Valathu Vashathe Kallan, Prakambanam & Aashaan: "Humour works while the thriller fails to thrill!!!!"

The T20 World Cup has reached the Super 8s & the Men In Blue has managed to chug along despite not being at their best. Incidentally, the same can be said about the Malayalam film industry which has seen many releases as usual but none of them has made the box office go bonkers yet. Anyway over the past few weeks, I have checked out some of them & it was average at best.

Valathu Vashathe Kallan: "Falls well short of what is expected from a Jeethu Joseph movie!!!"

If one has to take the list of directors who has been the most sought after over the past decade, one name that would prominently feature in that list is Jeethu Joseph. The reason for that is the name that he has created for himself with some of the finest thrillers in Malayalam. However, in recent times, it would be fair to say that his powers has been on the bane & his latest flick seemed to indicate the same. 

CI Antony Xavier (Biju Menon) was a corrupt police officer who never hesitated to bat an eye lid to help the affluent and the influential. The latest case saw him push a girl into suicide & that's when young activist, Irene (Vyshnavi Raj) comes into the picture determined to bring him down for his deplorable actions. Even on the personal front, things didn't look bright for Antony as he shared a strained relationship with his son, Philip (KR Gokul) & used to attend counselling sessions to resolve the issue, but to no avail. 

There has been a plethora of mystery thrillers in Malayalam over the past few years as quite a few of them had hit the bull's eye. However, it is high time that the makers realize that with the boom of various OTT platforms, the audience is exposed to all kind of plot twists & turns. That invariably means that the bar is set quite high & Dinu Thomas who had penned the script has failed to match that. The story as such doesn't offer anything intriguing except for a couple of sequences & even Jeethu's direction failed to create additional impact. Satheesh Kurup's monochromatic dark frames were in sync with the mood while Vishnu Shyam did justice with the tracks. 

For some reason, Biju Menon came across as rather disinterested & lacked the usual naturality that we usually associate with him. Joju was fine as always with Lena & Vyshnavi providing adequate support. As for the rest of the cast, Gokul was average to poor at times while Irshad, Niranjana etc. were ok.

Verdict: Fails to live up to expectations & hopefully Jeethu can get his mojo back in "Drishyam 3"!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Prakambanam: "This snorting horror comedy works at most levels!!!"

So most of us have seen characters being possessed by spirits due to some reason or the other. But imagine being possessed by snorting the ashes...hilarious isnt it? Well that's what happens in Vijesh Panathur latest release where he has penned the script in the company of Sreehari Vadakkan, an IIT graduate. 

The story unfolds in a boys hostel, where Sidhu (Ganapathy), Punyalan (Sagar) & Shankaran (Ameen) were close buddies & room mates. Sidhu was actively involved in student politics & harboured hopes to win the elections before he graduated. As the campaign for the elections commenced, Sidhu had to rush home as his grandmother (Mallika Sukumaran) had passed away. Since her sons believed in Communism, they were not keen for any elaborate religious ceremonies & that's when his grandfather (P. P Kunjikrishnan) sought Sidhu's help to immerse her ashes in holy waters, which he reluctantly agreed. However, he took her ashes in a small bottle to college & the hilarious events that subsequently unfolds is what this movie is about. 

Though it had shades of "Romancham" & "Adi Kappiyare Kootamani", it still had an identity of its own & once the spirit enters Punyalan; the film hits its strides. The screenplay was decently crafted as it manages to create hilarious sequences at various junctions which runs until the very end. The technical aspects were handled neatly while the performances made sure that the comedy landed well. Ganapathi was fine in a character that had various shades shifting from emotional to comical. Sagar clicked in the transformational scenes while Rajesh Madhavan was fine with Ameen & Sheethal Joseph (Vedika) providing support. Mallika Sukumar was a good casting choice as it needed to be an energetic character while the others did their parts aptly.

Verdict: It will genuinely make you laugh in quite a few sequences!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Aashaan: "Indrans impresses in the maker's earnest effort!!!"

