Sapthamashree Thaskaraha review: "Double jollity for Prithviraj!!!"

Ever since the possible Onam releases were announced a couple of months back, the one that I was most eagerly looking forward to was Prithvi's "Sapthamashree Thaskaraha". There is no doubt that the "Peruchazhi" team had taken over the screens by storm thanks to their impressive marketing strategy coupled with a hilarious first half. However, the recent track record of Prithvi have been nothing short of imposing & with his August Cinemas producing this venture , naturally the expectations have sky rocketed. So did it live upto expectations???

As the unique title indicates (a rather clever title, as it generated a considerable amount of curiosity), it is the tale of seven convicts with diverse backgrounds who join hands with the intention of pulling off a heist. The film unfolds with Martin (Chemban Vinod) narrating the story as a confession to the priest (Lijo John Pallissery). Martin shared the cell with the other six in-mates & as they shared their stories it becomes evident that more than a couple of them held a grudge against Pious (Joy Mathew), a corrupt politician who built his empire with illegitimate wealth. Noble (Nedumudi Venu), a former esteemed businessman & a victim of Pious's treachery, sought the others help for revenge & it didn't require much coaxing as the fruits of their labour were more than what they can ever imagine. So how does this seven pull off the rug from right under Pious's nose???

After the critically & commercially viable "North 24 Kaatham", which even garnered a National Award; Anil Radhakrishnan Menon is back with his latest venture which promised to be bigger & better. Just as in his previous venture, the major highlight is undoubtedly the unique manner in which the events unravel. The background profile that has been given to each character made it interesting & even the heist though not quite hi-tech (no point in making it appear as a lame Westernised version), had the audience hooked to the sequences. Though the climax was good, I kinda felt a bit more clarity was required as it seemed half baked. Both Jayesh Nair & Sushin Shyam has done a commendable job with the visuals & BGM respectively; while Rex Vijayan's music was average. As for Manoj Kannoth, he ensured that he made use of his scissors to good effect without taking a toll on the audience.

Another major highlight of this film was the cast which had an odd mix yet an apt choice of artists who did absolute justice to their roles. The pick among the lot was definitely Chemban Vinod who had the best lines & had the audience in splits. Equally impressive was Neeraj Madhav (as Narayanankutty) who stands out with his endearing act. Sudheer Karamana (as Leaf Vasu) was hilarious with his half crack nature. Asif Ali is the one who gets a grand intro in the movie & even gets to make use of his fists, but I felt his character wasn't as well etched as the others. As always, Nedumudi Venu rocked in his role while Joy Mathew & Co. did their roles satisfactorily not to forget the contribution of Lijo John. Among the female leads, Reenu Mathews didn't have much to do while Sanusha did justice to her part.

Last but not the least, Prithviraj...who deserves all the accolades coming his way. It might have been marketed as a Prithviraj film but when we actually see it, we realise he was just one among the seven. He barely gets to mouth dialogues in the first half but comes to the fore towards the latter half before culminating the show with his "Tamaar Padaar" look.

Verdict: Seems like Prithviraj is on the cusp of happiness, as he has been blessed with a daughter & his eye for good scripts will have him laughing to the bank. I feel there isn't much to be said apart from just one thing it's the best Onam release of 2014. So what are you waiting for...grab your tickets asap!!!

Rating: 3.75/5

Regards...Ben

Villali Veeran review: "Typical Dileep festival masala!!!"

After the mediocre "Bhaiyya Bhaiyya", the next film that I got to check out was Dileep's "Villali Veeran". Though the popular phrase goes "never judge a book by its cover"; it's kinda hard not to do so when it comes to Dileep's celluloid histrionics primarily because he keeps repeating the same act. Even the title didn't inspire much expectation, but I hoped it might be better than the similarly titled "Sringaravelan". So will his latest effort be any different???

Siddharthan (Dileep) is a vegetable vendor who struggled to make his ends meet with a large family to provide for. In his plight for some quick bucks, he masquerades as Arun K Menon at the behest of the marriage broker, Damodarji (Nedumudi Venu). However, his reluctance to cheat along with the fact that the "would be" bride happened to be Narmada (Namitha Pramod) with whom he had shared a couple of frivolous situations ensured that Damodar's plan didn't quite pan out as hoped. Though her folks were keen to have Siddharthan booked, little did they realise that he was a classic case of riches to rags...but what had actually caused him to be reduced to such a penurious state???

Another debutant makes his entry into the industry in the form of Sudheesh Shankar, however his direction doesn't inspire much. Well he cant be totally blamed as well, since Dinesh Palliath's script was lame to say the least as it was clichéd stuff the whole way through. Apart from the mock drill scenes, the humour content were far & few while the whole revenge saga seemed to be a rehash of previous Dileep movies. The audience is also made to sit through the tedious second half as the editor seemed to have slipped into a slumber (quite understandably)...making it to have a cumulative length of close to 3 hours. As for Anil Nair's visuals there wasn't much to write home about while S. Rajkumar's music was average at best. The BGM was kinda jarring while the music seemed more like a poor lift off from our neighbours in addition to being misplaced.

