Less than a month left for the year to get over & with some big banner releases lined up for release in December, it was curious to see whether there was any interesting projects prior to it. I happened to watch quite a few flicks over the past weeks & some of them were quite worthwhile. Though there is still indecision regarding the venue for the Champions Trophy, there was no confusion among the audience about the fate of these movies.
Sookshamadarshini: "Smart deception by the makers about what is in store eventually!!!"
There was quite a buzz in the lead up to this latest release from Jithin M.C primarily because it marked the return of Nazriya onto the screen after a hiatus which also had Basil Joseph, who is on a purple patch. The promotions gave the impression that it was a fun flick & that I have to admit was a smart ploy as it kept the audience guessing pretty much for most parts.
The movie unfolds in a close knot neighbourhood where Manuel (Basil) & his mother, Grace (Manohari Joy) had recently moved into their property after many years. The decision to come back was primarily because Manuel wanted to take care of his mother who had health issues. One of their neighbour was Priya (Nazriya) who had a keen eye for detail, & something about Manuel's demeanour didn't seem quite right to her. Though her husband, Antony (Deepak Parambol) tried to dissuade her from putting too much of thought into it, her investigative instincts got the better of her & she decided to dig into it further after roping in the support of her friends. So was Manuel actually up to something???
This is Jithin's second directorial venture after "Nonsense" & he has penned the script with Athul Ramachandran and Libin T.B working on the screenplay. The strength of the movie is undoubtedly the screenplay as it kept us engaged by indicating that there is certainly something mysterious and along with Priya, we also go about trying to piece the puzzle together. At the same time, with humour also sprinkled liberally, we are distracted from working through the reason for the mystery until it reaches the very end & we are left a tad surprised by what is revealed (I certainly was). Christo Xavier's BGM was impressive as it provided heft to the suspense while Chaman Chakko deserves praise for the seamless edits.
Basil continues to shine in whichever role he appears & it is no different here as well as it involved balancing the seriousness with the humour which he has done well. Nazriya has done a fine job as well especially in the latter half with Akhila Bhargavan & Pooja Mohanraj giving her able support (the duo's sequence in Manuel's house was top notch), while Merin Philip was also ok, though her role didn't have much note worthy moments despite the screen time. As for the rest of the cast, Manohari Joy's role was quite unconventional, the decision to cast Siddharth Bharathan was damn smart while Deepak Parambol, Kottayam Ravi etc did their parts aptly.
Verdict: Undoubtedly, one of the best movies of the year & kudos to Jithin for his deception and execution. Do check it out!!!
Rating: 3.5/5
Hello Mummy: "Interesting premise that failed to punch its weight the whole way through!!!"
If we look into this year's major Bollywood box office successes, one thing that stands out is the fact that the audience had warmed to the horror comedy genre with flicks like "Stree 2" & "Bhool Bhulaiya 3" laughing their way to the bank. It may or may not have been a cue for Vaishakh Elans, who made his directorial debut in this genre with the script penned by Sanjo Joseph.
Boney (Sharafudeen) hailed from an affluent family who was not keen on a marital relation as he felt that it would be an inconvenience to the freedom that he enjoyed as a bachelor. However, when his brother-in-law brings the alliance of Stephy (Aishwarya Lekshmi), who was academically inclined unlike him, he has a change of heart. In due time, they warm up to each other but there was one major issue & that was the spirit of Stephy's mother being with her even though she had passed away more than a couple of decades back. But Boney assured her that he would still like to tie the knot with her (as he did not believe what she said). Little did he realise that it was indeed true.
It was certainly an interesting thread & Vaishakh made sure that the humour angle was fleshed out especially in the post marital segment. But the last act goes down a predictable route of black magic & the drama which was not quite to the mark though I felt that the choice of antagonist was good. Vaishakh could have amped up the horror aspect over there to make it impactful but unfortunately it was quite watered down. Chaman's edits in his second release of the week was decent while the VFX and Praveen Kumar's visuals were impressive right throughout and in sync with the mood.
There is no doubt that the movie worked for a large extent due to the choice of Sharafudeen as the antagonist who was top notch in the manner that he handled humour. The veterans in the form of Jagadish & Johny Antony gave credible support while Aishwarya was average at best. Sunny Hinduja did justice in his role and was an excellent choice, though his role wasn't adequately explored. As for the rest of the cast, Bindu Panicker, Aju Varghese etc did their parts aptly though their roles required better writing.
Verdict: It certainly provides the laughs and did have an interesting thread to narrate, though it takes a familiar track towards the end. Despite the predictability, it doesn't test our patience unlike many of the other horror comedies that we usually come across!!!
Rating: 2.25/5
Anand Sreebala: "Vishnu shows promise in his debut directorial venture!!!"
Just like "Hello Mummy", this is another movie in which the mother plays a prominent role in the form of a spirit or rather the figment of imagination of the protagonist. The movie is the directorial debut of Vishnu Vinay, the son of the veteran director Vinayan & he had joined hands with Abhilash Pillai who had written the story which was undoubtedly inspired from the 2017 Mishel Shaji case.
Yet another person was reported missing & this time around it was Merin Joy (Malavika Manoj) whose whereabouts couldn't be traced by her frantic parents. They sought the help of the police & it eventually led to locating her dead which was concluded as a suicide, that the parents refused to believe. A few months later, Sreebala (Aparna Das), a TV journalist decided to take up this case as part of her crime file show and sought the help of her boyfriend, Anand (Arjun Ashokan) who was an aspiring police officer. Soon enough, he finds loopholes in the investigation & raised queries about it. So what had made him to believe that it was a murder???
The idea of having the mother as a presence around Anand was interesting & how it helped him put together some of the clues was intriguing. But it isn't explored much apart from the initial flourish and what we get to see is that character pop in and out for no particular reason. The investigation showcased was pretty decent & Vishnu's direction did indicate that he is not a green horn at it. On the whole, I felt the story was ok but it doesn't provide anything in terms of unique twists or turns. The technical aspects were handled well be it Vishnu Narayanan's cinematography, Kiran Das's editing & Ranjin Raj's music.
Even though the writing could have been better for the characters, the artists who performed those roles had done their parts quite well. It starts off with Arjun Ashokan who deserves praise for his work as the talented investigator that had emotional issues. Saiju Kurup did his part well along with Malavika Manoj while the rest of the cast such as Aparna Das, Siddique etc did their parts aptly.
Verdict: A pretty decent effort from a debutant director as well as from the cast who are led down to a large extent by the screenplay which lacked the drama to elevate the viewing experience.
Rating: 2/5
I am Kathalan: "An engaging flick on hacking!!!"
As part of the promotions, Girish A D had mentioned that this flick was completed more than a couple of years back but couldn't be released due to some financial issues. So much so, it was supposed to be the first movie to have Naslen as the lead but ended up releasing much later, by which time he has made himself an bankable star at the box office.
Vishnu (Naslen) is introduced as one who is least bothered about his career with quite a few supple papers though he was worried that he risked losing his girlfriend, Shilpa (Anishma Anilkumar) if he didn't get a job. On the other hand, Shilpa decided to move ahead with her career by joining as the IT lead in her father's finance company. She was far from impressed with his irresponsible attitude & suggests that it is better off for both of them to put an end to their relationship. It was a decision that Vishnu was not willing to accept & when her father insults him when they cross paths, he vows to wreck havoc with his hacking skills.
More often than not, most Indian movies fail when they deal with such kind of techno thrillers as they either make it over the top with a lot of unnecessary jargons of which they neither have much idea nor able to convey properly. This is where Sajin Cherukayil has played his cards well as the story is grounded and the technical stuff that Vishnu deals with is explained in an understandable manner. Another interesting aspect is the casting of Lijomol Jose as an ethical hacker, though I felt her portions required more detailing. The reaction of the protagonist to the humiliation that he faced & the things that he did as a response of that was effectively handled by Girish. Among the technical crew, Akash Joseph's editing was fine while the others also put in their effort.
Coming to performances, Naslen has done a fine job along with Anishma and Lijomol. Dileesh Pothen was effective while the usual troupe of artists in Girish's movies such as Vineeth Vasudevan, Sajin & Vineeth Viswam did their parts aptly.
Verdict: A sensible flick on hacking that is grounded and relatable.
Rating: 2.5/5
