Apart from "Sarvam Maya", there were a handful of other flicks that released in December hoping to cash in on the holiday season. Well I dont know what others might have thought about them, but most of them failed to keep me invested in it. So was it the same for you as well???
Bha Bha Ba: "As feared, made a mockery of the devotion & respect that fans have!!!"
2026 was a fantastic year for Lalettan as the legend rocked at the box office & was deservedly honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke award. However, things took a drastic turn towards the end of the year courtesy of "Vrushabha" (I dont think, I would want to write about it) & "Bha Bha Ba". The latter marked the directorial debut of Dhananjay Shankar with the story penned by Fahim Safar & Noorin Shereef (did they actually write anything??).
Well the makers had taken anticipatory bail prior to the release with statements that the movie had no logic but just madness. Even with these in mind, I decided to give it a try primarily because of Lalettan's presence. The story is essentially about CM C K Joseph (Baiju Santhosh) being kidnapped by a person who addressed himself as 'The Commoner' (Dileep) from a public event right under the nose of the former's supporters & security personnel. So what was the reason for this kidnap???
There is an effort to make the flick look grand but there is precious little that it could achieve especially with the writing (or rather the lack of it) being mediocre to say the least. The screenplay failed to evoke any sense of engagement or excitement that was expected from a spoof flick and ended up being a pain to the eyes and ears for most of the time. None of the technical aspects stood out & hence I don't think there is any name worth mentioning.
On the performance front, Dileep was average at best with Vineeth Sreenivasan doing a decent job along with Baiju. Lalettan was wasted in a worthless cameo, Dhyan was ok while Sandy made a mess of the mileage that he got in "Lokah" (hope he doesn't make the same mistake as Guru Somasundaram). There were a plethora of other artists as well who barely mattered.
Verdict: I cant even understand why Gokulam Gopalan wasted a ton of money on this mediocre stuff where he even made a mockery of himself. In short, don't bother!!!
Rating: 1/5
Haal: "Relevant theme that lacked gravitas in execution!!!
Even prior to the release this was in the news as the CBFC demanded multiple cuts because of the sensitive religious content it was dealing with. This was not the first time that Shane Nigam was part of a project where the focus was on societal pressure due to relationship between two individuals belonging to different communities. The first time was in "Kismath" while over here, 'Love Jihad' was supposed to be the main focal point of the plot.
Set in Kozhikode, Asif Beeran aka Azbee (Shane) aspired to be a rapper & did quite a few small shows in and around his place. One such show was at a wedding where he meets Maria (Sakshi Vaidya) & soon enough, he falls for her. Eventually he expresses his feelings, only to know that her family had already fixed her alliance. However, she reciprocated the feelings though both their families were against the relationship as they belonged to different communities.
Veeraa is his directorial debut had joined hands with Nishad Koya who had penned the script. The first half for most parts has that typical romance template that doesn't offer anything unique. Subsequently, it deals with the topic of inter-religion marriages, religious conversions and the issues that at times are associated with it. Except for a couple of sequences, I don't think the makers had much clue as to how to deal with the topic which was quite evident in the courtroom scene where it was shown as a walk in the park. The technical aspects were decently done such as Nandagopan's music.
Coming to performances, Shane has done his part well while Sakshi looked good on screen but her inexperience in acting skills shone through. Johny Antony was fine while the rest of the cast were ok as well though they didnt have much to do.
Verdict: The impression that it gave half way through was that it would dive into the core subject. However, it just skimmed the surface & some of the sequences appeared like a satire further diluting the importance. In short, it is passable at best!!!
Rating: 2/5
Mindiyum Paranjum: "Characters speak the whole time but it fails to hook the audience!!!"
O Henry's 'The Gift of the Magi;" is a short story that needs no introduction as it has been around for more than a century & read by millions. So much so, it has inspired numerous adaptations including Rituparno Ghosh's "Raincoat". The latest adaptation is from our industry as Arun Bose has co-written it with Mridul George & helmed the project which had Aparna Balamurali & Unni Mukundan as the lead pair.
In terms of the story, there isn't much to explain as Sanal (Unni) & Leena (Aparna) has been married for a couple of years with the former based in the Middle East trying to get his business venture off the ground. In between, Sanal decided to head back home for a quick visit & what this movie captures is essentially the romantic conversations between the husband and wife. This gives us glimpses of their relationship, family dynamics and how it grew over time.
There is no doubt that both the artists has give an earnest performance & kudos to both of them for that. However, the writing was quite average as it failed to engage the audience beyond a period of time. The situations that the couple go through over the course of their relationship does not provide anything that we haven't seen in the past nor was there any uniqueness in the way it was executed including the technical aspects.
Verdict: Earnest performances let down by an average script that doesn't have much to offer when it comes to hooking the audience!!!
Rating: 2/5
Ithiri Neram: "Feel good romantic drama!!!"
In the above review, I had mentioned about conversational romance & this one from Prasanth Vijay can also be slotted in the same category. The primary difference between the two is that over here Vishak Shakti, in his maiden effort as a script writer focuses on ex-lovers who catch up after a few years. So we have Anish (Roshan Mathew) who runs a popular talk show in an online channel known as 'Ithiri Neram'. On the night prior to the baptism of his child, Anish gets a call from his ex-lover, Anjana (Zarin Shihab) & decides to spent some time with her as she was on her way to the US for higher studies. Over the course of that meeting, they revisit the emotional scars of their love with a smile & end up in a situation that was both hilarious & worrisome.
In the beginning, the movie gives the vibe of Prem Kumar's "96" but as the story moves along, we get to realize that this had an refreshing identity of its own. Obviously, kudos to Vishak for the way he has written the screenplay and the realistic dialogues that captures the organic nature of the relationship. The protagonists are not shown as beacons of virtue but it does not travel further down that path as it is diverted towards a crisis management scenario which provides some of the hilarious moments. In a way, that kind of diluted what it initially started off, though to be honest I still liked the way they decided to conclude the story.
Apart from the efforts of the people behind the camera including Basil C J's music and befitting background score, the protagonists needs to be thoroughly appreciated for a job well done. Both Roshan & Zarin did their parts exceptionally well as they put in the right amount of subtlety and spontaneity to their performances. They were well supported by Nandu & Anand Manmadhan with Jeo Baby in a cameo as well.
Verdict: The first half is both soulful & tugs at the emotional cords thanks to the realistic dialogues and impressive performances. Though the latter half might have mellowed that impact, it was still an endearing watch!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Regards...Ben
