Unlike the previous years, the announcement of the Kerala State Awards has been much delayed & presently it is expected by Monday. Among the various nominees, the one that I am most excited about is Rahul Sadasivan's "Bramayugam" as it was impressive in most of the categories. So much so, I would be surprised (with all due respect to Vijayaraghavan & Asif Ali) if Mammookka isn't awarded the best actor for his fantastic performance as 'Kodumon Potti'. Hence when Rahul had announced that his latest flick was hitting the screens on Halloween, it was more than ample reason to be excited about it. So will he able to match the high standards that he set with his recent two directorial ventures???
As with his earlier movies, Rahul had penned the script which commences with the audience being introduced to Madhusudhanan Potti (Gibin Gopinath), a building contractor who was perturbed by some signs. Soon after, he gets to know that his neighbour, Kani (Sushmitha Bhat) had committed suicide. The focus moves to Rohan (Pranav Mohanlal), a rich spoilt brat who reveled in drugs and flings had thrown a party for his buddies and that's when he learned about Kani's death with whom he had a brief affair after which he had ghosted her. Little did he realize that this incident was going to have an impact in his life.
The main reason I like about Rahul's movies is his ability to create fright out of the ordinary rather than resort to the typical gimmicks. Obviously, those elements does feature as well with the predominant focus being on the sound design that is weaved organically into the screenplay making it an immersive experience for the audience. On the terms of the story as such, I would not rate it as unique or something that keep us hooked to it. This is where his directorial skills came to the fore as his brilliant technical team did utmost justice to his vision.
Incidentally, it is the same technical team from "Bramayugam" that had assembled here and they have showcased their class here also. This includes Christo Xavier's excellent BGM and the sound design handled by Jayadevan Chakkadath & MR Rajakrishnan which was exceptional to say the least. Shenad Jalal's visuals and Shafique's editing perfectly conveyed the mood to the audience while the excellent work done by the art & makeup team deserves special praise.
Coming to performances, there are just a handful of characters and each one of them have done complete justice to their part. These include Pranav who finally landed a role that completely suited him in the sense that it did not require him to portray a lot of emotions. At the same time, his performance during the tense moments was impressive. Equally impressive or maybe a notch higher will be Gibin Gopinath with Jaya Kurup putting in a commanding act as well.
Verdict: This is yet another benchmark in this genre as Rahul continues to push the envelope in terms of craftsmanship & story telling. Do check it out!!!
Rating: 3.5/5
Regards...Ben
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