Well Dileep has once again done what he is good at & that is dish out some slap stick comedy for every festival. I think he barely paid attention to the script coz it's the same old stuff but anywaz he has pulled off his role in the best way possible. Namitha Pramod does lighten up the frame when she comes on screen while Mythili struggles to emote inspite of a small yet credible role. As for the rest of the cast, it's the same old Dileep bandwagon troupe...Kalabhavan Shajon, Siddique, Nedumudi Venu, Riyaz Khan etc.

Verdict: So what actually makes Dileep's mediocre stuff work??? Well no prizes for guessing...it's the family audience & from the response, that I witnessed at the theatre; I feel we have not seen the last of his clichéd comedy. In all probability, it will be a profitable venture & understandably so, as it's much better than hits like "Mr. Marumakan" or "Sringaravelan". But will I suggest it??? hmm...definitely not!!!

Rating: 1.25/5

Regards...Ben

Bhaiyya Bhaiyya review: "Even the dynamic duo cant keep us engaged for long!!!"

Yet another awesome Onam has come to a close & though the rains threatened to create havoc, thankfully it stayed away from our part of the land. Since I had come down to my hometown for just a week, it was a pretty much jam packed schedule with cousin's wedding, family get togethers etc. etc., all lined up one after the other. Anywaz in between all this I did manage to check out the Onam releases & the first one which I got to watch was "Bhaiyya Bhaiyya". So did the Chackochan-Biju Menon magic work again???

The film begins with Babumon (Chackochan) on a journey to Bengal with the mortal remains of one of his immigrant labourers. Accompanying him were a host of individuals with the primary among them being his brother Babulal Chatterjee (Biju Menon). Though they didn't belong to the same kin they shared a bond as firm as any brothers would have, ever since Babulal was first brought to Babumon's house by the latter's father. The events that led them to this journey forms the crux of this story.

It's been a couple of years since Johny Antony had made his presence felt with his last release being "Thappana". This time around he has befriended Benny P Nayarambalam hoping to recreate the laughter riots that the latter had scripted be it "Marykkundoru Kunjaadu" "Sound Thoma" etc. Though Benny had chosen the topic of immigrant labourers which haven't been explored much, he fails to make much headway as the basic fabric of the film was barely existent. It resembled as if they were counting on Chackochan & Biju Menon to conjure up some miracle...which wasn't possible as the script didnt offer them much of a scope. Apart from a few sporadic laughs, the film falls flat as it seemed more like an impromptu script. As for the technical aspects, none of it quite appealed to my senses.

If at all this film works occasionally, it's primarily due to the lead pair as Biju Menon does manage to evoke laughs with his queer dialogue delivery while Chackochan compliments his act effectively. Both the female leads barely had much to do & even their acting was quite upto scratch especially that of Nisha Aggrawal. As for the rest of the cast, Shammi Thilakan, Tesni Khan, Vijayaraghavan, Suraj etc., did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Competing with the other biggies, this film doesn't stand much of a chance with their marketing being quite poor as it barely captured eyeballs while the trailer neither seemed interesting nor funny. If at all they get some audience, it's solely because of those people who didn't get the tickets for the other films (which happened in my case). In short, wont hurt to give it a miss!!!

Rating: 1.25/5

Regards...Ben

Peruchazhi review: "Specially for Lalettan fans, but even they might struggle at times!!!"

Just a week more for Onam before our state gets decked up for family reunions & lip smacking Onasadya. So in such a festive mood, how can our film industry be behind; after all it's one of those times of the year where houseful boards becomes a common feature. Like every year, this year too we have a host of films lined up with Lalettan's "Peruchazhi" being the first one off the blocks. The promos promises it to be a laugh riot but will it actually make the people laugh so hard that their sides ache or groan at the idiocy ???

The State of California was going into elections & the early predictions indicated that the Republican candidate, John Kory didnt stand much of a chance who vents out his frustrations on Sunny Kurishingal (Vijay Babu), his campaign manager. In order to arrest Kory's nosediving popularity, he seeks the help of his friend & PWD Minister, Francis Kunjappan (Mukesh). This is when Francis suggests the name of Jagannathan (Lalettan), who had helped him in numerous political turmoils, though his ulterior aim was to get Jagannathan into trouble. Now Jagannathan apart from being a street smart political playmaker was a sports lover & nursed dreams to open up a sports academy in due time. Since the California assignment promised to be an insane amount of money in exchange for Jagannathan's services, he takes up the challenge & sets course to the US with his two aides. So how he manages to manipulate the American political machinery forms the crux of the movie.

Being the festive season, Arun Vaidyanathan has planned his debut venture in such a manner that it takes full use of Lalettan's brand value. Since the film starts with the message requesting people to keep their logic at home, I am definitely not going to question Arun's wafer thin plot & the manner in which the protagonist goes about executing it. It is packaged as a political satire & does have genuine humourous sequences in the first half. But the major flaw of this movie is that it totally depends on Lalettan's yesteryear blockbusters to garner the audience's applause. I found it quite enjoyable for some time, but after a point it kinda got boring. The second half was depressing as it lagged quite a bit before eventually culminating in a damp climax. 

As for other technical aspects, Arora's music was mediocre & the VFX at the end was pathetic considering the amount of money they had invested. However, the visuals were rich & colorful for which Aravind Krishna needs to be commended.

Lalettan is the heart & soul of the movie as it is nothing more than an extravagant advertisement of "Brand Lalettan" with numerous spoofs being witness to that. He has done complete justice to the role & the look that he had used in this movie was damn good. Baburaj does score at numerous instances while Aju Varghese makes his presence felt in the Mission Impossible spoof. Vijay Babu was average while the Badai Bunglow duo, Mukesh & Ramesh Pisharody was fine. The female lead played by Ragini Nandwani had a beautiful face but seemed a misfit. 

Verdict: There is no doubt that the film will garner a humongous initial considering the number of release centers both in India & abroad. A significant portion of the first half will have the audience in splits, but repeated cliches dulls the experience. In short, for a film that states to keep our logic at home I expected an outright laugh riot which it fails to provide. Anywaz it wont hurt to give a try!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Munnariyippu review: "Climax does make sense of the title!!!"

It's been about a week since "Munnariyippu" had hit the screens but since I have been strapped for time, I wasn't able to pen down my thoughts about it. I am sure most of you would have heard by now that it's fantastic & quite distinct from the manner it has been treated as opposed to the ones that are being dished out. It's unique for sure but did it work for me...hmm, well not as much. So why was the experience not so awe inspiring for me???

 Anjali Arakkal (Aparna Gopinath) is a free lance journalist, who sustained herself as a competent ghost writer...but her ultimate aim was to make a name for herself in the journalism world as she had the talent & panache for it. On the behest of an eminent journalist, KK (Prathap Pothen) she was entrusted with the task of being the ghost writer for the Jail Superintendent, Rama Murthy (Nedumudi Venu). Her interactions with the Superintendent led her to get acquainted with C K Raghavan (Mammootty), a convict jailed for a double homicide. However, Raghavan's insistence that he was innocent & his philosophical comments, stirs the journalistic instincts in Anjali & she runs a feature on him in a leading magazine which wins her a great deal of accolades. But when a leading book firm offers her a handsome contract for Raghavan's autobiography, little did she realize as to what she has got herself into.

Venu, is one name which doesn't need any introduction as he is a cinematographer par excellence & had been honoured with the National Award thrice. He has already tried his hand in direction with the interesting "Daya" which happened more than a decade back. So when he announced his second venture, it did generate a great deal of interest & expectations. The main highlight of the movie is Venu's script itself that is devoid of any kind of filmy gimmicks or masala, in short a stark depiction of life. Another aspect that I absolutely loved were the dialogues which were thought provoking at times. However, there are numerous instances where I kinda felt the film was sluggish as barely nothing happens for long periods of time. The climax was good & made sense of the previous scenes but still I would have preferred a more engaging screenplay.

Mammootty absolutely rocked as the protagonist as he breathed life into the character in a convincing manner. His constant admission of innocence, wry smile & insightful observations of life seemed absolutely realistic. After numerous pathetic scripts, he finally lands with one which does make use of his acting skills. Aparna Gopinath was equally impressive & stands toe to toe with Mammookka. The remaining cast was also aptly chosen be it Nedumudi Venu, Renji Panicker, Joy Mathew etc; but I felt Prithviraj's guest appearance didnt make much sense as it had no impact whatsoever.

Verdict: With the Onam releases hitting the screens from today, the collection of the film could get severely dented. It might not be palatable for some as the film does drag at times & requires the audience to assimilate many of the sequences. From a personal point of view, I absolutely loved the climax but would have preferred a more engaging buildup!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Apothecary review: "Realistic portrayal of how an unfortunate few becomes nothing more than guinea pigs!!!"

It's almost 3 weeks since "Apothecary" had hit the screens & I happened to hear quite good reviews about it which naturally increased my curiosity. Finally I got to watch it a week back & though writing a review now wont make much sense, I still feel that since the script is based on the Medical profession I need to enlighten my colleagues as to what I felt about it being from the same background. 

Dr. Vijay Nambiar (Suresh Gopi) is a renowned neurosurgeon of the multi-speciality Apothecary hospital, who had met with a fatal accident rendering him comatosed. As the doctors pondered over the bleak prognosis of his condition, one of his patients Subin Joseph (Jayasurya) pays him a visit. Though Dr. Vijay was oblivious to what was happening around him, Subin narrates his experience in the very same hospital when he was brought there to him for treatment. Dr. Vijay Nambiar had saved numerous lives in his career with his expertise which earned him a great deal of fame, prosperity & good will. But he was also forced to indulge in unethical medical practices at the behest of the hospital administration which proved to be a horrendous experience for the unfortunate few. Even Subin was a victim of this ordeal but will Dr. Vijay ever get an opportunity to rectify the mistakes that he had committed???

After having impressed one & all with his debut venture "Melvilasam", Madhav Ramadasan is back with a bang with an absolute beauty. The film delves into the psyche of the doctor & is interspersed with images from the after life. Madhav provides us with a peek into the business world of the Medical profession where a set of lab tests & scans are a part of standard procedure rather than absolute necessity. The screenplay cohesively lays out the story & we cant help having a lump in the throat at numerous instances. Equally impressive were Hari Nair's visuals & Sheikh Elahi's background score which is both enchanting and encompasses the mood of the film.

It's true that the script is the backbone of any film, but in order for it to make a lasting effect on the audience it has to be enacted by an apt choice of artists & Madhav has hits the bull's eye on that. After maintaining a low profile on screen for the past few years, Suresh Gopi has made a supreme comeback in a performance which will rank as one of the best in his career & his dialogue delivery in the climax was fantastic. The same goes with Jayasurya for his dedication to get into the skin of the character both physically & emotionally. If "Spirit" recongnised the actor in Nandu, then this film has done the same for Indrans as it showcased how brilliant an actor he is. Asif Ali in an extended cameo role has also done a commendable job. As for the rest of the cast, all of them have done their roles aptly.

Verdict: The film is slowly turning out to be a hit & truly deserves so. This portrayal is in no way meant to demean the Medical Profession or to categorize all hospitals and doctors of belonging to the same flock. As Jayasurya says in the movie "We always bargain in markets but never in hospitals"; it's high time that we as doctors dont succumb to such heinous practices & spoil the name of our noble profession. In short, if any of my friends have missed it especially my Medicine batchmates, you guys definitely have to check it out!!!

Rating: 4/5

Regards...Ben

Avatharam review: "Success likely to elude Joshy yet again!!!"

It might sound weird but whenever I see Dileep's films it kinda reminds me of Salman, for the simple reason that all their recent movies are box office blockbusters though it has been panned by the critics. Salman doesn't even have an ounce of Dileep's caliber but both of them know what the fan wants & they churn it out relentlessly. It's common knowledge that humour is Dileep's forte but his latest venture with Joshy in "Avatharam" has him in an action avatar. So can he replicate his success in this genre as well???

Madhavan (Dileep) is a native of Bison Valley who comes over to Cochin accompanying his sis in law and niece following the death of his brother and customs officer, Sudhakaran (Ganesh). As he runs from pillar to pillar to obtain the death claim, he soon realizes that his brother was the victim of foul play & not otherwise as the police had proclaimed. With the police hand in glove with the gangsters, Madhavan realizes that he has got his task cut out as one wrong move would jeopardize the lives of his dear & near ones. So how he goes about his plan forms the crux of the movie.

So after reading the plot, many of you would be wondering what's so unique about this & that's exactly the problem with Vyasan Edavanakad's script. Neither does it offer anything refreshing nor is the treatment different, as it lacked any knock out moments which would grip our attention. Joshy has been a maestro in action thrillers for decades but in recent times, he has been severely let down by the quality of the scripts be it "Salaam Kashmir", "Lokpal" & now this. 

With a running time of close to 2.40 hrs, it does test the patience of the audience & I wish Shyam Sasidharan had done a better job at the editing table. As for other aspects, Deepak Dev's music was average while Rajasekhar's efforts behind the camera didnt have much to laud about. 

Dileep has done what was expected of him but with such a lack luster script there is a limit to how much he can offer. Lakshmi Menon, a known face in the Tamil industry was fine while Sijoy Varghese as ACP was fantastic and will be the one to look out for in the future. As for the rest, they merely made up the numbers as they had nothing more than smirk wickedly & get slashed in the end.

Verdict: This is by no means anywhere close to "Runway, borne out of the same Joshy-Dileep combo which I consider as the best Dileep action film. Frankly speaking, I was damn bored towards the end & I couldnt resist myself a couple of chuckles seeing the amateurish action choreography. Being Dileep's movie it might work at the box office but I doubt so this time around. Anywaz it didnt work for me !!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben