4 The People

Well! let me first talk about the story before I write the actual review.

It is a story about four young college students who come together to start a revolution of sorts in the country. They start a website where people can post complaints about corrupt officials, crimes and other unlawful activities and these young men take action against them by cutting off the criminal’s hand.

So, of course the police and politicians are up in arms against them and a young officer is brought in to nab these guys. He after a lot of hits and misses finally manages to nab them.

Now there is a girlfriend of one of the guys, some vague story about their families which tries to explain their inspiration for this venture etc.

There are some movies where the plot has some potential, unfortunately there are way too many gaping holes in this movie. Story is shoddy, background score even worse. I did not like the music at all and it was out of place in the movie, but I understand it was a hit when the movie was released. There is no logic to the script and the script writer forgot that he needs to establish some strong characters before telling a powerful story. I don’t think this can even be called a story because it is way too disjointed.

The only decent job acting-wise was done by the Narain (as Rajan Mathew, IPS). Rest of the cast don’t deserve a mention.

I literally saw the movie in fast forward.

Don’t waste your time with this one.

The movie is available with subtitles with AP International and it was dubbed in Tamil and Telugu as well. 

Do skip.

Nerariyan CBI

(An unnatural story told in a natural way)

I am always nervous when I write a review for a mystery. You have to tell a story without actually telling it. This movie is murder mystery, fourth in the sequence of investigative thrillers starring Mammootty as a CBI officer.

The story starts with four friends spending a day at the ancestral estate of one of the friends. The estate has a worship room which has been locked and is considered cursed. During the night one of the girls not related to the family is found dead outside her bedroom near a staircase. Her death is written off as supernatural and the case is frozen. Four years later a young IPS officer, fiancé of one of the girls contacts his superior Sethurama Iyer (Mammoottyy) to solve this case which has been troubling him.

Sethurama Iyer, relooks at the fundamentals which the police at the time of enquiry ignored. His investigation reveals a story about almost all the family members, all of whom could have had a motive for killing the girl.

What I liked about the movie is that like a typical “Agatha Christie” novel it has you guessing till the end. The movie is sufficiently fast paced without being melodramatic (except the background music every time Mammootty comes onscreen). It has enough twists and turns to confuse you and keep you riveted.

I personally love murder mysteries and all sort of detective thrillers.

Direction and editing are crisp and Mammoottyy plays the suave, persuasive yet firm CBI officer brilliantly.

A pleasant break from dull romances and run of the mill stories.

The movie is available with Moser Baer with subtitles.

Do Watch.

Sallapam

While many people might classify this movie as a love story, I would say that this is a woman’s story, who in spite of very adverse circumstances knows how to live life and fight for it too.

Radha (Manju Warrier) is a young girl who has been working as a servant maid cum companion to Padmini (Bindu Panicker) and her two kids. Padmini’s husband works in some Arab country and sends money regularly. Radha’s father is a drunkard who went chasing some actress, while her mother committed suicide on rail tracks. She was brought up by her aunt and her son Divakaran (Manoj K Jayan). Divakaran is a railway employee and sort of a rowdy whom the people fear. It is understood that Radha will marry Divakaran when time comes.

Radha is very fond of music but never gets a chance to learn and sing because the upper class land lady and her daughter keep her out of the school. A village fest is being organized and Sasikumar aka junior Yesudas (Dileep) is being called to perform. While still very young, he is a beautiful singer and needs a female voice to accompany him on stage. As luck would have it, he hears Radha and chooses her. Later Radha discovers that Sasi is actually a carpenter who along with his uncle is doing some repairs at Padmini’s house. They start talking and get closer.

Meanwhile, Padmini’s husband comes back from “The Arab” and desires Radha. Padmini on discovering that tells Divakaran to take Radha with him and arrange for their marriage quickly. Divakaran and Padmini are unaware of Radha’s affection for Sasi.

Radha declares her love for Sasi and runs away to his house only to discover that Sasi and his family live in abject poverty and Sasi could never support her. She also runs to Padmini for help who knowing her husband’s character is unable to help Radha. Completely distressed, Radha contemplates suicide but Divakaran stops her telling that he will take care of her no matter what.

While the story may not be great there are a couple of points I feel need to be highlighted here especially in light of the current debate on women’s portrayal in Indian cinema. 

• There are no black and whites in the world. Fighting is not always the right path. Survival is.
• While Padmini is a housewife completely dependent on her husband, on learning his evil intentions for Radha, she is mature enough to not blame that innocent girl but take measures to ensure her safety. Also leaving the man, while bold decision, might not have been feasible for her and her children, but she has not been shown weak even for a second. She makes her displeasure apparent to her husband.
•  Radha, an innocent village belle who constantly looks over her shoulder while walking on desolate roads for eve teasers, does not fail to destroy a ruffian’s cycle but has the sense to run away on sensing danger. While dependent on Divakaran, she also has the courage to stand up for her love and not give in to forcibly marrying him.

All in all, a woman’s strength is not in pretending that the streets are safe and men are angels, but knowing when to stand up for one’s rights and dignity and when to flow with circumstances. Not every battle has to be fought. The trick is to know which one to fight.

I would say “Do Watch” for sensible portrayal of women in seemingly simple day-to-day stories.

Kudos to Manju Warrier for a simple yet stunning performance.

The DVD is available with Moser Baer with subtitles. 

Hallo

Hallo is to Mohanlal, what Dabangg2 is to Salman Khan…story that could have been…moments that could have been…bad music…wasted actors…relying solely on out of place antics of a star…

I do know Dabangg2 will break a lot of box office records this year and from what I understand Hallo did as well.

Anyways here goes…

Shivaraman (Mohanlal), a lawyer by profession is now an unabashed alcoholic blaming his parents and brother, a police officer for the untimely demise of his lover.

Parvathi (Parvathi Menon) is the daughter of an extremely wealthy Marwari. Her family members apparently are after her life and she is trying to escape their clutches. Unfortunately she is kidnapped, but somehow manages a phone call which connects her to Shivaraman. He figures out the hideout by recognizing the ‘bar’ sign Parvathi describes and rescues the damsel in distress. Rest of the movie is a tussle between Shivaraman and Parvathi’s family. I can now write about tons of loopholes in the plot and absolutely silly story…but I am not going to waste my time doing it.

Music is as bad as it can get. Direction and editing don’t deserve a mention. Mohanlal looks ridiculous doing those antics and Parvathi Menon looks like a bimbo and acts like one for good measure.

DVD is available with Moser Baer with subtitles - Hallo

Do Skip.