With the monsoons having started to lash across the length & breadth of the state after a torrid summer, there were a trio of releases last weekend hoping to cash in prior to the commencement of the academic year. As per box office reports, Vysakh's "Turbo" seems on course to recover the costs despite it's high production costs. So is it indeed so good & does the other two stand a chance???
Turbo: "A classic cliché salvaged by performances & Vysakh's skills!!!"
Over the past couple of years, Mammookka's choice of scripts has been top notch irrespective of whichever genre it belonged to. However, to be honest; there was one choice that I was most sceptical about & it happened to be his latest release. The primary reason for that was Vysakh whose action flicks predominantly had that standard template which was predictable from a mile away though I do accept that his film making skills in majority of the cases made it an engaging theatrical experience.
For a change, this time around he has joined hands with Midhun Manuel Thomas instead of Udaykrishna & that gave the hope that the template would be much better. The protagonist, 'Turbo' Jose (Mammookka) who hailed from Idukki had a habit of getting drawn into fights. The latest issue that involved Indhulekha (Anjana Jayaprakash) who was in love with his friend, Jerry (Shabareesh Varma) found him having to flee to Chennai. However, as one would expect he found himself in a bigger problem as Jerry & Indhu's lives were threatened by the kingmaker, Vetrivel Shanmugha (Raj B Shetty).
Did Midhun actually even write a script for this or did Udaykrishna ghost write it? There is not even the semblance of a credible storyline as events unfold just like the numerous other similar genre movies that we have seen in the past. There is mention of an act that Vetrivel does which reminded me of Mithran's "Irumbu Thirai" that I happened to watch on Mazhavil Manorama sometime back. Actually, if they had focused on that aspect rather than merely mention it; I personally believe it would have made the movie engaging & impactful. Apart from a brief touch on Jose's bond with his mother, there is hardly anything that emotionally binds us to the characters. Despite all these shortcomings, Vysakh still manages to keep the ship afloat primarily with his skills and the support of his talented crew. Kudos to the action choreography & visual department handled by Phoenix Prabhu & Vishnu Sarma respectively, both of whom were impressive. The same also applies to a certain degree to Christo Xavier's BGM & Shameer Muhammad's editing.
On the performance front, it is a role that barely challenged Mammookka as a performer but the action sequences required him to put in a lot of hard work & it was there for all to see. The legend was top notch in those sequences & continues to prove that age is just a number. Raj B Shetty is an artist that needs no introduction & it was unfortunate to see him be given such a poorly etched character. However, he made that character shine through with his skills & convincingly gave that villainous aura. Bindu Panicker stood out with some of her dialogues, Shabareesh did his part aptly while Anjana, despite the screen time didnt have much to do. Sunil as Auto Billa was wasted & could have been dispensable, as he reminded me of his mannerisms in "Jailer" while Kabir Duhan was damn good.
Verdict: It is always a pleasure to see movies do good business at the box office. But it is undeniable that Midhun's script was mediocre & it still managed to garner credible footfalls primarily because of Vysakh's film making skills & Mammookka as well as Raj's performance!!!
Rating: 2/5
Thalavan: "Jis Joy makes a promising transition to other genre!!!"
Whenever Jis Joy's name is mentioned, the first impression that most will have about him is that he is the brand ambassador of 'feel good' movies. Though he tried to break away from that mold with his previous movie "Innale Vare" it failed to impress the audience. Hopefully his latest directorial venture will have more takers as he collaborated with Anand Thevarkkat & Sarath Perumbavoor, for their maiden script.
Rtd DySP Udayabhanu (Dileesh Pothan) was doing a talk show in a channel where he spoke about the sensational cases that he was involved in (along the lines of 'Charithram Ennillode' in Safari TV). One of them happened to involve two cops, CI Jayashankar (Biju Menon) & SI Karthik (Asif Ali) who were at loggerheads coz of their egos. Things take a turn when Jayashankar becomes a murder suspect & Karthik is put in charge of the investigation. So can Jayashankar expect justice in such a scenario???
First & foremost, kudos to both Anand & Sarath as it definitely had an intriguing plot that kept us hooked until the very end. The character arc given to the artists were impressive as that provided much of the effect but in terms of the knockout punch in the end, it was rather lukewarm. There is no doubt that Jis Joy has done a fine job in executing it well & kudos to him for that while the technical aspects were also executed reasonably well.
Both Biju Menon & Asif Ali have done a fine job in their respective roles with Dileesh Pothan providing decent support. Bilas Chandrahasan was impressive along with Kottayam Naseer though the latter reminded me of his role in "Anweshippin Kandethum". As for the rest, Miya George, Anusree & Joji John did their parts aptly while Jaffer Idukki was wasted in an insignificant role.
Verdict: Though it would not be a thalavan at the box office (didn't quite understand the thought behind that title), it certainly has the substance to keep us engaged. In short, do check it out!!!
Rating: 3/5
Mandakini: "Seems like the makers were intoxicated as well!!!"
The third movie of the week were from a bunch of debutants as Vinod Leela chose to picturise the script that were penned by the duo, Shiju Bhaskaran & Shalu. If "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil" was the hungama leading upto the marriage, over here it is about the post marriage fiasco that unfolds in the first night. The couple in focus were Aromal (Althaf Salim) & Ambili (Anarkali Marikar), and the issues unfold when the latter unknowingly downs a glass of Mandakini, an intoxicating drink that one of the guests had brought as part of the celebrations.
To be fair to the makers, they had an idea on paper but failed to flesh it out properly. So much so, I believe there was a significant deal of improvisation in the dubbing stage. The situations created managed to create sparse laughs but apart from that nothing else quite managed to get my attention.
On the technical aside, none of them deserves special mention. As for performances, Vineeth Thattil tickles the funny bone while Saritha Kukku (as Rajalakshmi) was good as well. The lead pair of Althaf & Anarkali were fine, while Ganapathi, Jaffer Idukki, Aswathy Sreekanth etc supported well.
Verdict: The aliyan bromance evokes laughs & did have a couple of light moments, but on the whole it didn't have adequate content!!!
Rating: 1.5/5
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