I barely knew about ths flick until I was flipping through YouTube & came across a video that showed Mammookka being part of its promotions. He was effusive in his praise for Indrans & with his son bankrolling the project, I decided to check it out. To add to it, this was Johnpaul George's third directorial venture after "Guppy" & "Ambili", both of which I felt were fine. 

Anandan (Joemon Jyothir) was a visual effects technician who aspired to become a film maker. Hence he has been on the lookout for an assistant director slot for quite a while. Finally after much effort, he managed to become part of the once 'hitmaker' director KRS's team (Shobi Thilakan). The reason for that was because he had managed to find an ideal location for KRS's latest flick, which happened to be an apartment complex. Incidentally, the caretaker of the complex was Aashaan (Indrans), a much beloved & revered individual for the tenants who was a movie enthusiast and harboured hopes to act. So he provided permission for the use of the premises in the belief that he would be provided a small role. How the shotting pans out & the impact that it has on the lives of the protagonists is what this movie is about.

As in his previous directorial ventures, there is a strong emotional angle in the story & in the hands of an experienced veteran like Indrans, it does have a positive effect on the audience. It could be slotted as meta dramedy where the aspirations & struggles of individuals who wants to follow their passion & make a mark in the industry is showcased. The humour & emotional sequences pretty much works in most instances but it could have trimmed off a significant chunk especially in the first half as the film making process takes up a significant amount of screen time without adding as much substance. 

One aspect that deserves a special mention is the Egg White VFX who has done an excellent job in the second half. So much so, it took away our attention from the core subject & made us focus on how it was done. The rets of the technical aspects were also executed well such as Vimal Jose's visuals and the music which was handled by Johnpaul himself. On the performance front, Indrans was impressive with Joemon doing a fine job as well while Shobi Thilakan and Appunni Sasi doing justice to their parts.

Verdict: Works for most parts with an impressive Indrans!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Pennu Case, Baby Girl, Chatha Pacha: "Interesting start to the New Year!!!"

Even before we have warmed up to the New Year, the first month has just flown by. Over the course of this month, there has been quite a few news that did gladden the heart with the main being Mammookka finally honoured with the 'Padma Bhushan'. A deserving honour indeed for one of the doyens of Indian Cinema. Coming to releases, I happened to catch a couple of flicks in other languages such as "Border 2" & "Mardani 3" both of which were ok, "Parasakthi" failed to rise to expectations (except for the meme created by a DMK politician) & "The Raja Saab" made sure that it set a high benchmark for the most pathetic flick of the year. So how did our Malayalam flicks fare???

Pennu Case: "Lack of a credible screenplay reduces it to an average con flick!!!"

This was among the first few releases of the year & the trailer as such did seem promising with Febin Sidharth making his directorial debut. The basis thread for his story was about a female who indulged in marriage fraud. He was also assisted in the writing by Jyothish M while the screenplay was worked upon by Ganesh Malayath, Reshmi Radhakrishnan & V Sunu. It certainly sounded like an interesting thought but unfortunately the same cant be said about its execution.

The film commences with Bindhu (Nikhila Vimal) being taken into custody on the eve of her marriage with Subhash (Aju Varghese). The reason for the arrest were the complaints made by few men who claimed that she had duped them into marriage and slipped away with their valuables. The case was entrusted to CI Jacob (Hakim Shahjahan) who along with him team soon finds out that there was truth in their claims & that her actual name was 'Rohini'. So it seemed like an 'open & shut' case or was it???

Even as the audience is told that the protagonist has committed the alleged fraud across the length & breadth of Karnataka & Kerala, there is no actual depiction of what she had actually done except for one incident. The promos seemed to imply that it was a fun flick but barring a couple of laughs, it failed to create genuine humour. From a subject point of view, it was more or less similar to the Hotstar web series, 'Nagendran's Honeymoons' which was directed by Nithin Renji Panicker. However it failed to explore the various situations like Nithin's series & that is where I felt this was quite underwhelming. To be honest, half way into the movie I had a feeling that the climax might be inspired from a classic Hollywood flick  & it turned out to be just that. 

Prior to watching, I actually thought that Nikhila had a meaty opportunity as she would be playing variations of different characters. But in the movie, apart from showing her in different attires, we actually dont get to see her con people. At the same time, she has done a fine job in the emotional portions. Hakkim was fine along with Shivajith while the rest of the artists including Aju didn't create any impact.

Verdict: It had potential in its thread, but the lack of a credible screenplay significantly reduced its effect!!!

Rating: 2/5  

Baby Girl: "Bobby-Sanjay struggles to discover their form!!!"

This was one movie that many would have eagerly looked forward to for a couple of obvious reasons. The main being the presence of Bobby-Sanjay who had penned the script & with Listin Stephen bankrolling the project, it gave us memories of "Traffic". With Nivin Pauly finally having struck gold at the box office, the question was whether that would rub off on the others involved in the project???

It is the second directorial venture of Arun Varma after "Garudan", he hooks the audience into the plot from the first scene itself. The movie unfolds in the Good Shepherd Hospital in Trivandrum where a new born had gone missing. Even as the police are called in, they didn't have any leads until Sanal (Nivin), an attendant voices his suspicions about a possible abductor. The rest of the movie is about the search for the infant & the effect that it had on the people impacted by the incident. 

As mentioned earlier, Bobby-Sanjay gets us invested in the story from the beginning itself & it had a template similar to "Traffic" where there are a couple of parallel tracks. However, they fail to sustain the tempo and that is evident in the latter half where except for some of the emotional sequences that involved Lijomol, the rest of it was quite average. The thrills that Arun tried to create only worked occasionally & even the technical team failed to add anything onto it.

On the performance front, for some reason Nivin came across as quite average & at times, even disinterested. The standout performer was undoubtedly Lijomol who was impressive, with Sangeeth Prathap providing adequate support. Abhimanyu had the figure & attitude needed for his role, but his dialogue delivery still needed work. Another artist that deserves a mention is the girl who essayed the role of the infant's mother. The rest of the artists such as Jaffer Idukki, Azees Nedumangad, Nisha Sarangh did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Just like Sanju Samson has struggled to find form, Bobby-Sanjay is going through the same phase & will be hoping that they rediscover their magic in the next flick. As audience, even we are also eagerly waiting for that!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Chatha Pacha: "Captured the wrestling vibe but the rest falters!!!"

How many of you are/were fans of WWE? Well I am one of them & I would guess most of us who spent their school days in the 90s would belong to the same category. I still vividly remember the WWE trump cards that I used to play with & how eagerly I used to wait for RAW and Smackdown every week. So much so, Undertaker, Hitman, Stone Cold etc., were superstars that we used to regularly discuss. Hence when Advaith Nayar announced his debut directorial venture on this subject, many of us were keen to check it out. 

Apart from calling the shots, Advaith had also penned the script with Sanoop Thykoodam working on the screenplay. The story is about three friends, Loco (Arjun Ashokan), Vetri (Roshan Mathew) & Little (Ishan Shoukath)  who grew up together under the guardianship of the wrestler, Walter. However, certain events led to their separation with Little moving to the North. In the present day, Little came back to Fort Kochi to reunite with his buddies and also set up a WWE type of event in their locality which was the dream of Walter. 

So did the story had me invested in it? To be honest, the answer is 'no'. At the same time, the technical crew did their tasks well. This includes Shankar-Ehsan-Loy's music with the main highlight being the action choreography which was well executed. Anend Chandran also deserves applause for the visuals and the tight cuts by Praveen Prabhakar. However, all of this comes together only when the fights takes place & that's exactly where the issue lies. Apart from the fights, there is hardly anything in it with the so called story being rather weak & the characters poorly etched. The prime example for that is Mammookka's character which was narrated as being 'larger than life' but was presented in a pathetic manner & failed to produce any punch. 

Coming to performances, Arjun has given an earnest performance, with Roshan & Vishak providing adequate support while Ishan was average. A special word of mention for Vedhika Sreekumar as Rosamma who was impressive. The rest of the artists such as Carma (as Kuruvi) & the other members of the wrestling gang also did their parts aptly. Coming to senior artists, Mammookka was wasted in a senseless role along with Sai Kumar. 

Verdict: Except for the well choreographed wrestling sequences, hardly anything else works!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben