L2: Empuraan: "Visually impressive but lacks narrative depth!!!"

Finally the most awaited Malayalam movie of the year has hit the screens in a manner that was reminiscent of the tsunami. The pre-release ticket sales threw up some astonishing numbers and all that contributed to a historic global box office opening of around 65C. With Eid falling on Monday, the extended weekend should have Aashirvad Cinemas & Sree Gokulam Movies reasonably confident about their returns in investment. But the question is whether the movie has the substance to sustain this excitement beyond the weekend, after the initial hype abates???

The movies unfolds in 2002 where communal riots led to the massacre of many Muslims which included Zayed's family (Karthikeya Dev) as well. The attacks were orchestrated by Balraj (Abhimanyu Singh) & his brother, Munna (Sukant Goel), with Zayed being the only one who managed to escape from the horrific mass slaughter. In the present day, Jatin Ramdas (Tovino Thomas) who had been the CM for close to a term found himself embroiled in numerous scams and financial irregularities. To add to that, a prominent political party with roots predominantly in North India decided to make their presence felt in Kerala. In this bleak situation, Govardhan (Indrajith) tries to locate Stephen (Lalettan) to seek help. 

First & foremost, this is undoubtedly the finest Malayalam movie in terms of the production quality. Hats off to Prithvi for the way he has mounted this flick as it embodied grandeur. It definitely deserves to be watched on the big screens & the main reason for that are the exquisite frames captured by Sujit Vasudev. The action sequences were brilliantly staged especially the one in the jungle though the climactic one felt rather outdated (& in a way, reminded me of "Jilla"). As for Deepak Dev's music, it was quite underwhelming for most parts with the BGM at times failing to enhance the high moments. 

However, irrespective of the canvas, the backbone of any movie is the script & to be honest, I was quite disappointed with what Murali Gopi came up with. The focus of the movie is on two aspects, one being Khureshi Abraam & the other, Stephen Nedumpally. Coming to Khureshi, the character was explored superficially with focus more on aesthetics rather than heft in the conflict that he had with other nexus. As for Stephen, though there was more meat to proceedings, many of the sequences & dialogues felt more like a rehashed version from the prequel. In effect, it failed to evoke as many high moments as expected. In terms of content, Kerala politics,  international nexus, backstory & reason for change of certain integral characters made it feel like there was more adequate stuff to make it a delightful treat. But the truth is Murali has failed to gel it convincingly. 

Coming to performances, Lalettan was impressive & did what was possible within the scope of the character though it didn't give him much opportunity to perform as such. He effortlessly carried the swag & the aura that the character demanded and owned the action sequences. Both Prithvi & his younger avatar, Karthikeya did their parts aptly.  Abhimanyu & Sukant were both impressive in their negative avatar while Jerome Flynn as Boris had a significant role and did justice to it. Manju Warrier had more scope to perform and did her part aptly along with Tovino. There were numerous others also but most of them barely had adequate screen time or character arc to showcase their ability.

Verdict: There is no doubt that the movie deserves a watch & that too in the theatres. However, the weak storyline could certainly hamper the potential that it could otherwise have had. Anyway it will certainly inspire other makers from our industry to dream big & hopefully, Murali will have a banger script in L3!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Bromance, Painkili & Daveed: "Interesting mix though the returns continue to be meagre!!!"

This Valentine's Day saw a trio of releases which as expected was catered towards the youth (I guess most movies are isn't it). The response to all three of them was varied & that was reflected in the box office report that the producers association had published. So how did it turn out for me???

Bromance: "Breezy comedy that thrived coz of performances!!!"

In the span of a couple of movies like "Jo & Jo" & "18+", Arun D Jose has made a name for himself with his flicks that focused on humour & youth. In his latest venture, the focus is on Binto (Mathew Thomas) who was in the lookout for his elder brother, Shinto (Shyam Mohan) who had disappeared without a trace. Apparently, Shinto was the darling in the family & spoke of with high regard by people who knew him. In contrast, Binto was quite the opposite and detested the comparison, though the brothers shared a tight bond. Binto came out about his brother's missing from the latter's friend, Shabeer (Arjun Ashokan) who presumed that it could be because of the breakup with Aishu (Mahima Nambiar). Their search was assisted by Hari (Sangeeth Prathap), a hacker & it also led them to another potential suspect, Courier Babu (Kalabhavon Shajon). So, who was actually responsible???

It is a fun filled flick that does have quite a few genuinely hilarious sequences though the plot as such isn't substantial. In a way it had the feel of a "Hangover" and the major part of the credit for making the movie enjoyable goes to the technical aspects in giving the necessary feel and appearance to the frames. Kudos to Govind Vasantha's music. Akhil George's colourful frames & Chaman Chacko's seamless editing gives the necessary vibe that the movie required. 

Coming to performances, Sangeeth Prathap was top notch with his counter dialogues and expressions. Mahima was quite impressive and is given equal screen space as the rest of the gang which consisted of Mathew, Arjun & Kalabhavan Shajon, all of whom did their parts adequately. 

Verdict: It delivers what it promised in the promos and i.e. a full filled flick.

Rating: 2.5/5

Painkili: "Heart attack is unavoidable for the producers!!!"

When the makers had released the 'heart attack' track on YouTube, I would have to admit that I was genuinely impressed with the way Sreejith Babu in his directorial debut had picturized it. Actually that was the main reason why I decided to check it out & also because it was Jithu Madhavan who had penned the script. Little did I realize that the sole positive was that song.

Well it barely had a proper story & the screenplay worked in certain sequences in the initial parts of the movie. It is essentially about a girl, Sheeba (Anaswara) who was constantly trying to elope in order to avoid the alliance that her parents had found for her. During one such instance, she gets to meet Suku (Sajin Gopu) who was faking insanity to obtain a medical certificate that will be his ticket to freedom from a legal issue. Whether they eventually end up being together is what the story is about.

Apart from what I had mentioned earlier, I dont have anything to add as the movies gets irritating after a point of time. The humour was forced for most parts and the performances from both Anaswara & Sajin were fine in the portions they behaved normally but when it required them to put in eccentricity, then it was quite mediocre. Roshan Shanavas (as Paachan) & Jisma Vimal (as Suma) were good while Abu Salim, Chandu etc. were also ok. 

Verdict: Jithu's script is the sole reason for the failure as it barely had any content for the artists to perform to. In short, check out the song but as for the movie, forget it!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Daveed: "Decently made though the story as such lacked the punch!!!"

Being a sports buff apart from being a cinephile, I have always loved sports dramas but it's a genre that is not easy to make due to the predictability in its template. In most instances it would be about an underdog who rise up against the odds in the final act. This is pretty much the template that Govind Vishnu has chosen for his directorial debut which he had penned in the company of Deepu Rajeevan. 

Their protagonist is Aashiq Abu (Antony Varghese), a lazy dude who occasionally worked as a bouncer in celebrity functions. The family was taken care of by his wife, Sherin (Lijomol Jose) who was fed up with his irresponsible nature even though for their daughter, he was a hero. Life takes as a turn when he is called in as a bouncer for a function to felicitate the World Boxing Champion, Sainul Akhmadov (Mo Ismail). But it eventually turned into a tussle between the two of them with Sainul challenging him to a match. 

It is your typical standard generic story that failed to produce any unique element that we haven't seen in such movies in the past. The protagonist has that mental trauma/inhibition due to a past incident & how he manages to overcome that to take up the latest challenge with the help of a seasoned coach who prepares his ward with an array of unorthodox methods (sounds familiar, well that's not surprising). Despite the predictability, I enjoyed the manner in which the boxing match was staged and the action choreography associated with it. The technical aspects were fine with Salu Thomas's cinematography in the climax deserving special mention.

Among the cast, Vijayaraghavan was spot on as expected while Antony's performance was decent with the physicality that he provided to the character being quite impressive. Mo Ismail did justice to his part while Lijomol, Saiju Kurup etc did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Predictability was the primary issue with the story, however Govind has still managed to take it reasonably well especially in the latter half!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

 

Ponman, Officer on Duty, Get Set Baby & Machante Maalakha: "A couple manage to impress!!!"

Almost the end of the first quarter of 2025 & despite the insane number of releases, the ones that were worth our time has been far & few. Among the present lot that I have penned my opinion about, there are a couple of them that belonged to the category that I was referring to earlier. So which were those???

Ponman: "Man..this was engrossing in terms of treatment & performances!!!"

This was a movie that I have been waiting to watch for quite a while & finally managed to do so when it came on the OTT platform. Ever since I had seen the trailer, I would have to admit that I was intrigued coz of the subject it was dealing with and the cast that were chosen for it. In addition, though it might across as a rather silly reason for others, the fact that it was shot in our Kollam from where I hail from had me really interested.

Over the past few years, G R Indugopan is a name that many cinephiles would have heard so (in case they haven't read his novels) as quite a few of his novels were adapted into movies such as "Oru Thekkan Thallu Case", "Kaapa" etc. This is the latest to be added to that list as it was adapted from his novel, "Naalanchu Cheruppkar" & he has worked on the screenplay along with Justin Mathew. This also happened to be the directorial debut of noted art director Jotish Shankar & the core subject that it deals with is dowry but from a different perspective.  

The movie unfolds in Kollam where Bruno (Anand Manmadhan), a suspended political worker was desperately trying to arrange cash to purchase gold for his sister, Steffi's wedding (Lijomol) to Mariyano (Sajin Gopu). This is when he was introduced to Ajesh (Basil Joseph), an agent who provided gold in advance on the agreement that the money would be paid up with the gifts that the couples received. However, Steffi's family weren't able to honour the agreement leaving Ajesh in pursuit of what turned out to be a monumental task to retrieve what belonged to him. 

The screenplay was impressive & the character arc that was given to each and every character was top notch. It gets gripping by the minute as the character shades keeps changing and yet we get to understand the standpoint as to why the main characters behave in the manner they did. The events are kept grounded and there is no overdosage of melodrama, and one aspect that many movies struggle with nowadays is the placement of songs, which doesn't happen here with the track and the BGM by Justin Varghese gelling quite well. As for other technical aspects, Sanu John's cinematography deserves praise while Nidhin Raj maintained the pace quite well.

This is undoubtedly, one of Basil's best performances to date as it gave him opportunity to try something quite different from what we are used to & he has excelled at it. Lijomol continues to feature in movies that gives her space to showcase her talent while Sajin did his part equally well. In the few characters that Anand had portrayed till now, more often than not he has managed to grab our attention and after having watched him in 'Love Under Construction' last week, this role was another good addition to his resume. As for the rest of the cast, Sandhya Rajendren, Deepak Parambol etc. provided adequate support.

Verdict: Kudos to Jotish as this is certainly one of the best movie that has released this year courtesy of impressive performances and an engaging screenplay!!!

Rating: 3.75/5

Officer on Duty: "The officer in Shahi continues to churn out much sought after thrillers!!!"

Who do you think among the active professionals pens the best police investigation thrillers in Malayalam movies? If I had to answer that, then it would be Shahi Kabir without a shadow of doubt with movies like "Joseph" & "Nayattu" to his credit. His latest work is directed by Jithu Ashraf who is making his debut behind the camera after having assisted in a handful of worthy movies. For starters, you might recollect as the sadist Brother Samson in "Iratta".

CI Hari (Chackochan) is a tough cop who was hot headed which also contributed to him being demoted. The audience gets a glimpse of his intimidating nature and aggression in the first scene itself with the way he deals with the suspect of a chain robbery case. The sequence of events which forms the crux of the movie begins when he receives the complaint that Chandrababu (Jagadish), a KSRTC conductor had tried to mortgage an imitation gold chain. This investigation led to a series of dark secrets which in due time also found his family getting entangled in it. 

Jithu has executed the story with a fair bit of tempo and that keeps us engaged as events unfold quite quickly. Despite the usual stereotype of drug snorting youngsters from Bangalore, I did like the thought that Shahi had put into each character rather than shade them just as black & white. There are reasons as to why those negative shade characters behaved in that manner while the characters on the opposite side also had ample shades of grey. in effect, the script as such is not upto the quality of his previous work but the fast paced screenplay makes up for it. The action sequences were neatly choreographed by retaining its raw feel but not resorting to goriness. All the technical aspects were neatly executed be it Roby Varghese's cinematography, Chaman Chakko's cuts and the reliable Jakes Bejoy's BGM. 

As always of us are aware, Chackochan choice of movies over the past few years has been impressive and as Hari, he was top notch as the body language was quite unlike from his other roles. Giving him adequate support was the talented Priyamani, who featured in a role that gave her scope to perform. Jagadish impressed as has been the trend for quite a with his character selection while the rest of the cast such as Vishak Nair (as Savio), Ramzan etc did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Yet another winning script from Shahi and well executed by Jithu. It also made waves at the box office as Martin Prakatt continues to grow in stature as a producer who invests in movies that does have content!!!

Rating: 3/5

Get Set Baby: " The script needed to be adequately fertilized!!!"

After the highs of "Marco", Unni Mukundan was back with a light hearted drama which focused on delivering babies rather than taking their lives as in his previous release. The shots were called by Vinay Govind after a hiatus whose last flick was "Kohinoor" about a decade back. As for the story, it was borne out of the creation of YV Rajesh & Anoop Ravindran, and is essentially about the personal and professional life of a gynaecologist.

The movie follows the journey of Arjun (Unni) from his childhood to eventually becoming a celebrated gynaecologist. His empathetic nature & sincerity in his profession made him quickly climb the ladder of success. At the same time, his arrogance & ego grew as well which threatened to affect his relationships & everything that he had worked hard for. 

Though Ajay Pulickal's frames did give that feel good vibe, the story as such failed to do justice what it had set out to do. The primary issue for that is the various genres and topics that it tried to tackle within the two hour run time without focusing on any of them significantly. In effect, the whole thing felt rushed and we do not actually get emotionally invested in the protagonist. Unni's performance in the initial segment was fine but when the emotional aspects kicks in, he certainly struggles in his diction and body language. A the same time, Nikhila Vimal handled those sequences much better. In the supporting cast, both Sudheesh & Surabhi did their parts well along with Ganga Meera, though I felt that character could have been written much better. 

Verdict: It's a feel good flick that does bring a smile in certain segments but failed to stamp its identity unlike a "Mimi", "Vishesham" etc. In short, it had potential for much more!!!

Rating: 2/5

Machante Maalakha: "Felt more like a Malayalam soap opera!!!"

Just like Vinay Govind, it's been quite a while since Boban Samuel had worn the director's hat with the last enjoyable flick from him being "Romans" which was more than a decade back. The script by Ajeesh Thomas based on a story by Jexson Antony is essentially a gender reversed domestic conflict with the protagonists being Sajeevan (Soubin Shahir) & Bijimol (Namitha Pramod). 

The movie unfolds with Sajeevan, a KSRTC conductor & Bijimol getting into a couple of conflicts over a series of misunderstandings. But in due time, they warm up to each other & decide to tie the knot, though her mother, Kunjumol (Shanthi Krishna) laid down the condition that he would need to live in  their home. This was just the beginning, as he was forced to make other compromises to make their relationship work with Bijimol turning out to be quite self centred. 

I presume you would have understood by now as to why I meant it felt like a soap opera as it was that typical outdated storyline that we had come across so often in the past. The unpredictable behavioural changes in Bijimol and the lack of adequate heft in any of the conflicts fails to keep us engaged. Even the casting didnt help the cause as Soubin & Namitha barely had any chemistry between them while Shanthi Krishna's hamming was irritating to say the least. The only saving grace in the performances was Dileesh Pothan & Vineeth Thattil while Dhyan Sreenivasan featured yet again in a flick for no obvious purpose.

Verdict: No point in lamenting that producers are losing money, since stories like these dont even deserve a watch even on TV.

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben

Pravinkoodu Shappu, Ennu Swantham Punyalan, Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal & Oru Jaathi Jaathakam: "Most have failed to survive as long as their titles!!!"

The Malayalam film industry is in yet another crisis with the Producers Association slamming many of the actors & technicians for their exorbitant salaries and the lack of support from the State Government. Their views were based on the losses that most of the movies incurred at the box office. Anyway it is a topic for discussion for a later time, but many of them barely had a relevant storyline & most were barely marketed due to which the audience were not even aware that such flicks released. Over the past month or so, I did happen to watch a couple of them & this is what I felt about them.

Pravinkoodu Shappu: "Interesting blend of intrigue & black humour!!!"

Over the past year or so, Basil Joseph has steadily build on his reputation as a reliable actor & there has been quite a few back to back releases in recent times. His latest flick was helmed by the debutant, Sreeraj Sreenivasan & with Anwar Rasheed bankrolling the project, I was keen to check it out. With Sreeraj also opting for an investigative thriller, the question was how was his story going to be any different from the others. 

The movie is set in Thrissur where a suicide was reported inside a toddy shop with the victim being its owner, Komban Babu (Shivajith). SI Santhosh (Basil) who had recently taken charge was entrusted with the investigation & his sleuthing skills convinced him that it was a murder. With Babu having an frictional relationship with many, it did seem like a valid argument but the probability of pulling it off seemed questionable as it happened while they were many in the shop. So who was the culprit & what was the motive behind it?

There is no doubt that the manner in which Sreeraj had constructed the plot, it does arouse our attention & kept us invested in it. The backstory of each of the characters are revealed with the intention that it would create diversions for the audience & to a certain extent it manages to do that. The drawback or rather what prevented it in becoming a wholesome experience for me was the inability to create that surprise element in the end as the plan as such felt a bit too far fetched. The technical aspects were neatly executed such as Shyju Khalid's cinematography & Vishnu Vijay's music.

On the performance front, Basil continued to impress with his choice of roles and over here as Santhosh, we do see him balance humour and seriousness with ease. Giving him adequate support was Soubin Shahir who effectively conveyed the vulnerabilities and inner turmoil of the character. It's been quite a while since Chandini had featured in a movie & as Merinda, the way she portrays the mood variation was praise worthy. Shivajith was an apt casting choice while Chemban didnt have much to do despite the screen space.

Verdict: It's belongs to those list of movies that falls short of what it could have achieved. However, the performances & black humour on offer, makes it a decent watch.

Rating: 2.5/5

Ennu Swantham Punyalan: "Even Punyalan would not have been impressed!!!"

With numerous movies getting released every other week, it is imperative that the makers come up with stories that manage to keep the audience interested. It does no imply that the story has been unique but rather they need to craft it such a manner that it has freshness in its execution. Unfortunately, Manesh Madhu failed to achieve that with Samji Antony's script in his directorial debut. 

The movie is about Fr. Thomas (Balu Varghese) who was forced to take up priesthood by his family. He was recently moved to a new parish as a punishment transfer & that's where he was faced with the situation of having to protect a girl, Meera (Anaswara Rajan) who had sought refuge in his quarters. Soon enough, they were joined by a thief (Arjun Ashokan) who had also hid there to escape from the public. So how does Fr. Thomas manage to get himself out of this mess is what this movie is about.

Just like many other movies that dealt with priests & churches such as "Romans", it also had a familiar feel to it. The only aspect that felt unique was the history of the cross in the parish but that angle was touched upon quite superficially. None of the other elements managed to keep me engaged & it was quite predictable to be honest. From a performance stand point, Balu has done a decent job along with Arjun who seemed to be in that Charlie/Romancham mode in many sequences while Anaswara felt like a miscast. 

Verdict: It neither tested my patience nor did it have any engaging content that we haven't seen in the past!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal: "Strong performances shoulder this family drama!!!"

When I first heard the title of this movie, it didnt come across as something that tempted me to check it out. But the presence of three fine artists as the protagonists apart from this being Sharan Venugopal's directorial debut who had already made a name for himself by having won the best film for family values at the 67th National Film Awards, was ample invitation to watch it. 

The movie had already garnered quite a bit of critical acclaim with Sharan's story touching upon the relationship dynamics between the three brothers who were meeting each other after a long time. Apparently, the youngest Bhaskar (Suraj Venjaramood) had severed ties with his family after he went against their wishes and married a Muslim. However, with their mother supposedly on her death bed, the brothers bury the hatchet and come together. 

Sharan's has penned the story in such a manner whereby the focus is on the myriad of emotions that each of the characters go through. It is a social commentary of the times that we live in and a mirror of the type of people that we are as a result of incidents that shaped us. The eldest brother, Vishwanathan (Alencier) comes across as an arrogant and regressive individual, while Sethu (Joju George) is put down occasionally by the others as being a failed & mentally deranged individual, though he seemed to be the most sane compared to the others. Similarly, the relationship between the cousins & Bhaskar with his wife all showcase the different aspects of relationships and mindsets. At the same time, to be honest it failed to keep me engaged as it stayed at the same pitch right throughout.

For a movie of this template, the artists have to do the bulk of the lifting and hence the choice of artists is important. All the protagonists have done their part well with Joju obviously being the most likeable among the three with Alencier & Suraj doing justice to their roles. However, I would rate Garggi Ananthan (as Athira) a tad higher as the movie as such is not dialogue driven but rather rely more on expressions and ability to convey their emotions which she did well. Thomas Mathew as Nikhil was fine along with Shelly Kishore though Sajitha Madathil oscillated from being average to mediocre.

Verdict: Though the artists did their parts well, the story as such failed to keep me engaged after a while!!!

Rating: 2/5 

Oru Jaathi Jathakam: "Leaves us in splits in many sequences!!!"

It's been quite a while since we had a genuinely hilarious movie that doesn't have to seek the help of double meaning to leave us in splits. One such movie that I would slot into that category is M Mohanan's latest flick that focuses on a 38 year old guy who is trying to get hitched. With Rakesh Mantodi penning the script, I was certainly hopeful after all I had enjoyed his work in "Thira" & "Godha". 

Mohanan choice for the protagonist, Jayesh was his nephew, Vineeth Sreenivasan which I felt was a good choice as he pulled off that character quite well. Jayesh was a type of person who had his own concept about his life partner which was quite superficial and regressive due to which his exhaustive search through matrimonial websites & brokers drew blanks.  To add to his worries, as per astrology this was supposed to be just the beginning of more testing times.

On the whole, it's a humorous flick that touches upon conventional marriage and the need to take into consideration many other aspects that might not be as taboo as it is made to appear. From a technical perspective, it was done neatly while when it comes to performance, Vineeth shoulders the movie impressively. Giving him adequate support was Mridul Nair as Jitesh, his male chauvinistic friend, PP Kunhikrishnan as Jayesh's father, Indu Thampy & Chippy Devassy.

Verdict: With the number of movies that focus on humour quite limited nowadays, there was a welcome relief & it does manage to keep us in good spirits for most parts.In short, do give a try!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben