Malik review: "Slow burner bolstered by strong performances!!!"

Whenever a movie begins with the disclaimer "Any resemblance to any person or event is purely coincidental", more often than not we can rest assured that it would have been heavily inspired from reality. So when the same words beamed in the title credits of the much awaited Mahesh Narayanan's "Malik" which released on Amazon Prime on Wednesday, it naturally further spiked the curiosity of most of us. Ever since the trailer was released a few months back which looked impressive there was significant hype about this big budget movie that had an enviable cast & crew. So will it be able to satiate the expectations???

Ali Ikka/Suliaman (Fahadh Faasil), the most revered and feared personality in Ramadapally was taken into custody from the airport under TADA charges when he was about to embark on a Haj. As expected, this creates an unrest in the region as some saw it as an opportunity to establish their unholy influence behind the cloak of fake concern. However, the men in power & the authorities knew that putting him behind bars was not a viable solution & hence, the only option would be to eliminate him within the prison premises. But was such a plan even worth contemplating as the backlash could be severe after all he was a messiah who stood up for the people against political apathy & vested interests???

A couple of months back, when the public was forced to follow the lockdown protocol; Mahesh Narayanan treated us to "C U Soon" which had most of the people sing praises in his ability to craft an engaging movie within the confines of an apartment. So when "Malik" that he had scripted as well was staged on a grand scale, the expectations were nigh high. With regard to the actual storyline, it is an interesting concoction of fact & fiction that is packaged as an atypical mass movie unlike the realism that we have started to get used to in recent times. It is essentially the recreation of the 2009 Bheemapally shootout & despite the influence of "The Godfather", "Nayagan" & "Vaada Chennai"; it manages to stand on its own. The primary reason for that are the performances & the manner in which it has been picturized. The script ought to have to been much more taut as there are quite a few sequences that lacked clarity & the art/make up department wasnt quite upto the mark. On the technical side, it was pretty top notch be it Sanu Varghese's impressive frames (hats off to the 12 minute single shot sequence) & Sushin Shyam's enticing music.

Well there is no point in even discussing about Fahadh since more often than not, he will ace his part just like how has done here where he appeared in different stages of the character's life & accordingly, brought in credible changes to his body language. The same also applies to Nimisha Sajayan (who has made a habit of being present in all praise worthy flicks), Dileesh Pothan, Jalaja, Joju George, Vinay Fort etc. However, I would like to specifically mention two artists & they are Sanal Aman (as Freddy) & Indrans both of whom have done utmost justice to their roles. 

Verdict: With a run time of about 161 minutes, it might test the patience of quite a few; however from a personal point of view, I barely felt that. It's the type of movie that ought to have released in theatres, but with the COVID restrictions still prevalent; it was understandable that the makers had to go for an OTT release. Is it a perfect movie? Certainly not as the script does have it's shortcoming but Mahesh & his team still managed to create an engaging crime saga. So do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Sara's: "Relevant topic handled reasonably well without being preachy!!!"

'Haven't your son completed his Medical course?', 'Is it worth pursuing PhD after Medicine?', 'When is he getting married?,' etc. etc. Well these are some of the queries that my parents & I had faced and Im pretty certain almost all of you would have come across similar queries about your personal & professional choices from relatives & even total strangers. Apparently, the society seems to be more concerned (I guess 'judgmental' would be the apt word) about us than our own parents & that irks me to no end. One such question that the women face is the core subject of Jude Anthany's "Sara's" that released on Amazon Prime y'day. Surprisingly, there was hardly any publicity until Lalettan posted it on his FB page a few hours prior to its release (which is how I came to know). So will it garner the word of mouth in its favour or remain unknown???

Ever since Sara (Anna Ben) could remember she was pretty sure that motherhood wasn't quite up her alley. This didn't quite appeal to the guys & as she said figuratively for her first boyfriend "the guy didn't want the puffs without the egg".  Her ambition was to become a film maker & she passionately followed that dream by assisting various projects with the support of her parents especially her father, Vincent (Benny Nayarambalam). With the experience gained, she decided to pen a script & as part of that research  she visited a forensic surgeon, Dr. Sandhya Philip (Dhanya Varma). Incidentally, Sandhya's brother Jeevan (Sunny Wayne) also had a similar outlook to parenthood like Sara & that proved to be the catalyst that kindled the chemistry between them. However, Sara was reluctant to tie the knot until her debut venture had sprouted wings. Though Jeevan supported her decision, will they be able to convince their families???

This is Jude's third venture & he has yet again chosen a woman as the protagonist with a relevant subject whereby the family & society pressurizes the girl into marriage & other related phases of it. Interestingly, the script was the creation of Dr. Akshay Hareesh who were one among the many who had sent their creations to Jude after the latter made a request about the same on his FB page. Despite the similarity in the equation between father & daughter as in "Om Shanthi Oshana", this still had a distinct soul of its own. Kudos to Jude for treating the subject without ever getting overtly serious but at the same point not backing down from raising questions about some common stigmas. It also had some sequences that really stood out such as Siddique's counselling session & the veteran actress who is asked to make a comeback. If at all there is one aspect that I didn't quite warm up to was the reason for the reactions of some of the characters in the climax which I felt wasn't conveyed convincingly. The technical aspects of the movie were impressive be it Shaan Rahman's melodies & BGM, Nimish Ravi's colourful visuals that imparted positive vibes & also the art team.

Once again, Anna Ben hits the bull's eye with a praise worthy performance & hats off to her ability to choose interesting scripts until now which gave her ample opportunity to showcase her skills. Sunny did a decent job though in some sequences he lacked the naturality while Siddique as usual rocked in the limited time he was on screen. It was refreshing to see Benny (in a role similar to Renji Panicker from "OSO") share screen space with his daughter & he has done a fine job. But one artist, who really surprised me was Mallika Sukumaran as I barely recollect liking any of her dramatic performances. However as Sunny's mom she was spot on as the conventional orthodox parent with the right amount of love, attitude & authority. As for the rest of the cast, Dhanya Varma, Prasanth Nair "Collector Bro" etc., have done their parts aptly.

Verdict: No matter how progressive we are, there is still a prevalent mindset in the society that when it comes to  relationships and both the guy & gal have to adhere to certain norms and expectations. Is it wrong to say that such parents shouldn't have expectations? They certainly can have their wishes & advise their loved ones, but ultimately we need to realize that a girl have the right to take decisions about her life and career and as to what might be her priority. As a movie, it has raised some important questions in a light hearted manner & certainly deserves a watch!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Cold Case review: "Unlikely to be cold shouldered, though the response will be lukewarm!!!"

With the theatres still a few weeks away before it would echo to whistles & brim with excitement, more & more directors have warmed to the OTT culture. The latest to join the bandwagon is Tanu Balak with his debut venture "Cold Case" that had Prithvi treading into the Amazon platform as well. As most of you are aware or would have easily understood from the trailer, the movie is a combination of horror and crime thriller. Hmm, sounds familiar...so is it like "The Priest"??? Well not quite, but did it offer anything different especially since our industry is not quite adept when it comes to horror.

The film unfolds with ACP Satyajit (Prithviraj) called in to investigate a murder as a skull was recovered from the river wrapped in a packet. With the victim itself unknown, the task in the hands of the police was daunting. Around the same time, a TV journalist, Medha (Aditi Balan) who dealt with paranormal stories with a reputed channel moved into a rented house along with her daughter. With the legal pressure of the custodial case of her daughter from her husband, she hoped that the new abode would script a fresh chapter in their life. But it didn't quite seem like that as the house seemed to be haunted or was it just a figment of her imagination???

Though Tanu Balak will be a relatively unknown name to the public, he is quite known in the industry for his cinematographic skills that has been showcased in numerous ads and few movies. His decision to don the hat of a director had the involvement of his family literally as the script was penned by his brother in law, Sreenath V Nath. With regard to the storyline, they brought in an interesting thought whereby two parallel investigations are portrayed. For a significant length of the movie, both these aspects were handled sensibly but as it gradually converged it kinda lost its spark. The climax was a damp squid as neither the premise nor the cast managed to create an impact.

On the technical side, it was pretty impressive as the visuals were handled by the brilliant Jomon T John & Girish Gangadharan while the BGM was the creation of Prakash Alex. Coming to performances, Prithvi was average as he looked a bit too uptight compared to his last few movies. Aditi Balan looked the part of the journalist & has done a decent job but the dubbing artist did a pretty mediocre job. as for the rest of the cast, they did their parts fairly ok. 

Verdict: It certainly had the potential to be an absolute winner but lost its edge towards the latter half. However, the manner in which the investigation moves along for a significant portion will keep the audience entertained. In short, give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Jagame Thandhiram review: "Attempts a Tarantino to good effect though the core issue required an insightful execution!!!"

After more than a year of grim news about COVID, the last fortnight has been rather encouraging with a steady decline in the TPR in many parts of our country. This essentially meant that the State Govts have started to ease the restrictions though it is imperative that the public are sensible enough to do the needful to remain protected. However, the theatres are still some time away before it would be opened due to which Karthik Subbaraj's "Jagame Thandhiram" had to opt for a OTT release on Netflix. The trailer promised it to be an absolute entertainer with an interesting star cast. So does it manage to live upto expectations???

Peter Sprott (James Cosmo) is a white supremacist gangster who was hand in glove with the political clan that was against the influx of refugees into UK. His rival was Sivadoss (Joju George), a Tamilian who along with his army of immigrants was a constant thorn in Peter's operations. At around this time, the exploits of Suruli (Dhanush), a Madurai based gangster reached the ears of Peter who hired the services of the former to put an end to Sivadoss's empire. Since the paycheck was hefty, Suruli took up the mission but could he trust a white supremacist???

Ever since Karthik Subbaraj burst into the scene with "Pizza", he was billed as one of the directors to look out for in the present generation. His tribute to Rajinikanth in the form of "Petta" had the audience go ga-ga & hence when his latest venture was announced with Dhanush it was expected to be a cracker. Unfortunately, it didn't quite (at least for me) as the manner in which he had penned the script clearly indicated that he didn't know how to balance the wackiness with a global issue and in the process failed to do justice to both especially the latter aspect. Despite this shortcoming, it still manages to keep the audience entertained with the protagonist's bindaas attitude & the no holds barred action masala. 

On the technical side, Santhosh Narayanan's BGM & music were impressive, Shreyas Krishna's visuals deserves praise while Vivek Harshan could have been more judicious with his editing skills. Coming to performances, Dhanush was interesting as Suruli though his portrayal felt like an amalgamation of Rajini & Maari. Joju was impressive despite the fact that he had a significantly reduced screen time while James Cosmo did a decent job as well. As for the rest of the cast, Gajaraj as Murugesan deserves mention while the others including Aishwarya Lekshmi were average.

Verdict: There is no doubt that the final product didn't quite match the expectations. However, it will keep the audience entertained but one cant help thinking that it had scope for much more if adequate thought was given to the script rather than playing it to the galleries. In short, you can give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben 

Sardar ka Grandson review: "Interesting premise let down by a nonsensical screenplay!!!"

With the lockdown in all major cities extended by a week or so, it's pretty much evident that OTT platforms will continue to remain the main release portal atleast for the next few months. This week saw the release of Kaashvi Nair's "Sardar ka Grandson" on Netflix which seemed like another flick that was about Indo-Pak brotherhood with a mention of the pain of Partition. Well we have heard Celine Dion sing 'love can move mountains' & this light hearted comedy/emotional flick is about a grandson literally move a house from across the border. Perplexed??? actually, I'm not joking.

Amreek (Arjun Kapoor) resides in LA & runs a movers and packers company along with his girlfriend, Radha (Rakul Preet Singh). The couple hits a rough patch in their relationship & Radha decide to call it quits. It was at this juncture that Amreek had to head back home as his grandmother, Sardar (Neena Gupta) had a tumour that could prove fatal. As her last wish, she wanted Amreek to take her to Lahore to visit the house that she had built with her husband, late Gursher Singh (John Abraham) prior to Partition. It certainly seemed like a practical wish until Amreek realized that his grandmother was blacklisted by the Pakistani embassy for an altercation that she had with one of their high ranking officials during a cricket match. 

This is Kaashvi's debut directorial venture & she has penned the script along with Anuja Chauhan. The basic idea of the movie was interesting & kinda reminded me of Pete Doctor's animation movie "Up" as well as shades of Imtiaz Ali's "Love Aaj Kal" (2009). Anywaz according to Kaashvi, she was inspired by the 2017 Al Jazeera documentary "Going back to Pakistan: 70 Years After Partition". This idea was however royally messed up with an absolutely pathetic hare brained screenplay that didn't seem to be bothered about the thought process or finesse that ought to have gone into the protagonist's plan. As for the technical aspects, they are fine though it doesn't deserve special mention.

In recent times, Neena Gupta has come up with some praise worthy performances & as Sardar, she was fine though the role & the prosthetics didn't offer her much scope. As for the rest of the cast, they are average at best be it Arjun, Rakul, Aditi & John; while the romantic track between the latter two was barely explored and would have added more emotional impact.

Verdict: This is a classic example of an interesting thread muddled up coz of a crappy screenplay and lack of directorial vision. Even in it's present form, it still give us moments of emotional connect & it's a shame that they messed it up!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben

Aarkkariyam review: "Seems like the director did not know that the movie had potential for much more!!!"

Even as the theatres wear a deserted look since the lockdown was announced, there were a plethora of flicks that hit the screens in the narrow window prior to that. This essentially meant most of them struggled to get a proper theatrical run to add onto the challenge that the public was also skeptical about going to confined places due to the pandemic. One such movie that got caught in this midst was Sanu John Varghese's "Aarkkariyam" which was initially released on the big screen on April 1st & finally on quite a few OTT platforms last Wednesday. 

COVID had just started to spread its tentacles & the people were getting to feel the effects that it had on their lives. This included Shirley (Parvathy) & Roy (Sharafudeen) based in Mumbai as the couple were in a financial crisis as the latter's business consignment was stuck in red tape coz of the shipping restrictions imposed. They decided to head back to Shirley's home back in Kerala where her widowed father, Ittyavira Abraham (Biju Menon) was staying alone in a sprawling estate. How the three of them spent their time together during the lockdown while making efforts to bring back Shirley's daughter from hostel & arranging financial resources to repay Roy's friend Vysakh (Saiju Kurup) forms the crux of the movie. 

Sanu John as a cinematographer needs no introduction as his body of work which includes "Viswaroopam 1 & 2", "Thoonga Vanam", "Take Off" etc speaks for itself. This time around he has decided to try his hand in direction with "Aarkkariyam" that he has penned along with Arun Janardanan & Rajesh Ravi. He takes his own sweet time to set the tone before he eventually lands a cracker but the manner that was subsequently built upon felt like a missed opportunity. It's not necessary that everything has to be mystery thriller, however Sanu had the chance to make it much more engaging rather than merely give philosophical statements. There might be questions raised about the pace of the movie, but I certainly felt that it was fine especially since most of us know how slow the time moves at times when we are at home during this period. Most of the technical aspects were fine be it the manner in which Srinivas Reddy captured the locale or Sanjay Divecha's BGM (which I saw was slammed by quite a few though for me it felt fine and not intruding).

With just a few characters roped in for the movie, it was imperative that Sanu made the apt choices & it would be fair to say that he has done just that. Biju Menon was fantastic as the septuagenarian capturing the body language & expressions perfectly while Parvathy as always gave a solid performance, though I felt her character wasnt given as much scope as the other two characters. Sharafudeen was a pleasant surprise & he did justice to his role though Sanu's decision to make him mouth English & Hindi dialogues just didnt appear natural. It stuck out like a sore thumb more often than not but Saiju was spot on in that aspect. A special word of mention to Pramod Veliyanad who continues to impress with his naturality be it in "Kala" & now over here, while Arya Salim has also done a fine job. 

Verdict: Biju Menon's fantastic performance along with impressive support from Parvathy & Sharafudeen makes it a decent one time watch. There is no doubt that the movie had the potential to be much more engaging but even in its present form, it still deserves to be watched.

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Radhe review: "Most wanted bhai gives a least engaging flick!!!"

Even as our nation is caught up in the Covid crisis, Eid brought along with it messages of peace & harmony which is absolutely essential if we want to harbor hopes of a brighter tomorrow. As has been the trend in the last many years, Eid would essentially mean the release of Salman's bindaas entertainers & this time too we had one in the form of Prabhu Deva's "Radhe". With restrictions in place, the makers released it in theatres overseas while they beamed it on Zee Plex over here. So will it be 2 h of unadulterated no holds barred entertainment???

Mumbai was in the grip of the new drug lord, Rana (Randeep Hooda) & the mission to clean up the city was entrusted upon Officer Radhe (Salman Khan). What subsequently happens next is known to everyone with the only exception being as to how exactly does Radhe go about his task? Salman's movies has a fixed template with comedy, foot tapping music & large than life action sequences which invariably whets the appetite of the audience. In a way, it could be said that Prabhu Deva is the one who started this trend for Salman  with "Wanted" in 2009 & this is the third collaboration between the duo with "Dabaang 3" being the previous one. 

There is no doubt that Prabhu Deva is a brilliant choreographer but as a film maker he is pretty damn mediocre except for maybe "Wanted" & "Rowdy Rathore" that I enjoyed. Most of his flicks are South Indian remakes & in that sense, this time around it is a bit different as it is based on the Korean movie "The Outlaws".  It is absolutely pathetic to say the least, as none of the elements manages to lift our spirits. It felt like some B grade movie which was shot in the 1990s with an uninspired star cast who barely does anything (or rather wasn't told what to do), the CGI was horrendous, the production value seemed like it was shots on the set of some drama. If at all there is some positive, then it is in the sound tracks which was rather decent. None of the other aspects deserves a mention. 

As always, this is an out & out Salman show; but unlike his previous flicks; this was cringe worthy with none of his antics failing to evoke any kind of thrills. Randeep does a decent job while the others were there for the numbers.

Verdict: Well there isnt much to honey coat here except that it was an insult to our senses!!!

Rating: 0.5/5

Regards...Ben