Movie Review – Maheshinte Prathikaaram

Not to the perfect size?

This movie was one of my long hauled overdue and somehow escaped my radar all this while. Considered to be the finest of Fahadh Faasil and start of a new era by Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran. Unfortunately as I had watched and blown away by ‘Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum’, as a non malayalee who doesn’t understand the meaning of the words, even by the rhyme of it, ‘Maheshinte Prathikaaram’ was a little underwhelming. I guess both of it together would work as a dual feature, not like that or Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, but something like that of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’. The feeling was similar to how it felt after watching ‘Mr. Smith goes to Washington’ after being blown away by ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

The initial vibe of the film was terrific, the elongation of the word “pennu” and the sudden halt while saying “Idukki” in the titular song would give smiles to anyone settling in theatre. It’d have given a proper settling of rustling leaves vibes when you had seen people enter the theatre and you’re already in your dreamland. I thought it was going to be one happy film seeing that song sequence but it was entirely not so.

Mahesh (Fahadh Faasil) is a normal guy, in writer Sujatha’s words, a satharanan, one who has lived his life in peace in a small town, known by his friends and hated by none. He’s neither skillful nor terrible. He lives his life as if he’s not even in the frame. He loves a girl who too has affection on him but it doesn’t materialize for obvious reasons, the reason not explained in the movie but it felt like an eventual. This breakup felt harsher and realistic than Fahadh Faasil’s highly acclaimed but terribly boring ‘Annayum Rasoolum’. He doesn’t grimace in pain, may be part of him too knew that it was not going to happen. There isn’t any bitching, thankfully. Furthermore, post her marriage we don’t see her suffer. There were mild cues in the movie where the groom was shown as a possessive man, but thankfully being a positive non melodramatic movie we don’t see her suffering even though a part of us who sympathize with Mahesh would want that.

Due a sequence of events, a Butterfly Effect may be, we see Mahesh getting into a fight and getting beaten up and he swears that he wouldn’t wear a chappal until he avenges his man. While we think that the movie was going to get into a serious tone, the man who beat him up goes to Dubai. It was a terrific interval. It’d have been great if the movie had just ended there. The second half felt obvious. A girl who’s a sister of that man, Mahesh avenging him and asking for the girl, felt a little bit preposterous. The punch that he had expected while the directors name flashes on screen actually happens during the interval block.

As much as one would want to appreciate Fahadh Faasil, not just him but everyone could be appreciated in the same vein. There wasn’t a single badly acted scene in the whole movie. Everyone did their role to perfection. Even Mahesh’s Kung Fu colleague who beats up the auto driver. The climax fight gets us on the hook but isn’t it a film which is greater than this to have our emotions ridden in such a straight forward scene.

There was a part where Mahesh’s dad asks him not to call his studio as shop. There was a slight “coming of age” touch there but it wasn’t overdone and didn’t drift the film in some other direction. But it’s something which could’ve even be taken off and the film would have still worked fine and his character would have felt earthier. For some reason I was constantly getting ‘C/o Kancharapalem’ vibes which made me feel that this film as a less great one among the two.

As I said before, this movie would have worked better if I had seen it first and seen it with less disturbance. It’s not a movie for pause and play, in fact no movie is. But as it plays around with the feelings and emotions more than the story, a strong settling time would be appreciated.

Movie Review – Parava

Flies high with pride

What started as a not so confident exercise made me sit up and look in awe within minutes. I was super excited to watch ‘Kammatipaadam’ thinking that it would be a fun film but it was the opposite. Seeing the posters, I thought ‘Parava’ too would be on the same lines but it ended out to be one of the nicest feel good films of late. Being a fan of Soubin Shahir, I was naturally interested to watch when I got to know that it’s a film directed by him.

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‘Parava’ is not a film which one watches on purpose but a film which happens on its own. These are like typical seven pointers in IMDB which works wonderfully well and could connect to us personally. Much like ‘The Bronx Tale’. It’s not a film everyone would have watched. It’s not a film which is recommend to everyone for watching. But for someone who adores the gangster flicks, this movie could be as personal as it can get. Given that De Niro had directed it with his regular culprits, which deals with nostalgia, this really was a sweet experience. ‘Parava’ was one such movie for teenagers.

Being a big fan of no nonsensical teen age films more than coming of age ones which deals with a lot of misery and boredom, ‘Parava’ strikes the right chord from the word go. The opening story with Haseeb (Govind V. Pai) and Irshad a.k.a. “Ichappi” (Amal Shah) was done so well that it could have been a standalone film. Good that I looked at the poster which had Salman in it, I was waiting for his entry sooner or later. If I had not known it, I would have been disappointed when the track changed from the kids to the adults. Because the kids’ story was so good.

Amal Shah is a treasure trove. He had acted so well, especially by keeping his emotions in check. Also, his character was superbly written. This is closest to how I was at that age, in real life. Master everything which is unimportant in life. It also reminded me of Calvin strip. To see how passionately they follow with their interest. Their friendship was superbly written, so much so that Haseeb wishes to fail to be in Ichappi’s class so that he can be Vice Captain. Note that even if he fails, he wishes to be second fiddle and not the captain. That was so sweet of him.

Being so involved in the kids’ story, it was a moment of distraught when the story jumps to the seniors but the director keeps us glued to the screen with an interesting screenplay. Though we know that Dulquer is eventually gonna die, it doesn’t hurt us much and moves the film out of ‘feel good’ zone because his screen space is limited. He comes as a savior for all and does the role reasonably well. Amongst the friends Shane (Shane Nigam) scores the best. Even though all he does is to stay in a balcony and stare, he does it so well that we get a feel of being struck to a balcony. Such lovely acting.

Wish Soubin had not acted in this movie. He was so not made for this role. This is a first film which felt like he was over acting. Films like ‘Sudani from Nigeria’ and ‘Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25’ works best for him where it feels like he’s very much part of the environment. There is so much practicality and earthiness in his acting which makes us fall in love with his character. Even though he has to be the opposite here, it doesn’t work at all. Whereas another drug addict Sreenath Bhasi does wonders. What an actor he is. I’ve become a big fan of his recently. He has a discreet charm like Joseph Gordon Levitt, where he couldn’t be hated. Especially it feels good to not see in full length roles. He always appears in films where we want to see more of him and the film ends whenever we are with that feel. Here too he has minimal screen space but does wonders with it.

The climax with the pigeon race works reasonably well, but it’s the kids who steal the show, the romance twist was the best scene of the film. The film ends on a high with an action sequence but that’s the only thing which felt forced in an otherwise superbly made practical film.

Movie Review – Vikrithi

Average feel good

Vikrithi is another movie which falls under the category of “you-can’t-hate” Malayalam films. It’d be nice to watch these films in the midst of other films which are different. Or at least watch it with some serious gap but when you’re watching films with fury, it becomes underwhelming. Because all the recent films fall under the same category. So again, this film too ends up being a nice film but nothing apart from that.

Just like watching few other movies like ‘Driving License’, ‘Sudani from Nigeria’ etc. This too happens to be a film which works on a single incident and how two lives are connected with that incident in the end. There was nothing to look forward in the end because we know that one person is going to forgive the other. Though it could be appreciated as a film which was made without being boring, by just one incident, there isn’t much more to it apart from that. How long are we going to keep saying the same.

The film follows the story of two individuals Eldho (Suraj Venjaramoodu) and Sameer (Soubin). Eldho being the nice guy and Sameer being the mischievous one. Eldho’s family is an interesting one with both him and his wife Elsy (Surabhi Lakshmi) being mute and deaf. Sameer on the other hand is a person with reasonable money. Till the mid-point we don’t get to know how the two stories are going to be linked.

There were few clues from Sameer’s story showing how he’s so much into social media but that too doesn’t come out loud. Generally, those scenes would be made loud so that we start anticipating the twist early but here it doesn’t happen like that. It’s more organic and natural. Though Suraj’s acting steals the show, its Soubin who plays a better everyday guy. He seems to be there in every movie I watched recently and does an amazing job in whatever role he was given. Here too, in the scene before shooting a pic of Eldho, the way he mischievously smiles at the person next to him was too natural, it looks like a reaction more than action. Wish I could act as freely as he does.

If the first half was about we empathizing Eldho, the second half was about us empathizing Sameer. But it doesn’t work as much as the first half because we’ve seen the suffering of a physically challenged man. As we know who was the reason of such mischief, it wasn’t easy to forget. But with time, that feeling is overwhelmed too. We start sympathizing with Sameer and wish for a happy ending and that’s what happens.

If you had seen Malayalam movies of recent past, this is one other movie which you can tag along. Nothing unmissable but not something you’d regret watching too.

Movie Review – Virus (2019)

A Disaster movie with a heart and soul

‘Virus’ is one of the sought-after films along with ‘Contagion’ in this lockdown period. This is the time when the events would make sense and the impact will be doubled. Like watching a horror movie alone at night. Also, while discussing the film there is a moral fear that something might happen to us if we criticize the film. That also works for both of the films. Both the films could be used a template for making disaster-based films and both come out as pretty interesting ones too.

If ‘Contagion’ was all start studded and quick based movie, ‘Virus’ thrives more on the mood. The former is like any American movie where things unfold quickly and the events are similar but with ‘Virus’ we feel the situations are more real. Also, the numbers game was blown out of proportion in ‘Contagion’. In ‘Virus’ the numbers are small but the situations are equally tense. We get to see the film from the Health Departments point of view. It was lovely to foresee a situation before it actually happens. Thinking of what the bigger impact would be.

The film could have definitely been pacy but that’s how it is in real life, it doesn’t happen fast but the situation is gripping. The way it unfolds as a thriller was terrific. Just like how the people in charge would have found out the cases, we too see them in same angle, so with every link found we feel as if we get close to a conclusion. The track of finding whether Nipah had really come from single cluster forms the heart of the film. That part was superbly made. And every actor who were part of the process had acted beautifully too.

There were ‘n’ number of actors involved in the film. It feels as if they had made this film to create awareness among the public. I wonder how so many actors would agree to act in a film which has so limited screen space. For me the two people who really stood out where Parvathy Thiruvothu as Dr. Annu and Sreenath Bhasi as Dr. Abid. They both were prolific. Dr. Annu was charming in every little way as possible. Parvathy could really do any role. I was bored of her short curly haired look and roles that she was doing off late, especially ‘Charlie’. It was blown over the top but here she is more rooted and it took me a while to know that it’s her. And Sreenath Bhasi was a revelation. He did his role with so much conviction. He demands respect right through his looks. He looks like a perfect doctor in distress.

The film talks only about the positive aspects of the people and no politics was involved. I don’t know whether it was really a good thing or bad thing. May be a few not so good things could have been shown which would have added dimension to the film but the risk is that those things would make the film a commercial one and we lose the connect to the films. With people always all so good it feels like we are fighting along with them to solve the mystery and find the root cause. Wish things were that simple.

The CCTV footages played a major role in the film and so were lighting. The colors used at some junctures were trying to give a hallucinating feel. The director was trying to bridge a gap between reality and fantasy so didn’t go into trance lighting full on but I’d have preferred it that way. Here it just feels like some other color bulbs instead of regular ones were used. It didn’t give the desired effect.

All in all, it’s a film definitely worth a watch but it’d work best if you watch it now during lockdown period because post that it would not be as interesting as something which would hold your attention.

Movie Review – Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25

A film which grows with every passing minute

It’s another feel good plotless movie which Malayalam cinema has mastered by now. So much so that, the movie wasn’t in my list because I know I’m going to feel good, but at what cost. Just like how ‘Sudani from Nigeria’ was above average and didn’t come as a striking feature, I knew ‘Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25’ too was going to fall in the category. It’s one of the reasons I wasn’t might impressed by ‘Varane Avashyamund’ too. If I had watched it when I wasn’t movies much, I’d have gone spellbound. But for now, it looked just a good movie but not great.

We see a robot killing its owner at the beginning of the film and then the title card appears and story goes to some other place. I’m not a big fan of this single shot lead. We know, something related to this would happen later but this single shot lead is something we tend to forget with time. For a change, we don’t here, because the act is inhuman, as well as the act is by a non-human.

Good thing about the film is as soon as the killing act gets over, we get to see a funeral where someone named Kunjappan is killed. We feel that he’s the person who got killed by robot in first scene. May be how Samuel Abiola Robinson gets named as Sudani/Sudu in ‘Sudani from Nigeria’, we feel that the African here would have been named as Kunjappan. But we are wrong. It’s totally different context and you know what, even the funeral is for someone who’s not related to the main story.

So finally, the story starts when Subrahmannyan / Chuppan (Soubin Shahir) and his dad Bhaskara Poduval (Suraj Venjaramoodu) come into picture. Soubin Shahir was as amazing as always and seems to be appearing in every film that I’ve watched off late after ‘Premam’. Suraj Venjaramoodu was a class act. He plays the father-in-disdain to perfection. The irritation, body language and even the wry smile suits him perfectly. The idea to have injury to one of the hands and a taller structure was minute details which worked for his look. Not sure it was the actor or the director who suggested it but it works well.

Hitomi (Kendy Zirdo) was another sweet character. Her chemistry with Subrahmannyan was perfect. Also, her Malayalam was easier to understand than the normal Malayalam. Even though the idea was to use VFX for robots, the use of a kid to play the robot suited better. It gave the life which Pixar gives without taking out the artificialness due to graphics. If VFX had been used, it should have been flawless like that of ‘Wall-E’ so better not use it if it can’t be made like that.

The film as such revolves around the antics of Android Kunjappan along with Bhaskaran. There were no startling revelations but cute little incidents here and there which makes the film move seamlessly. There were a number of fun scenes like the license of Kunjappan, Kunjappan in Temple and the dress he wears. It goes in a fun way throughout and then the seriousness strikes in.

Things could have turned disaster there but the director manages to get hold of the situation. The father blames his son for not being with him and the son blames father for not letting him get a proper job. There is no right or wrong here and people are in their crossroads of life. That was the best thing done here, no conclusion was provided on who was right and who was wrong. An average film till there gets elevated towards the climax when Bhaskaran takes Kunjappan to a temple where Kunjappan’s head gets knocked off and he tries to kill Subrahmannyan. The film would have been good enough even if it had ended at bus stop without a proper conclusion but when he calls out his son as Kunjappan and the helmet turns to be like the robot, it gets one notch higher. We now get to know the state of mind of Bhaskaran and know that he has truly got blinded by the affection towards Kunjappan, or in easier words, gone insane.

Movie Review – Sudani from Nigeria

A film which you can’t hate

‘Sudani from Nigeria’ joins the league of this one object film which Malayalam cinema has been doing off late. Maybe I watched the films in wrong order but if ‘Driving License’ was about the license, ‘Sudani from Nigeria’ was about passport. The majority of the film revolves around it and the object appears out of the blue like a rabbit out of the hat. Only thing is we don’t feel cheated, we love it, like magic. I guess keeping the screenplay apt to make us love is what makes films like this tick.

Right from the start Mr. Samuel Abiola Robinson (Samuel Abiola Robinson) gets called by various names. First Robin Singh, then Sudani and then even more sweetly as Sudu. Something which generally happens with foreigners whose name we couldn’t pronounce. I thought the film would take a different side. Good that I noted the genre to be comedy, otherwise it’d have been disappointing. I expected a rather serious film which would tell a story about a migrant settled in India. But the film was much light hearted than I thought.

The film starts with Manager Majeed (Soubin Shahir) and his football club MYC Accode winning a match against one of their rivals. The environment gets slowly established. I wonder how they get so many different settings in Malayalam. When you talk about the environment, it’s pretty simple in Tamil films. The same template gets repeated again and again. But here in this film we see a whole new world. A Muslim family, sevens tournament, foreigners playing for the local club and a whole lot of passion for the sport. It’s not the regular rags to riches story you see usually but a story which you feel like something which truly exists. So, we quickly delve into this world.

Unfortunately, my next guess about the film too went wrong. I thought the film would deal with Sudani’s football heroics but he breaks the leg in bathroom. As a matter of fact, everything in the film happens matter of factly. There was no great drama. People and their needs are simple too. When Sudu gets injured, Majeed doesn’t really get irritated, he genuinely feels that he should take care of him. At no point does the thought of getting rid of him comes to Majeed’s mind. Same thing with his family too. They too take care of him genuinely. The friends, staffs and everyone would be of same opinion. The one dialogue where Majeed says that he too doesn’t have money and someone gives him was too deep. His friends too are ready to mortgage their wife’s jewels. It’s not a depressing movie where one doesn’t have money but just a fact. Even the t-shirt gesture in climax wasn’t blown out of proportion.

Everyone in the film are do gooders, even the villain lends Sudani some money. Majeed’s father doesn’t have any complaints with his son. It’s a great move to have cast him as an apartment security. Generally, only this kind of people are there are security. People who are weak and have no other way to earn money in old age. Like how Visu would have worked as watchman in ‘Samsaram Adhu Minsaram’. Majeed’s mom is not the complaining type, she’s rather happy to serve Sudani. Even her neighbor comes to help her and offer prayers for him.

I thought at least during the climax something dramatic would happen like Sudani’s family coming here or Sudani getting back to football again but he just gets into the cab and goes off. We don’t know much about how Majeed got money for his tickets as well. But we know he’d have made some arrangements.

The single highpoint of the scene was the passport scene, it comes at quite unexpected circumstance. Superbly written scene that one, as the SI would have previously talked to them about a foreigner being there in their club and would again appear for checking license. So, we think only in that angle but ‘bam’ comes the surprise.

‘Sudani from Nigeria’, I thought would be some film on the lines of ‘Separation’. A heavy film about a foreigner but ends up being a feel-good film. Nothing to complain but it could have been a greater film but ends up being a film which you can’t hate.