audience invested in it in the latter half.

Rating: 1.75/5

Paalum Pazhavum: "Neither the humour nor the execution worked!!!"

When I first heard this title, it reminded me of Ganpathi's character rattle this continuously as a song in "Vinodayathra". Incidentally, that movie had Meera Jasmine in the lead where she was at the top of her game. Unfortunately, since she commenced her work after a hiatus, her choices has failed to do justice to her talent & her own performance has been far from convincing. Well the fate of this movie also headed in the same direction. 

Based on Ashish Unnikrishnan's script, one of the protagonist was Sumi (Meera) who was denied the opportunity to have a teaching career & become independent when her mother was left bed-ridden due to a freak accident. The other one was Sunil (Aswin Jose) who was least bothered about a career & was on the lookout to get settled in life courtesy of getting married to a girl with an affluent background. After years of frustration, Sumi eventually finds herself a job in the bank & that's when her colleague introduces her to the world of social media. This is when she got acquainted with Sunil on FB, both of whom had changed their respective ages to make it more appealing to the other. The direction to which this relationship takes them is what this movie is about.

It's been quite a while since we have seen a worthwhile flick from VK Prakash & seems like the wait for that is likely to last much longer. Though VKP & Ashish has looked into the lives of both the protagonists in equal measure, some of the aspects failed to make much sense be it Shanthi Krishan's attitude, Meera's decisions regarding her career, the hasty decisions etc. However, the intention of the makers to point out that the female being much elder to the male in a relationship do not require eye brows to be raised, was commendable. But that didnt quite translate onto the paper & what we are left with are scenes that make us grin at times but more often than not make us shift frustratingly in our seat. On the performance front, both Meera & Ashwin were ok while the rest such as Nisha Sarang, Rachana Narayanankutty etc. were fine. 

Verdict: It fails to engage the audience and tests our patience at times!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben

 

Meiyazhagan, Lubber Pandhu & Devara: "More of a rewarding experience!!!"

It's been a while since I have penned about movies from other regional languages & it wasn't because I had stopped watching them, but only a few among them managed to get my attention. It has been a mixed bag be it Shankar's pathetic "Indian 2" or Pa Ranjith's "Thangalaan", that I enjoyed though it struggled at the box office. The latest list of movies that I had watched was more of the same, so which were the ones that gave me my time's worth. 

Meiyazhagan: "An endearing blend of nostalgia & self discovery!!!"

There might not be many who wouldn't have watched Prem Kumar's "96" & hence when it was announced that he was back with his latest flick that was bank rolled by Jyothika & Suriya's '2D entertainment', the expectations were quite palpable. As in his directorial debut, Prem has also penned the script for this which is essentially about nostalgia & self discovery in a nut shell.

The movie unfolds in 1996 (quite a coincidence) in Thanjavur where Arul (Saran Shakthi/Aravind Swami) & his family is forced to leave their home due to property partition. It left a deep scar in him to the extent that he never went back to visit his beloved town & relatives. However, on the occasion of his cousin sister's wedding he decides to head back despite the reluctance. At the event, he meets up with an extroverted individual (Karthi) who seemed a relative that knew him really well & absolutely worshipped him, though Arul could not quite recollect him. The interaction between the two on that night was a trip down memory lane & that is essentially what this movie is about.

If one has to talk about the story as such, there isn't much to say to be honest. But Prem's command over what he wants to convey that touches upon the past and the effect that it has on one and the people around him is both organic and soulfully picturized. There are quite a few sub plots & as such it stands as separate events without any connection, to the point that it felt like an unnecessary addition of run time. However, Prem's motive of making Karthi's character mention all of this does have a purpose & it is essentially about celebration of goodness in all walks of life that has a peculiar way of coming back to the people concerned. Another major positive was Govind Vasantha's music & BGM that gelled with the mood with the stand out being the track, 'Yaaro Ivan Yaaro' rendered by Kamal Hassan while Mahendiran Jayaraju's frames were also fine.

The main USP is undoubtedly the unusual casting of Karthi & Aravind Swami, with both getting characters that were diametrically opposite to each other (along the lines of Karthi & Nagarjuna in "Thozha"). Aravind definitely had the tougher role and he was impressive with the way he expressed the various emotions that the character goes through. Karthi's was endearing as the loud bindaas innocent individual, which is something that he excels in. The rest of the cast doesnt have much to do but all the female artists did their parts well be it Sri Divya, Swathi Konde & Devadarshini.

Verdict: Yet another winner from Prem that should do well at the box office, who continues to prove that when it comes to nostalgia, there is not many that could do it as well as him!!!

Rating: 3/5

Lubber Pandhu: "Well crafted layered sports drama!!!"

Cricket is an emotion & a religion in India, and that has inspired quite a few to makes sports dramas based on it. Being a movie buff & a sports aficionado, sports dramas has always been one of my favourite genre (if not, 'the most'). Last week saw the release of Tamizharasan Pachamuthu's "Lubber Pandhu" which belonged to the same genre & that was ample reason for me to check it out. It turned out to be the right decision. 

2011 is a year that none of us who are cricket lovers would forget & incidentally, Tamizharasan also begins his story from the same year. Anbu (Harish Kalyan), a talented all rounder is called to play for the once celebrated local team 'Jolly Friends'. However, despite the support of the captain, Karuppaiya (Kaali Venkat), Anbu was disheartened by the inferior attitude meted out to him by many of the other players primarily due to his caste & their egos due to which he leaves mid way through the innings. The opposition, "Sachin Boys" had their star player, Gethu (Attakathi Dinesh) unleash a blistering knock but the match gets interrupted when Gethu's wife, Yashoda (Swasika) intervenes & warns the villagers from involving him in further matches due to his apparent disregard in family matters because of his love for the game. Both Anbu & Gethu might have left the field on that day, but their paths were destined to cross & the impact that it has on their personal lives is what this movie is about. 

This is Tamizharasan's directorial debut for which he has penned the script as well which is packaged as a sports drama and touches upon various aspects such as caste discrimination, egos, relationship dynamics & inclusivity. Success is at times denied despite the talent at their disposal because of people being consumed by petty issues and it is conveyed in a natural manner. In a way it reminded me of Jayakumar's "Blue Star" which had a more pronounced political tone but over here as well, it has touched upon some critical points with a hint of humour. As such the focus might be on the two male protagonists, but Tamizharasan has written the female characters really well & at times, I felt they were better. The technical aspect was done neatly be it Dinest Purushothaman's frames or Sean Roldan's music, all of which has complimented the story perfectly.

Both Harish & Dinesh have done utmost to their roles, but their female counterparts, Swasika & Sanjana Krishnamoorthy were equal to the task. The last time I watched Harish's performance was in  "Parking" which was also about ego clashes & just in that flick, I was impressed with his performance over here as well. Equally impressive was Dinesh while Swasika & Sanjana did full justice to the meaty roles provided to them. Even the rest of the artists such as Bala Saravanan, Kaali Venkat, Devadarshini etc  have done their parts aptly.

Verdict: It will also go down as one of the most appreciated sports dramas in recent times!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Devara: "Lacked authenticity despite Jr.NTR's effort!!!"

Among the South Indian movies, if there is one industry that have their noses in front when it comes to grandeur & mass masala entertainment, then it has to be hands down the Telugu industry. One director who has aced that is Koratala Siva & hence his latest flick that saw the entry of Saif Ali Khan & Jahnvi Kapoor with Jr NTR in the lead was more than ample reason to check it out. However, I was aware of what I was getting into & the question was whether he had pushed the envelope too much. 

Incidentally, this movie also unfolds in 1996 where the Govt is in talks with the law & order forces over concerns about the threats to the Cricket World Cup. The people in question where Daya & his brother, Yethi, and the efforts of the police to track down their whereabouts led them to the Red Sea villages in the Ratnagiri mountains. This is where they learn about Devara (Jr NTR), the leader to one of the four villages who was determined to curb the smuggling activities that happened in the region more than a decade back. It invariably meant that he had created numerous enemies in the region which included Bhaira (Saif), who was the chieftain to the adjacent village. So what was the connection of these villages to the main issue?

In terms of the story, the manner in which it is build up felt interesting though there were shades of other movies/series in some of the elements. But by the time, it is into the second half, it gets tiresome with the question in the end that was supposed to have made us sit up with anticipation lacking the punch that the makers would have hoped for. On the technical side, Ratnavelu's frames were top notch & Sabu Cyril's art direction was good but Anirudh's music & BGM lacked the impact that was expected. However, the VFX did not have the authenticity & at times, reminded me of the scenes happening within a swimming pool / warehouse. 

It is a Jr NTR show & he has done a fine job as the protagonist be it in the action or emotional segments. However, the second role was written poorly and the same applies to Saif as well who did have the appearance and performance for it. None of the rest of the cast deserves a mention as they did not have anything significant to do.

Verdict: Apparently, it is going strong at the box office but for me, it falls well short of expectations!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben

 

Kishkindha Kaandam: "Slow burner that keeps getting engaging by the minute!!!"

When I first heard about the title of Dinjith Ayyathan's "Kishkindha Kaandam", it reminded me of the Ramayana series that I had watched in Doordarshan decades back. This episode of the epic marked the meeting of Rama with Hanuman and the tale of the vanar brothers (Bali & Sugriva). In the case of this flick, Dinjith has staged his story in Kallepathi where there is a significant population of monkeys who co-exist with the humans in the region. Apart from the title being interesting, the story was even more engaging as it kept me hooked onto it until the very end. So much so, it is likely to stay with you for some time even after it concludes. 

In response to the upcoming elections, the code of conduct mandated arms license holders to deposit their weapons at the nearest police station. However, even until the last day the pistol that belonged to the retired military officer, Appu Pilla (Vijayaraghavan) was not deposited. The authorities brought it to the attention of his son, Ajayan (Asif Ali), a forest officer who had recently tied the knot a second time to Aparna (Aparna Balamurali). It soon becomes evident that the pistol was missing & a couple of untowardly incidents in the vicinity, raised alarm bells as to whether it was in the possession of anti-social elements. In the meantime, the behaviour & attitude of her grumpy father-in-law raised concerns in Aparna & she decides to find out the reason for his alienating attitude with everyone including his own son. 

This is Dinjith's second directorial venture after "Kakshi Amminippilla" which was a pretty decent movie that also had Asif & Vijayaraghavan in its cast. In his latest release, he has joined hands with Bahul Ramesh who apart from being the DoP has penned an absolutely engaging script. The manner in which Bahul slowly reveals the characters and the meaning of their actions is reminiscent of peeling of an onion. They have made sure that the audience is kept interested by restricting the use of red herrings & also without spoon feeding them with details like in the form of flash backs or elaborate dialogues. In a way, it gave me the vibe of Sanu Varghese's "Aarkkariyam" while the story as such had a soul of its own. Kudos to Dinjith for having crafted it extremely well & for his smart choices when it came to the cast & crew, both of whom have complemented his efforts. 

Apart from the impressive script, Bahul's cinematography was also on point & Sooraj E.S made sure the transitions were smooth though I would rate Mujeeb Majeed's BGM a tad higher as it perfectly blended with the mood. Coming to performances, Vijayaraghavan was brilliant in his body language as it essayed the various shades of his character. Giving him perfect company was Asif who impressed in all aspects as it was a character that dealt with a great deal of emotional turmoil. Aparna's character literally represents us & she has done complete justice to their role. Jagadish as usual in recent times impresses while Ashokan & the rest have done their parts aptly.

Verdict: Undoubtedly, one of the best screenplays in recent times which is backed by excellent performances!!!

Rating: 4/5

Regards...Ben

ARM: "A cracking half century by Tovino!!!"

It's Uthradam paachil time & as expected we have a plethora of movies hitting the screens this Onam. There are quite a few that I am definitely keen on watching with Jithin Laal's "Ajayante Randaam Moshanam" being prominent among them. The news about this flick has been in the media for the last few years & hence there were considerable expectations that surrounded its release. Mounted at a cost of almost 30C, it is Tovino Thomas's 50th movie & shot in 3D format. So how will it fare at the box office???

A couple of centuries back, a meteorite had hit Haripuram & the Edakkal King (Madhupal) had a powerful deity in the form of a lamp (Chyyoti Vilakku) forged from it & had it set in his palace. A couple of years later, the King had to request the help of Kunjikelu (Tovino), a mighty warrior to settle the unrest in his region. In return, he was rewarded with the lamp that he had asked for, so as to return it to his village that it belonged to. In the present timeline (set in the 1990s), Ajayan was an electrician who led a honest living, but had to suffer from constant harassment as he was the grandson of Maniyan, the infamous thief who had terrorized the people during his time. To make matters worse, Ajayan found himself in a situation that would essentially brand him as a thief as well. Will he able to free himself from this tangle???

In terms of what genre it belongs to, it can be said to be an amalgamation of  action, drama, magical realism and folklore. The core theme of the story penned by Sujith Nambiar is the menace of caste discrimination that continues to persist to this day & the need for social justice. A classic example of that menace is the video from Lalbaugcha Raja which I presume most of you would have seen over the past day or so, where the Ganesh Chaturthi festivities took place and the evident difference in the treatment meted out to the elite and commoners was evident. Anyway coming back to the movie, . Jithin's vision & the command over his craft in building the world that Sujith had created with the non-linear narration & interweaving of the various periods was praise worthy. 

On the technical side, it was pretty much top notch in most of the departments be it the cinematography, action choreography, BGM & the music. The moment I saw that Jomon T John was the DoP, I was sure that it would be spot on & as expected, his visuals were exquisite. Dhibu Ninan Thomas's BGM was good while the music blended with the narration. The action choreography by Vikram Mor & Phenix Prabhu was impressive while the VFX/CGI work was neatly done.

This is undoubtedly one of Tovino's best performances ever especially the part where he portrayed the part of Maniyan. The attention to body language, expressions & dialogue delivery was precise as it made all the three characters distinct from each other. Surabhi Lakshmi is a proven talented artist though the opportunities that she had been offered has been far & few. Kudos to the makers for casting her as she impressed in the brief role & perfectly complemented Maniyan's character. Krithi Shetty has done her parts well with Mamitha Baiju deserving praise for her dubbing. The rest of the cast include Basil, Jagadeesh, Harish Uthaman etc., all of whom have done their parts well.

Verdict: It is certainly a movie that deserves to be watched on the big screen as the production quality & Tovino's performance makes it completely worthwhile.

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

The Goat, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram: "Action entertainers that produces different results!!!"

This weekend saw Venkat Prabhu's "The Goat" being released which is undoubtedly one of the most awaited releases of the year.  As I have been a fan of Venkat's movies, I was eager to check it out especially since he was an expert when it came to blending in humour with action. Apart from this, I had also watched Vivek Athreya's "Saripodhaa Sanivaaram" as I was told good things about it. So did both the action entertainers manage to keep me engaged???

The Goat: "Expected much more from Venkat!!!"

With Vijay having announced that he would be drawing curtains on his acting career owing to his foray into politics, the expectations that surrounded the release of his penultimate flick was much higher than usual. From the trailer itself it was evident that Vijay was in a dual role & the question was whether the story & screenplay that Venkat had penned in the company of Gunasekaran, Manivannan, Chandru & Balasubramaniyam was credible enough to warrant such a decision.

The movie unfolds in Kenya where the Special Anti Terrorism Squad led by Gandhi (Vijay) were hot on the heels of Rajiv Menon (Mohan), their former chief who was charged with treason. Their mission concluded with the retrieval of uranium, that Rajiv unlawfully possessed & his possible death in the bomb blast that was set off. This was followed by another mission to Bangkok where Gandhi decided to take his family as well as part of holiday but it was a trip that changed their lives forever.

Without mincing words, I would have to admit that forget being the greatest, it is undoubtedly one of the weakest movie in Venkat's filmography. The first half was quite decent as it does have its moments with both humour and action both ticking the right boxes. However, after both the father & son come face to face, instead of having an inspired storyline, it is relegated to a very predictable plot despite a couple of twists. Except for one of the twist, none of the rest managed to arouse my curiosity. Obviously there are sequences where Venkat does a hat tilt to many popular pop culture references, but even as a fan boy worship, it failed to reach those levels. Another major let down of the technical aspects in general which to be frank was quite mediocre at times be it the tribute sequence in the beginning, the climax portions etc., to name a few. Though the visuals were decent, the music department on the whole be it the BGM or the songs from Yuvan Shankar Raja was extremely average and lacked the ability to enhance the impact of the scenes. 

Despite the drawbacks in the making, I felt that Vijay did a a fine job as the protagonist especially the elder version though his dialogue delivery could have been better while the younger version at times lacked the consistency. Kudos to Ayaz Khan for a fine performance in bringing out the apt body language for the younger Vijay. Both Prashanth & Prabhu Deva did a decent job while Jayaram, Sneha & Ajmal supported well in the limited screen time that they had. Mohan was a pathetic choice as the antagonist since the character was neither written well nor adequately performed. 

Verdict: Undoubtedly, one of the weakest in Venkat's filmography!!!

Rating: 2/5

Saripodhaa Sanivaaram: "Quite an interesting storyline & treatment!!!"

It's been quite a while since I had watched a Telugu movie & when Vivek Athreya latest release hit the screens about a fortnight back, I didnt give it much of a thought. However, later on when I started to hear good things about it & noticed that the star cast had Nani & S.J Suryah, I thought to give it a try & would have to admit that it did interest me.

As I haven't watched any of Vivek's earliest movies, I am not versed with his writing or film making craft. In this flick, he has penned about the protagonist, Surya (Nani) who used to vent out his anger for literally any petty issue. Eventually, his mother advises him of a method to vent his anger to matters that are truly relevant & to do so on one day of the week which happened to be Saturday. The latest matter that came to his attention was the atrocities that CI Dayanand (S.J Suryah) was inflicting on the people of Sokulapalem. So what was the reason behind all this & how was it going to be resolved???

On the whole, it comes across as a typical action masala entertainer but it has quite an interesting storyline with a liberal sprinkling of humour. At the same time, it touches upon some social messages in a subtle manner. The backstories of both Nani & SJ's characters are established properly, before their conflict take centre stage. Obviously, he tries to pack in a lot towards the end & some of that could have been trimmed off. On the technical side, Jakes Bejoy has done a praise worthy job while Murali G's choice of colour tone and visuals were impressive as well.

Whenever I have watched Nani's movies, I have always him to be quite authentic to the character that he portrayed & the same applies here as well. As for S J Suryah, he is a dynamite on screen especially when it comes to exposing eccentricities & his distinctive dialogue delivery is a delight at many instances. Abhirami was impressive while Sai Kumar, Priyanka Mohan & Aditi Balan did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Despite the long run time, it still manages to keep us invested in the flick. In short, give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Vishesham, Level Cross, Secret, Adios Amigo: "Decent fare on offer!!!"

Over the past couple of months, there has been a plethora of movies that hit the screens and none of them have quite managed to get the box office ringing. At the same time, the news has been predominantly about off screen activities that has captured more headlines. Anyway the following are my opinion about some of the movies that had released in July-August.

Vishesham: "This vishesham does provide us with a smile!!!"

The word 'vishesham' is an oft used word in different context. However, whenever it is mentioned usually by a relative to a couple, it essentially means only one thing & I presume you would have guessed what it would be for. Anyway, Sooraj Tom decided to call the shots on that topic that Anand Madhusoodhanan had penned in which he had also donned the role of the protagonist. 

After a failed marriage that ended on the first night itself, Shiju (Anand) was reluctant to be drawn into another relationship. However, when he met up with Sajitha (Chinnu Chandni), a police constable who had also gone through a similar situation; they decided to give their lives a second chance. Both of them led a happy and contented life, until questions start to arise regarding having a family. The challenges that both of them face on the face of societal pressure is what is explored in this flick. 

There are quite a few topics that are being touched upon such as relationship stereotypes along the lines of "Thamasha", societal pressure on having a kid, pregnancy treatments etc. They have opted for a feel good track & in that sense, I feel they have done a decent job even as we would have felt that more intense situations were required in some instances. The technical aspects were neatly done, though it does not warrant special mention. On the performance front, Chinnu was impressive, Anand was able to convincingly portray the emotions of an ordinary guy though his portrayal at times felt like a caricature, while the rest of the cast were ok. 

Verdict: A neatly crafted feel good movie with decent performances makes it an enjoyable one time watch!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Level Cross: "Interesting psychological thriller that lacks the punch!!!"

When the promos of Arfaz Ayub's directorial debut was beamed on YouTube,  I was keen to check it out primarily coz of Asif Ali's make over & the fact that it had just three main characters with the movie being shot predominantly in Tunisia. The movie unfolds in a parched deserted land that seemed miles away from any sort of civilization where Raghu (Asif Ali) was the gate keeper at a level cross where trains turned up only occasionally. Into his uneventful life, Chaitali (Amala Paul) turned up after having been discovered in an unconscious state next to the tracks. Apparently, she had jumped off the train to escape from her toxic husband, Zinjo (Sharafudeen). In due course of time, both of them warmed up to each other as they noticed a similar trait in their stories. But were they indeed telling the truth???

There is no doubt that Arfaz's script had an intriguing feel to it as the slow burner takes its time to steadily reveal the plot. The back stories of each of these characters were interesting though the dialogues lacked the punch and on the whole, it had an underwhelming feel to it. Kudos to Appu Prabhakar's frames & Vishal Chandrashekhar's BGM, both of which were crucial for the mood of the movie. 

In recent times, Asif's choice of movies & performance has been praise worthy & as the unkempt rugged Raghu, it reminded me of his act in "Ordinary". However, he has moved far ahead in terms of his skill set over here and produced one of his career best performance. Both Amala & Sharaf have done their parts well, though their dialogue delivery at times lacked authenticity.

Verdict: It is a slow burner & expectedly didn't find much takers at the box office. However, it is still worth a watch & might get more audience on OTT.

Rating: 2.5/5

Secret: "No secret that it was pathetic!!!"

There is no doubt that SN Swamy is one of our most  celebrated scenarist & hence when he decided to don the cape of a director for the first time, it made headlines. However, a couple of days after the release of this flick, SN Swamy made a statement that there was a concerted effort from some quarters to tarnish his movie. To be brutally honest, it was mediocre to say the least.

The movie unfolds with Midhun (Dhyan Sreenivasan) & his friends making a trip to Thanjavur to attend the wedding of their buddy. During their time over there, they happen to meet an astrologer who was of the opinion that his horoscope denied Midhun of being married. This puts him in distress as his wedding with Shreya (Ardra Mohan) was already fixed. But was this prediction indeed true & was there any way to change his fate???

According to SN Swamy's script there is a chance to change the fate by making a potpourri of various topics such as synchronicity, entropy, thermodynamics with a dash of psychology courtesy of noted psychiatrist Carl Jung. There is no problem to touch upon such topics as long as one has a fair idea how to weave a creative thread from it. This is exactly where the movie faltered as it turned out to be nothing than a verbal diarrhoea without any sense of coherence. None of the technical aspects deserves special mention while Dhyan Sreenivasan, Aparna Das & Gregory Jacob did what was possible from their side.

Verdict: By the end of the movie, Dhyan's character manage to save six people but Swamy will struggle to find as many people who would genuinely like his flick!!!

Rating: 1/5

Adios Amigo: "Performances just about manages to salvage it !!!"

After having worked in a plethora of moves as Assistant Director, Nahas Nazar finally made his directorial debut with "Adios Amigo". The main reason as to why I was interested to watch this movie was that the script was penned by Thankam, who had also worked on "Kettiyolane Ente Maalaakha" which was a movie that I had really enjoyed. Incidentally both of them had worked together on that project which was headlined by Asif Ali, who is also the protagonist here along with Suraj Venjaramoodu. 

Priyan (Suraj) struggled to make ends meet & his track record of failing to repay debts on time, meant it was always going to be a struggle especially in the case of an emergency. It so happened that such a scenario arose when his mother had to be admitted for a medical emergency & he ran from pillar to pillar to settle the expenses. Eventually, one of his friends agreed to help him & he was asked to wait for him at the Vytilla hub. This is where he met Prince (Asif), a carefree perpetually intoxicated guy from an affluent & influential background who seemed to spent money on random people. Both of them got acquainted & Priyan decided to stick on with him in the hope that Prince might be able to help with his financial struggles. 

In terms of the story as such, I felt that it was quite fragile as nothing much happens after we are introduced to both the characters. There is a sense of mystery to Asif's character as to why he had this bindaas attitude, concern for his ex-lover etc. But as the character is revealed in due course of time, it literally had nothing much to it & failed to make us empathize for the character if that was the intention of the makers. On the other hand, Suraj's character did manage to create more of an impact though it was a surprise as to why he preferred to not disclose his need for so long. At the same time, I would not say that it tested my patience & the credit for that goes to the performances. On the technical side, Jakes Bejoy's BGM and Jimshi Khalid's cinematography were fine.

Both Asif & Suraj have done justice to their respective roles and that is the main reason as to why this move works to a certain extent. The physical transformation that Asif brought to his character and his diction in the Thrissur slang was commendable. Suraj's emotional scenes in the latter half was impressive & the duo generates some genuine laughs. Anagha appeared in a brief role & did her part well.

Verdict: With a script with not much content & still running for a significant amount of time, it seemed like a recipe for disaster. However, decent performances from the protagonists somewhat managed to evade that!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben

Nadanna Sambhavam, Ullozhukku, Big Ben & Samadhana Pusthakam: "Apart from one, the others fail to impress!!!"

Even as the monsoon lashed the length & breadth of the state, there has been no dearth of movies as it continued to hit the screens every weekend without fail. Most of them failed to make a mark but there were a couple which did have a decent story to convey. So how did it cater to my taste?

Nadanna Sambhavam: "Not much of a sambhavam!!!"

This is Vishnu Narayan's second directorial venture after "Maradona" with the story being the effort of Rajesh Gopinadhan. The events of the plot unfolds in a posh residential colony where Unni (Biju Menon), a marine engineer & his wife, Roshy (Sruthy Ramachandran) with daughter had recently moved in. Unni was the type of character who was pretty warm, friendly & cordial making him a rather popular person among the ladies there. This irked many of their husbands which included Ajith, (Suraj Venjaramood) who had a chauvinistic attitude that led to marital discord with his wife, Dhanya (Lijomol). It was a matter of time before the situation escalated & that's exactly what happened as Unni was literally framed for an incident that he was innocent of. 

In terms of what Vishnu & Rajesh wanted to convey, it did have a credible thread as it was essentially about the subversive emotions of married women. They opted for a satirical tone to it making many of the scenes laced with light humour. But it fails to offer anything unique or novel that kept us invested in it. Luckily for them, I didnt feel it tested our patience though there is no denying that the sequences that followed the police station saga was rather average, not to mention that the climax was quite lame. 

Coming to performances, Biju Menon's character was a cake walk for him & he has done it quite well. Suraj was the one who actually had the scope to perform to which he has done justice as he showcased the traits of a chauvinistic person quite effectively. Lijomol did her part aptly while Shruti didnt have much to do. The rest of the cast have also done their parts reasonably ok. 

Verdict: Not much of a sambhavam except that it is a harmless time-pass flick!!!

Rating: 2/5

Ullozhukku: "Intense emotional drama backed by power-packed performances!!!"

This was a movie that I was eagerly looking forward to for the reason that it featured Urvashi, who I personally consider the most versatile Malayalam actress to date. In addition, it was directed by Christo Tomy who is already a two time National Award winning director at just 36 years of age & the presence of Parvathy, who is also a powerhouse performer in her own right. 

Based on the script penned by Christo himself, it is about the emotional struggles that a mother, Leelamma (Urvashi) & her daughter-in-law, Anju (Parvathy) go through following the death of her son. Due to the heavy rains that had lashed out in the region, the funeral had to be kept on hold as the graveyard was flooded. Over the course of those days, it became evident that Anju was in an unhappy marriage & was keen on starting her life afresh. On the other hand, despite the sorrow; Leelamma looked forward to the arrival of her grand-child. Though everything looked fine on the surface, both of them harboured secrets which threatened to break the very basis of their relationship. 

Christo looks into the emotional package that both the female protagonists from different generations carry. Both of them had unfavourable circumstances thrust upon them by fate & how they chose to deal with it is what is being portrayed. Obviously, as an audience we will end up taking sides as the story slowly unfolds the secrets. Even as all the proceedings were paced properly & realistically showcased, the climax was rather lame as it was rushed & too convenient to reach a pre-determined end. On the technical side, Shehnad Jalal's visuals were fine while Sushin Shyam ensured that silence was given adequate importance to convey the emotional heft. 

Does one even have to talk about Urvashi's performance? The legend has given a power packed performance which kept us completely invested in the story. Giving her apt company was Parvathy who was equally impressive. Prashant Murali as Thomaskutty didn't have much screen space but did his part well along with Arjun Radhakrishnan. The rest of the cast have also done justice to their roles.

Verdict: I dont think they could have chosen a better title for this movie. Kudos to Christo, Urvashi & Parvathy, as it was well made & performed. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Big Ben: "Execution wasn't exactly thought through!!!"

The last week of June saw Bino Augustine making his directorial debut with a story that he had penned about child protection law that is prevalent in the western world. It did have shades of Ashima Chibber's "Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway", though that had marital discord as the main cause. Lovely (Aditi Ravi) worked with the NHS while her husband, Jean (Anu Mohan) was a stay home dad as he was a SI who was presently under suspension due to which he had moved to the UK. Life moves on calmly until an issue happens with Lovely at work to add onto a quarrel that Jean got into with her colleague, Wilson (Vinay Fort) & his friends during an Onam function. This brings in the investigation team into the picture & in Jean's fit of fury, it resulted in an event that injured their daughter. Soon enough, the child welfare agency takes away their child stating that she was not safe to be with her parents. What subsequently unfolds is the effort of the parents to get back their daughter. 

It was an interesting theme & a premise that is not explored much in our industry. The manner in which the story is build was fine & we get to feel the tense situation that the parents go through. There is no doubt that the second half makes for a more engaging watch, but it felt like Bino had pushed the envelope a bit too far as it lacked the believability. In addition, another aspect that could have been given more screen space was the emotional turmoil Lovely went through. The technical aspects were handled well.

On the performance front, Aditi has done a fine job while Anu was decent though he does struggle in the emotional scenes. The rest cast of the cast have which included Nisha Sarang, Biju Sopanam, Vijay Babu did their roles aptly while the presence of Mia George & Chandunath barely had any relevance.

Verdict: Despite the decent theme, the movie falters in its execution.

Rating: 2/5

Samadhana Pusthakam: "This pusthakam is unlikely to give box office samadhanam for the makers!!!"

After having collaborated with Arun Jose in the role of a script writer, the duo decided to reverse roles for this flick with Raveesh Nath making his directorial debut. Along with CP Sivan, they decided to pen a story on the need of sex education rather than sweep it under the carpet & treat it as taboo which in turn led to more harm that could have been easily avoided. 

The story is set a couple of decades back when soft porn magazines were still much in demand as internet was still in its infancy. Muthalib (Irfan) along with his buddies rented out a soft porn magazine from a shop & decided to make some bucks out of it by loaning it to their classmates. However, things takes a turn when Appu (Dhanush) flicks the book from them & the news of such a magazine being circulated among the students reaches the ears of the school authorities.

There are quite a few hilarious scenes as expected & it works reasonably well in the first half. But I felt the latter half could have been much better & though the emotional sequences in the climax had an impact, the subsequent preaching didn't have much effect at all. On the performance front, almost all the youngsters did their parts well while the others such as Veena Nair (especially the climax sequence), James Eli, Siju Wilson etc. provided the adequate support. 

Verdict: Certainly provided the laughs early on, but failed to provide an effective latter half and had a rather tame end!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Kalki 2898 AD & Gaganachari: "Our film industry has certainly moved ahead in dealing with sci-fi themes!!!"

The T20 WC has come to an end while the Euros & Copa America have reached the business end of the tournament. So much so, that even though I did happen to watch some interesting sci-fi themed movies over the past couple of weeks, I didn't quite find the time to pen my opinion as to why I liked them. These include Nag Ashwin's "Kalki 2898 AD" & Arun Chandu's "Gaganachari". Whenever our Indian movies have ventured into sci-fi, more often than not; it came across as half baked & lacked convincibility. So what made these two flicks work for me???

Kalki 2898 AD: "Visually inspired from many others though creatively it had a soul of its own!!!"

One of the most awaited movie of the year was undoubtedly this flick & to be honest, I didn't have much expectations primarily because of the way majority of Prabhas's movies have shaped up after the "Baahubali" series. To do that, even the trailer looked like it was inspired from a plethora of Hollywood flicks. The only aspect that kept me interested was the stellar star cast which included Big B & Kamal Haasan and that the story was a mix of mythology and sci-fi. 

Based on the script by Ashwin in collaboration with Rutham Samar, Sai Madhav Burra & Sarawagna Kumar, the story is set in the post-apocalyptic world in 2898 AD and it is about the protection of the mother of Lord Vishnu's next avatar, Kalki in Kali Yuga. The movie unfolds in the aftermath of the Kurukshetra War where Aswathama (Big B) tries to kill Uttara's unborn son, the heir apparent to the Pandavas; with Brahmastra, to avenge their loss. However, Krishna intervenes to prevent the mishap & curses Ashwathama to roam the land until redemption comes with him taking the role of a protector for Kalki's arrival. 

This the second directorial venture that I had watched of Ashwin after "Mahanati" which I had also liked. Kudos to the manner in which he has seamlessly blended mythology with sci-fi and will undoubtedly go down as one of the the finest ever VFX/CGI Indian movie. There is no doubt that it was visually inspired from numerous movies like "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Dune", "Star Wars", "Mad Max", "Justice League", "Man of Steel" etc, the list goes on & on. Thankfully it was not just a blatant mediocre rip off but rather handled with finesse that acted as add-ons to a proper story that was engaging & awe evoking. That doesn't mean that it was all hale & hearty, as the first half had significant chunks that just beats around the bush for quite a while before it gets into the proceedings.

Kudos to the vision of Ashwin that went into the world building of Kurukshetra, Complex, Shambala etc & hats off to the dedication of the technical team which was top notch to say the least. Each & every visual aspect was done exceptionally well be it the VFX-CGI & the cinematography by Djordje Stojiljkovic. However, Santhosh Narayanan's music failed to leave a lasting impact though the BGM was impressive.

It might have been understandably marketed as a Prabhas movie but the one who steals the show is Big B. The legend was absolutely brilliant in all facets of the performance including action which was impressive considering he is 81. Another bonafide legend who made his presence felt was Kamal Haasan in a brief appearance who will take centre stage in the sequel. After numerous lack lustered performance since "Baahubali"(though I did like him in "Salaar"), Prabhas is back with a bang as Ashwin knew how to utilize his star power. Deepika puts on a praise worthy show along with Shobhana & Anna Ben (wish she had a longer role), Keerthy Suresh makes a mark with her voice as 'Bujji'. though not sure why Disha Patani was even there. There were a plethora of cameos, most of which failed to hit the mark barring one. 

Verdict: It has already grossed a 1000 C at the box office which might not essentially translate into huge profits for Vyjayanthi Movies considering the production cost was in the range of 600C. Anyway kudos to Ashwin for a well crafted movie & sets the stage for an eagerly awaited sequel!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Gaganachari: "Mockumentary that makes all the right noises!!!"

I still remember the first time I saw its poster as it had caught my eye due to its uniqueness. However, later on I forgot about it until there was news of it making news at various film festivals. This included the honour of being adjudged the best movie at the Art Blocks International Film Festival held at Copenhagen. 

This is Arun Chandu's third directorial venture & this time around as mentioned earlier has opted for a sci-fi subject that he had penned with Siva Sai. They have placed the story in a dystopian Kerala in 2043 where the planet had ceased to exist in the manner that we know. Victor Vasudevan ( ganesh Kumar) was an ex-military officer that was part of the team that had taken on the aliens when they first came to the planet. Presently, he led a peaceful retired life in a secluded building along with his nephew, Alan (Gokul Suresh) & helper, Vaibhav (Aju Varghese). Things take a turn when Vaibhav unknowingly brings home a female alien (Anarkali Marikkar) & how they manage the situation before it goes out of control is what this movie is about. 

Kudos to both Arun & Siva for pulling this off as it was no easy feat considering they had a minimalistic budget & yet had to convincingly convey to the audience about the sci-fi aspect whenever it was shown. They have intelligently focused their energies on the content which was both witty and quirky in equal measure. As per Arun, the inspiration behind it is Taika Waititi's "What We Do In The Shadows" whereby they made a concoction of Malayalam pop culture references with a liberal sprinkling of the socio-political climate, all of which provide ample moments of humour. The contribution of the technical team has to be really appreciated be it Surjith Pai's visuals, Shankar Sharma's score & Aravind Manmadhan's editing. Their work ensured that Arun's vision was executed in the best manner possible. 

The only time that I could possibly remember when Ganesh genuinely made me to laugh must be in "Manichitrathazhu" (there might be others that I cant recollect). As Victor, he was top notch & handled the humour proficiently, which I believe is undoubtedly one of his best career performances. Another person who surprised me was Gokul as he showed his capability to handle humour. At times, he did tend to go overboard but in the context of his character, I felt it was fine. Aju gives a fine performance along with Anarkali & kudos to Mallika Sukumaran's vocal presence which was a master stroke by Arun.

Verdict: It is definitely an engaging watch that keeps us in good spirits for most parts. Anyway with the makers have already announced their intention to make another flick in the same genre, "Maniyan Chittappan" with Suresh Gopi in the lead (an easter egg related to the same is shown in the movie); it could possibly herald the beginning of sensible sci-fi flicks from our industry. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Grr, Golam, Little Hearts, Once Upon a Time in Kochi, SSHP & Marivillin Gopurangal: "More thought put into titles than on the story!!!"

The monsoon has lashed the length & breadth of the state in full fury bringing some much needed respite from the torrid summer. Anyway over the past couple of weeks, there has been a few releases; some of which I had happened to watch. Well except for one, the rest were largely average or mediocre. So the question is when will the next big release come to the theatres? Seems like the answer to that could be "Kalki 2898 AD" though many of the scenes in the trailer looked like a blatant rip off of many Hollywood flicks. 

Grr: "Eww could have been a better choice of title!!!"

During it's promotions, Jay K stated that the thought for this 'survival comedy' came from an incident that unfolded in Trivandrum Zoo a few years back. This is Jay's second directorial venture after the reasonably appreciated "Ezra" & he has penned the script from the idea that was mentioned earlier. 

Regimon (Chackochan) is an entrepreneur who was in an affair with Rachana (Anagha), the daughter of a prominent politician. As one would expect, her father was against their relation due to caste & financial reasons and hence the two decided to elope. But when she didn't turn up on the decided day, Regi ends up drunk & jumps into a lion's enclosure in the zoo. The rest of the movie is about the efforts of the authorities to rescue him.

Well to be frank, apart from a few sporadic laughs; there was hardly anything worthwhile that kept the audience engaged. It felt like the sticking together of various skits that we usually come across in TV channels. Neither the main plot nor the sub-plots provided anything that was unique and that proved to be it's downfall. None of the technical aspects deserved special mention including the VFX.

Even the performances didn't have much to write home about as it was average at best, though it had more to do with the lack of material for the artists to play with. Among the cast, the only ones worth mentioning were Suraaj who tickles the funny bone with his efforts to pacify Chackochan's character, while it was refreshing to see Shruti Ramachandran in a humorous role which she handled quite well.

Verdict: It is definitely a survival comedy where the audience will struggle to survive without looking at their watches as the comedy also falls flat in numerous instances!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Golam: "Neatly crafted investigation thriller!!!"

Frankly speaking, this was a movie that I wasn't even planning to watch until I heard some positive comments about it. So I decided to check out Samjad's directorial debut where he had collaborated along with Praveen Viswanath on the script. It is essentially an investigation thriller where the MD of an IT company (Dileesh Pothan) is found dead in the washroom of the office in broad daylight. So was it a suicide or a murder & to solve the mystery, ASP Sandeep (Ranjith Sajeev) is entrusted with the case.

In terms of the plot, I would have to admit that it was well done & kept us engaged with the thought that has gone into it. Obviously, one glaring issue that I felt is that though the planning looked fine, the officer as such barely revealed anything; so essentially we don't get to see his investigation capabilities. The manner in which the crux is revealed gave the feel of a Michael Crichton type of novel but the possibility of a sequel might not be a great idea for such kind of a story as it requires high quality production value which is rarely executed properly in our industry & tended to come across as mediocre, when attempted otherwise. On the technical side, Vijay's visuals were fine & a special mention of appreciation for Mahesh Bhuvanend whose editing was impressive.

However, the same cannot be said about the performances which were average at best with the exception being Siddique, though we have seen him do such type of roles in the past. Ranjith had a chiselled torso, however his acting abilities were far from refined.

Verdict: It belongs to those category of flicks that didn't have the star power but word of mouth got it noticed & it certainly deserved that attention. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Little Hearts: "More heart required in exploring the relationships!!!"

When the promos of this flick came out, the main USP was obviously the lead pair of Shane Nigam & Mahima Nambiar after their successful combination in "RDX". This was the second directorial effort of Anto Jose Pereira & Aby Treesa Paul & they would have hoped for a much better outing than their "Member Ramesan 9aam Ward". 

Baby (Baburaj) & his son, Sibi (Shane) were the best of buddies who shared everything with each other. As Baby has been a widower for quite a while, he nursed feelings for his childhood love, Cicily (Ramya Suvi) whose husband had abandoned her & their teenage daughter, a few years back. However, with resentment about their relationship from various quarters, they weren't able to formalise it officially. It was around the same time that Sosha (Mahima) confessed her love to Sibi & before he could come to terms with it, her brother, Sharon (Shine Tom) requested his help to convince his parents of the life partner that he had met in UK. 

First & foremost, I liked the animation that were shown in the credits section as it had the finesse unlike the tackiness that we usually come across. Rajesh Pinnadan's script focused on three different relationships & the impact that it had on the people around them. It did have the potential to make it engaging for the audience without having to adopt a melodramatic track, which is what I feel they would have been confused about. The track that involved Baby & Cicily was the best among the lot, as it did have its emotional moments & gave a smile as well. As for the other two, it was inconsistent with the one that involved Shine Tom being the most under developed. The technical aspects were neatly done but not to the the extent of deserving special mention.

I dont even remember the last time when I saw Shine Tom behave in a sensible manner in a movie as it always felt like an extension of his interviews. However, over here he was well within the requirement of the character & did a decent job. Shane was ok though I felt there were inconsistencies in the manner his character was written. Ramya Suvi, Baburaj & Shammi Thilakan did a fine job while Mahima was average.

Verdict: Seemed like they were too focused on making it into a rom-com, that they forgot to invest time in establishing the adequate heft to the various tracks. 

Rating: 2/5

Once Upon a Time in Kochi: "About time Nadirshah gave serious thought about his films!!!"

The first time that I heard about this movie was when I came across Nadirshah's comments that "Kesu.." was sold to Hotstar for a barely believable 30C. I was stumped to say the least as to how such a mediocre flick bagged such a huge price. Anyway his latest release is the launchpad for Raffi's son, Mubin Raffi & with Arjun Ashokan in an equally important role; it was interesting to see how it panned out. 

Rafi is known to have helmed & penned many hilarious flicks, & hence it certainly raised expectations as this comedy thriller was based on his script. The drug menace in Kochi has been in the news for quite a while now & that is the basis on which this story is mounted. SI Anand Das (Arjun) was on a personal mission to wipe out the drug cartel that was in operation in the city. On a parallel track, Janaki (Devika Sanjay) was one of the carriers in that cartel into which Habibi (Mubin) also gets entangled in. Incidentally, both of them had feelings for each other in the past but it didnt quite work out & into that mix, Anand's family approached Devika's folks with a marriage proposal. How all of this have an effect on their lives is what this movie is about. 

So is it a comedy or a thriller? Well the truth is that it is neither & therein lies its problem, as it was not able to do justice to either of them. There were quite a few sub-plots as well, not to mention the songs that were squeezed in; none of which managed to make the movie interesting. None of the technical aspects stood out & when it came to performances, Arjun has done a decent job while Devika & Mubin were average at best. There were artists such as Riyaz Khan as a visually challenged sharp shooter (along the lines of Jagathi's character in "Vettam") & numerous others as well most of whom I dont even recollect now which is a fair indication as to how forgetful the movie was.

Verdict: It will be interesting to see how much it will get from the OTT platform. Anyway it would be fair to say that it's high time that Rafi & Nadirshah realise that the taste of audience has moved on from what it was the last time they came with movies!!!

Rating: 1/5

SSHP: "Experimentation goes overboard!!!"

When Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval announced that his latest release was a spin off from his critically & commercially appreciated "Nna Thaan Case Kodu", there was a quite bit of expectation. I do enjoy his quirky sense of humour & it seemed like with Suresh & Sumalatha's romance, he was going to push the envelope even further.

As the title indicated, it is about their romance & how Suresh (Rajesh Madhavan) tries to impress Sumalatha's father (Sudheesh) for her hand. Since her father was a huge fan of dramas, Suresh decides to direct one & the events that happen as a result of that is what this movie is about. Though it is not a political satire, I feel that is one area that it manages to throw the punches with effect while the romance did not quite have the impact what it had in "NTCK". The romantic track is depicted in three different timelines & that I felt made it confusing for me, as the conviction & logical reasoning did not come across as organic. 

On the technical side, it was neatly done be it the art department, Sabin Uralikandy's cinematography & Sushin Shyam's music. Coming to performances, Sudheesh rocked while Rajesh & Chitra did their parts well, while the rest of the cast did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Maybe it might turn out to be a cult classic after a few years, but for now; it felt like Ratheesh went overboard with experimentation & lost track of the need for the audience to warm up to it!!!

Rating: 2/5

Marivillin Gopurangal: "A pale shadow of that iconic song!!!"

Is there any Malayali who haven't heard Vidayasagar's melodious songs from "Summer in Bethlehem" which included the iconic track 'Marivillin Gopurangal'? I doubt so. Hence when Kokers Media Entertainment decided to launch their latest production with that title along with Vidyasagar, it felt like they wanted to turn back the clock & replicate the success. With Arun Bose helming the project on a subject that he had penned with Pramod Mohan & a solid cast, it did seem like they had the recipe for success.

Shinto (Indrajith) & Sherin (Shruti Ramachandran) had been married for a while now but weren't ready to step into parenthood despite pressure from family & friends. Shinto was a budding film maker who was waiting for his first major break while Sherin ran a nursery & that took care of their financial struggles. It was around this time that Shinto's brother, Rony (Sarjano Khalid) came to their home with his pregnant girlfriend, Meenakshi (Vincy Aloshious), who was reluctant to get married. The rest of the movie is about the effect that all of this had on the life of both the couples. 

Arun Bose has certainly touched upon a topic that has gained relevance over the past decade or so, be it the reluctance of couples to have a child, decision to become single parent etc. It was a decent watch on the whole though it doesn't make us feel invested with the characters. More than the actual story, what stood out was the chemistry between the artists especially between Indrajith & Shruti. Both of them did their parts well & they were supported by Sarjano & Vincy despite the latter being over the top at times which felt rather artificial. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the music which was quite average while Syamaprakash's cinematography was in sync with the mood.

Verdict: Despite the presence of a talented cast, the script fails to do justice to their talent!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben