Ronth, Detective Ujjwalan, Azadi and Mr & Mrs Bachelor

With the OTT platform being an integral segment to reach out to the audience, there has been numerous occasions when I came to know about a particular movie only when it was streamed there. There were quite a few among the ones that I will be talking about in this opinion piece that belongs to that category. So did it surprise me as to why they failed at the box office? The answer to that will have to be no, in most situations.

Ronth: "Engaging for most parts with a solid Dileesh Pothan!!!"

Over the past decade, if I had to choose the most gripping police dramas that had released in Malayalam; then it will undoubtedly feature "Joseph" & "Nayattu". Incidentally, both of them belong to Shahi Kabir & hence that was more than ample reason to be eager about his latest release which is also set against his previous profession.

SI Yohannan (Dileesh Pothan) was a seasoned police officer who had dealt with all kinds of scum as part of his job. As the name suggests, the story is essentially about the events that unfold in the life of Yohannan & his assistant, CPO Dinnath (Roshan Mathew) during their night patrol. They come across various type of cases that night which takes a toll on both of them on a moral and emotional level.

Yet again, Shahi has come with an engaging police dramas that works for most parts. It reminded me of Abrid Shine's "Action Hero Biju" which is about the various cases that a police office has to tackle on a daily basis. This was pretty much the same except that this happens in the night & maintains a grim  tone which increases towards the climax giving the vibe of "Nayattu". To be honest, the climax felt rather forced & hence it didn't quite have the impact that Shahi would have wanted to create. If we go through Shahi's previous flicks, it gives a lot of emphasis on the character & life of the protagonists such as their personal traumas, ideologies and we get to see that in Yohannan and Dinnath. 

Kudos to Manesh Madhavan's visuals for the realistic feel to it while the rest of the aspects were neatly done. The caliber of Dileesh & Roshan is something that all of us are well aware about and they continued the good work here as well. However, if I was to compare between the two, then Dileesh was fantastic hands down while Roshan was fine especially in the emotional breakdown portions towards the end. 

Verdict: Though not quite upto the mark in comparison to his previous directorial efforts primarily because of a forced climax, it still comes across a gripping police drama pulled off by a praise worthy performance by Dileesh!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Detective Ujjwalan: "Investigative aspect could have been more thrilling!!!"

The regularity with which Dhyan Sreenivasan's movie releases is a mystery that continues to baffles many especially since most of them had sunk without a trace at the box office. This was least surprising as majority of them were quite mediocre. However, when Sophia Paul's Weekend Blockbusters announced their latest project, I was more than eager to check it out due to their decent track record. 

The movie unfolds in the quaint village of Plaachikaavu where Ujjwalan (Dhyan) had a library which predominantly had detective novels. His interest in it also saw him solve minor theft cases which was the most that the villagers had been witness to until the murder of the school principal, Ashokan (Kalabhavan Navas). This was soon followed by another murder & a special investigation team led by SI Shambu (Siju Wilson) was entrusted to unravel the case. Though at loggerheads initially, Ujjwalan joins forces with Shambu as they try to nab the psychopath murderer. 

This is Indraneel Gopalakrishnan & Rahul G's directorial debut & they have done a decent job in showcasing their craft. However, the same cant be said about their scripting abilities as it was not quite upto the mark. It had the feel of a 'Minnal Murali' & 'Kunjiramayanam' in terms of the colour tone & retro aesthetics for which Premkrishna Akkattu and S.Harichandran deserves praise. The humour elements take centre stage early on and that had worked out well. But when they came to the core subject, it definitely lacked the punch with the antagonist and the related back story not having the heft that piques our attention. 

In terms of performance, it was a character that gelled well with Dhyan's easy going demeanour and hence made it quite likeable. Siju did his part aptly as the macho aspect of the character was portrayed well. Rony David provided the comic relief with support from Ameen and Nihal while Kottayam Naseer was quite solid as the supporting cast. 

Verdict: From a thriller perspective, one is bound to feel let down by the manner that angle was not explored adequately. However, it keeps us entertained coz of the humour and the performances.

Rating: 3/5

Azadi: "Interesting jail break that could have been better!!!"

When it comes to jail break movies, I dont think our industry have been able to tackle that genre as well compared to others. Jo George decided to make his directorial debut on this subject with Sagar Hari pitching it with the story & screenplay, and it would be fair to say that it was indeed a decent effort. The bulk of the portions are staged within the premises of the Kottayam Medical College where Ganga (Raveena Ravi), a pregnant prisoner was brought in for her delivery. She was accused of murdering the scion of a prominent politician & her husband, Raghu (Sreenath Bhasi) along with her father, Shiva (Lal) were working on an escape plan for which they had recruited the services of a couple of people. However, it was easier said than done as they had to outwit the police & the politician's contract killers.

There is no doubt that the core thought was promising and it does keep us engaged for most parts. But Jo's direction certainly lacked the freshness and the zing that the movie demanded. On the whole it had an outdated feel to it with Saneesh Stanly's cinematography being average. Even Sagar also needs to take the blame for an average screenplay and at times, mediocre dialogues especially the ones rendered by Vani Viswanath. The thought behind some of the characters also made no sense be it the behaviour of Lal's character or the relevance of Saiju Kurup. On the performance front, Sreenath has done justice to his part along with TG Ravi. As for the rest of the cast, Lal & Co. were ok while Vani Vishwanath hams it big time and Shobhi Thilakan was average. 

Verdict: If more thought had gone into the screenplay, it could have been much better. 

Rating: 2/5

Mr & Mrs Bachelor: "Miscast & lazily written!!!"

Deepu Karunakaran is not a name that inspires hope for movie lovers after all his previous ventures hasn't quite been off the top drawer. His last directorial flick was about 8 years back & this project was in the news prior to its release due to the tiff between him & Anaswara coz of the latter's lack of co-operation in the movie promotions. Anyway it came & went without much of a whimper and it was not surprising to say the least.

The script penned by Arjun T S unfolds on the eve of Stephy's wedding (Anaswara Rajan) with the news that her groom, Sijin (Rahul Madhav) had backed out and gone missing. However, rather than blame her fate, she decided to locate him & find out the actual reason. This is how she ends up in Trivandrum where she gets acquainted with Siddharth (Indrajith Sukumaran), an affluent businessman and a bachelor & seeks his help. 

Apart from the fact that it was a gross miscast with zero chemistry between the lead pair, there was nothing in the story that was worth talking about. It was lazily written and except for a couple of chuckles there is hardly anything that was worth mentioning. By the time, the climax came along we are least bothered as to how the makers ended it. None of the technical aspects deserves mention and when it comes to performances, I fail to understand why a talented artist like Indrajith finds himself in such worthless projects. He genuinely struggled to find his form while Anaswara was better and did what was possible with that character. 

Verdict: Don't bother!!!

Rating: 1/5

Narivetta, Moonwalk & Aabhyanthara Kuttavaali: "Better writing could have guaranteed better returns!!!"

It's been quite a while since I have penned my opinion about the movies that I watched. However, that doesnt imply that I didnt watch any in that period. On the contrary, I had watched a handful in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi & English, & except for ones like "F1", most of them were average or failed to impress. This opinion piece talks about some of them & hopefully some of the exciting projects that is linked up for release in the next month or so, will make up for it. 

Narivetta: "Decent portrayal of a real life protest!!!"

The 2003 Muthanga incident is a dark chapter in the history of our state & for the unversed, it was the protest of the tribals against the state machinery for not having honoured their promise of alloting them a dedicated land for their livelihood. Despite being interested in history, I have to admit that I didn't have much knowledge about this incident except for the basic premise. But the fact remains that the hardships of the tribal community continues to this day. 

Based on this incident, Kendra Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar recipient Abin Joseph crafted a fictionalised version of it with Anuraj Manohar calling the shots. The movie unfolds in Kuttanadu where Paul Varghese (Tovino Thomas) is shown as a carefree yet educated & politically ignorant individual who was in a relationship with Nancy (Priyamvada Krishnan). Despite having got the job as a police constable, he was reluctant to join initially as he aspired for a superior position. However, circumstances required him to take up the job & as part of that he was part of the battalion that was entrusted to control the tribal protests in Cheeyambam in Wayanad. What subsequently unfolds as part of that protests is what this movie is about. 

These kind of subjects are handled expertly by Tamil directors such as Vetrimaran, Pa Ranjith etc. & in that sense, Anuraj can be proud of what he had pulled off. This is his sophomore project after "Ishq" & there is no doubt that he has done a fine job when it came to capturing the core incident. He deserves appreciation for the manner it was staged and executed along with the cinematographer, Vijay; as both of them were able to build the pressure on screen. Giving them competent support was Jakes Bejoy, who I personally rate as the finest in his line of work at present. His BGM was impressive & the 'Minnalvala' track rendered by Sid Sriram & Sithara is undoubtedly the song of the year. 

At the same time, Abin's script could have been more impactful, though I guess the sensitivity of the issue might have made him tone down the intensity. The lack of adequate awareness about the incident among the public might have been the reason why he chose to portray Paul as rather naive and insensitive to the demands of the tribals. On paper that looked fine but Tovino's portrayal of the character was quite watered down while Suraj was top notch as Basheer, the seasoned head constable. Arya Salim (as CK Janu obviously) was impressive while Cheran, Pranav Teophine (as Thammi) & Priyamvada did their parts aptly.

Verdict: There is no doubt that Anuraj & his technical team has done a fine job in executing the plot. However, Abin's script could have been much more impactful which also contributed to Tovino's performance not being quite upto the mark. 

Rating: 3/5

Moonwalk: "Cultural nostalgia is the main USP!!!"

When I reminiscence about my school days, one of the things that instantly pops to mind is the youth festival where the three houses slug it out over two days for the ultimate honour. The iconic event was undoubtedly the dance events, especially Western dance where 'Break dance' ruled the roost with Champions at it literally treated as demi gods. I was so inspired by one of my seniors, that I used to memorise his moves and practise it back at home. In future, I have been lucky enough to use it in competitions to good effect. Hence when LJP share the first look poster of "Moonwalk", which he had bank rolled, I was keen to check it out.

This is Vinod AK's debut directorial venture & he had penned the script as well which lacked the conventional template though it can be termed as the journey of an underdog. The movie is set in the late 80s when Michael Jackson was setting the world ablaze with his electrifying music and dance moves. It had landed on our shores as well & the movie is about a group of friends from various strata of society who was bound by their passion for break dance. Along with Mathew Varghese & Sunil Gopalakrishnan, Vinod has crafted the screenplay in such a manner where we get a glimpse of the political outlook, societal pressure, family dynamics and most importantly, camaraderie among this band of friends. 

Did it manage to keep me invested in it for the entirety of its run time? It didn't but at the same time it didn't test my patience as well. Rather than the dance as such, the earnest performance of the artists & the emotional connect between them on the face of challenges is what had me interested. Majority of them were newcomers & hence I dont know most of their names. However, among them; Anunath (as Jake) & Sibi Kuttappan (as Sura) had more screen time and both of them did their parts well, with the rest of the gang supporting them aptly. On the technical side, Sabu Mohan's art direction & Ansar Shah's choreography deserves special mention as it did justice to the period that it was staged. Prashant Pillai's music was in sync with the mood while Sreejith Dazzlers choreography was decent. 

Verdict: It would certainly give you a sense of nostalgia especially if you were born in that period. From a story point of view, it could come across as rather underwhelming for quite a few due to lack of a core plot!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Aabhyanthara Kuttavaali: "Relevant theme let down by its writing!!!"

Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code is something that most of us are aware about, having read or heard about it in print and media respectively. The harassment that women face as a result of dowry related arguments is a menace that refuses to die down despite much talk about it. At the same time, there has been instances where women have taken advantage of it & put the men on the docks. The directorial debut of Sethunath Padmakumar is based on this theme which he has penned as well. 

The person in question is Sahadevan (Asif Ali) who had recently tied the knot with Nayana (Thulasi). The couple has been together for just about 10 days, when Nayana decided to head back to her home uninformed. However, soon enough Sahadevan was called up by the police on accusation of domestic abuse and mental harassment by his wife. It was now upto him to seek justice & prove his innocence. 

Sethunath has certainly chosen a relevant theme but where he has faltered was when it came to giving a balanced outlook to it. It was way too skewed and one sided, so much so that almost all the characters that was shown in the movie were victims of it. So much so, the point raised by the opposite party in the end failed to evoke any sense of empathy which led to the climax being average at best. If it wasn't for Asif's performance, the movie would have fallen flat coz he is a pro when it comes to showcasing the helplessness of characters. Both the female artists, Shreya Rukmini (as Adv Anila) & Thulasi was average and their performance was also hampered by poorly written parts. The rest of the cast included Jagadish who was wasted after being shown as an imposing character while Azees Neumangad and Anand Manmadhan were ok.

Verdict: It had the potential to become a worthy watch if more attention was paid to its writing. In short, the makers has much to thank Asif, if people tend to watch it till the end!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben