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
No comments:
Post a Comment