Ennum Eppozhum (Forever and Always)

Manju Warrier and Mohanlal are two of my favourite actors. Few can replicate their talent as well as versatility.

Ennum Eppozhum is a simple story of a journalist Vineeth N Pillai (Mohanlal). He is a senior journalist with a women’s magazine. While he appears to be lazy, unkempt and late for everything, he is respected journalist with many path breaking stories to his credit. There are references to his mother who is portrayed as a larger than life, principled and well respected lady. Now no more, she was apparently also a friend\colleague of the owner of the magazine. The publication is now being headed by Kalyani (Reenu Mathews), the daughter of the owner. She is London educated and has a lot of new ideas for the success of the magazine. She and Vineeth don’t get along.

One day there is a news about Advocate Deepa (Manju Warrier), who protested the bad state of roads after falling into a pothole which prompted the high court to question the government. She is applauded by all and Kalyani wants to do a cover story about Advocate Deepa. Against her wishes, her mother tasks Vineeth with this assignment.

Deepa is a conscientious lady who lives with her daughter, is a lawyer and dancer and stands up for what she believes is right. Her neighbour is retired postmaster Kariachan (Innocent) and his wife, who dote on her daughter and always look out for her. She is close to her friend Farah (Lena Abhilash) who visits her from Palakkad occasionally.

Vineeth tries to interview Deepa but she refuses repeatedly. This leads to a scuffle between Kalyani and Vineeth and he ends up resigning. Later he joins back after Kalyani’s mother intervenes. Meanwhile, Deepa and her daughter meet an accident while she is riding her scooter. Vineeth is near them at the moment and rushes them to the hospital. There Deepa receives a court notice from her ex-husband for being an irresponsible mother and the lawyer takes away her daughter.

Vineeth vows to help her. He by chance bumps into the taxi who had hit Deepa, and learns that this was all done at the behest of the ex-husband. Deepa takes it to court and regains the custody of her daughter.

Unfortunately, the movie hardly has any story. There is nothing wrong in telling the story of two ordinary people, but then for it to be worthwhile, they must be put in some extraordinary situation. Even though these roles are a forte of Manju Warrier, unfortunately here she fails to leave a mark mostly because there is no story. There are some comic moments but they are also half-hearted and fail to create an impact.

The director, Sathyan Anthikkad failed to utilize a stellar star cast and misses the mark completely. Music is good and there were a couple of songs I quite liked.

Not much to watch though except maybe for a feel-good time pass.

Can skip.

Swayamvaram (One’s Own Choice)

Since the time, I started watching Malyalam movies and did some research on great directors of our times, I have been trying to get my hands on Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s movies. And it’s as hard as it can get. While University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the United States has started a Adoor Gopalakrishnan Film Archive and Research Center, to get subtitled restored DVDs of his work in India is no mean feat.

I was ecstatic when I discovered the subtitled version of his first directorial debut Swayamvaram on YouTube. It’s a dream come true.

I sometimes rue the fact that it is so easy for us to get Kurosava or Fellini or Bergman in India but if we have to find restored and subtitled works of Adoor Gopalakrishnan or Ghatak or Padmarajan or K Balachander, its next to impossible.

Modern interpretation of Sita’s life and choice from Ramayana,

Swayamvaram is the story of a newlywed couple Vishwam and Sita who have eloped from their home town. The opening sequence is an almost five-minute sequence of a bus ride. Five minutes to convey the excitement of the love-struck couple, the hope for the future, to start the life together – nothing can come in their way, not a bother in the world. It will make all the those who have lived this moment at least once in their lifetime sigh. And all this is conveyed through mere expressions, ‘cause the only sounds you hear are the sounds of the bus.

The couple start their life in an upscale hotel. There is another almost eight-minute sequence with no dialogue, only the sounds of the sea as Vishwam and Sita lose themselves on the beach or the sounds of the train from a nearby track.

For a moment, it reminded me of Kurosava. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find any detailed critique of the movie on the internet. There are moments in this sequence which for me set the tone of the movie and which stay with you throughout the movie. It’s not just a couple strolling on a beach. This movie is as much about the craft making films as it is about the story, probably even more. For me, the ominous burden of the choice these two make in their lives start from here, especially for Sita.

Very soon the realities of life hit Vishwam and Sita and they move to an ordinary hotel. Vishwam is a struggling writer and has written a novel “Ecstasy”. He tries to get it serialized in a local daily, but is rejected. The dilapidated and shady condition of the hotel, makes the two move to a small house, almost a hut with an old widow and a prostitute as neighbours.

Vishwam after a few days of joblessness gets a job in a private tutorial college as a Zoology lecturer.

Life seems to get better but not for long. The owner of the tutorial is a fraud and very soon Vishwam finds himself again without work. You see Sita all this while settled, happy with her life, in love with her man supporting him through it all. She tries to find a job as a sales girl but is unable to as she cannot afford the Rs.1000 deposit they demand. Vishwam then gets a job as clerk in the nearby factory. His struggle for a job in shown with the lovely backdrop of the class struggle and communist undertones which probably made the political scene of Kerala at that time.

For those who read the reviews I write, compare this with the trivialised Bangladesh liberation struggle which partly forms the backdrop of Aparna Sen’s Goynar Baksho. There its almost forced to be part of the story, it has no place in while in Swayamvaram it forms an unobtrusive backdrop, merely a reflection of the times the story is set in.

Sita is soon pregnant and life seems to go on predictably for a while. Sita has a dream while sleeping one of the nights. (the subtitles were basic, so not sure if my interpretation is correct) Someone is trying to pull her down a pond when she bends down to pick some flowers. She thinks it’s her father. She tries to look for Vishwam but is unable to find her anywhere. For me this again grounds the viewer to the fact that all is not well and somewhere Sita already feels the burden of her choice.

Sita and Vishwam have a baby girl. Sita as a pregnant lady is one of the most realistic rendition I have seen on screen. In fact, it was applauded by many master filmmakers. The way she sits and pick up the pot after filling it with water, her gait when she walks, it’s as if she is living the character not just playing it on screen.

Unfortunately, Vishwam falls critically ill. By the time, Sita could call a doctor he dies. Everyone around her tells her to go to her parents, an old colleague of Vishwam invites her to come and live with his family. Sita steadfastly refuses. In the closing sequence, we see Sita looking at the picture of proverbial Sita from Ramayana and a closed door, resolute in the choices she made.

This movie also reminds me of Deepti Naval’s Ankahee (a must watch) where the last dialogue in the movie summarizes it all – Zindagi har kadam par aadmi ka apna chunaav hai…

There is a thing about great film makers, they make you live the movie not just watch in onscreen. Every frame tells the story. Swayamvaram hardly has any dialogues, it’s the sounds that carry the movie forward. This technique was used for the first time in Malayalam cinema where ambient sounds formed the leitmotif for the life of Vishwam and Sita.

Madhu (Vishwam) and Sharada (Sita) have done a stupendous job in bringing Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s characters to life. For me, Sharad as Sita especially stands out. You can see she literally lived the character. She hardly has any dialogues, but then she doesn’t need any. Her expressions and eyed and body language convey it all. Sharada is a delight to watch as Sita.

I know this movie is not everyone’s cup of tea. But for those who love the craft of filmmaking should watch this for the sheer perfection the movie is.

Must watch.

Nammal Thammil

Amongst all these great movies I also managed to see Nammal Thammil, primarily for Prithviraj. But I must confess, after about fifteen minutes into the movie, I absolutely couldn't take it any more. Barely managed to watch the movie in fast forward.

For the basic plot, please visit -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nammal_Thammil

Rather, I will suggest don't bother. Much better stuff to do if you have time at hand, even doing nothing will be worth more.

As you can guess,

Do skip.

Aparan (The Other)

So, I saw another Padmarajan movie 😊

This one is also a mystery\thriller. Unfortunately, the print I had, had very sketchy subtitles. This did ruin the movie a little bit. It’s a little distracting when you are not able to understand what the people are saying on the screen. Despite that I hope I can do justice to this review.

Vishwanathan (Jayaram) is a young man in a small Kerala village. He lives with his parents and sister and is looking for jobs. Apparently, he has been to quite a few interviews but without any success. The family who is waiting to get the younger daughter married, is eagerly waiting for Vishwanathan to find a job.

He gets an interview call for a job in Kochi. While there, he steps into a restaurant for some tea and is accosted by two goons. They accuse him of stealing money and start beating him. Vishwanathan begs them and tries to explain that they are mistaking him for someone else but they don’t pay any heed. Eventually the police arrive. They arrest Vishwanathan and accuse him of being an infamous fraudster. Fortunately, the chief of that police station turns out to be George Kutty (Mukesh) an old classmate of Vishwanathan and he releases him.  

It turns out that there is a doppelganger of Vishwanathan who is a criminal. Even police have limited knowledge of his background and identity. Eventually Vishwanathan joins the company in Kochi. There he meets Ambili (Shobhana) and falls in love with her. One fine day, Ambili accuses Vishwanathan of abusing her in an auto. Thankfully, he was in office with his boss at that time and manages to convince Ambili of this doppelganger. Soon, people start coming up to him accusing him of cheating them, so much so that his sister’s betrothal breaks because the uncle of the groom accuses him of pickpocketing. In a similar misunderstanding with his boss, he also ends up losing his job.  

Vishwanathan decides to find out about this lookalike and bring him to justice. With the help of George, he finds out his background and learns that he was an orphan and a little older than him. He decides to impersonate the evil doppelganger and starts hanging out at his frequented places. Eventually someone mistakes him for the criminal and takes him to a remote location. Another man ends up paying him 1 Lakh for killing someone and another 50K for a second murder.

Vishwanathan comes back and decides to run away with the money. He is about to go to his native village when a phone call comes for him. This is the evil lookalike. He demands his money.

Vishwanathan still manages to run away to his native with the criminal in pursuit. After making sure that he has evaded the criminal, he makes his way to his home only to see his family crying near a dead body. Apparently, its him.

This movie could easily have passed off for a Hitchcock. In fact, mistaken identity is the theme of “North by Northwest”. But that’s where the similarity in the plot ends, and it is as riveting as any Hitchcock. It will keep you riveted to your seat.

The fact is that you never really see the evil doppelganger, and only hear him once through the phone call. You still end up hating this faceless, nameless criminal. You feel sorry for the poor protagonist, who for no fault of his is caught up in this web. You pray and wish that the criminal is caught and pays dearly for the trouble he has caused. This is no small feat in movie making.

Building a persona just in our minds, is a work of pure genius. Additionally, at times you don’t really know who is who. Given the circumstances, can Vishwanathan also become his doppelganger, especially when he is trying to impersonate him. The duality keeps you on edge throughout the second half.

In the last scene when you see Vishwanathan smirking, you aren’t really sure, if it’s him or his doppelganger or if he has actually become the criminal.

Jayaram has done full justice to the role. From an innocent village boy to a desperate man defeated by this unknown lookalike and then to man on a mission to find the one who has tortured him, he slips into these personas with ease. Shobhana hardly has any screen time and rest of the cast doesn’t leave an impression. But then it is not their story, it is the story of Vishwanathan and "the other".

Do watch.

Koodevide (Where is your nest?)

After watching Padmarajan’s Kariyilakkattu Pole, I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on the rest of his movies. Then my friend reminded me that he had given me a whole lot of them (with subtitles) earlier. So, I am in movie heaven 😊

I love such real life paced movies. Koodevide is set in Ooty, where Alice (Suhasini) teaches in a boarding school. She lives with her brother who is in the army along with Captain Thomas (Mammootty). Alice and Captain Thomas like each other.

A local MP’s son gets transferred to the school where Alice teaches mid-term. He had been shunted across various schools and was taken in by the Principal only because of the MP’s pressure. Ravi (Rahman) is a troublemaker from the word go. He gets caught in Alice’s class and is sent to the Principal’s office for a warning. Principal instructs Alice to be strict with him and not give him any leeway. Infact he can’t wait to throw Ravi out of the school. Alice feels sorry for the boy. In a heartfelt moment, she notes – what is the hope for the boy when the entire world is waiting for him to become a criminal.

From then on, Alice starts paying special attention to him, giving him responsibility and encouraging him. She also learns that his mother died at a young age. In her own way, she tries to be the motherly figure for Ravi. Soon we see remarkable progress in Ravi.

Meanwhile, in an unfortunate training accident Alice’s brother dies. Bereft, she decides to focus more on her work. She and Capt. Thomas also come close and decide to tie the knot soon.

One of the evenings Ravi comes to Alice’s house to give her something when Captain is also there. He does not like Ravi at all and suspects his intentions. Alice ends up seeing a very angry and jealous Thomas. Till now, with her brother, he had always been jolly and easy-going, albeit prone to too much drinking. Alice is a little surprised to see this side of Thomas and tries to reason with him.

Soon after this, Thomas starts objecting to Alice meeting Ravi and throws violent fits of anger whenever he sees them together. He ends up drunk at her house at midnight and creates a storm.

Alice starts revisiting her decision to marry Thomas which further enrages him.

In an inebriated state, Thomas comes looking for Alice, and not finding her goes to various places she is likely to be found. He bumps into Ravi and starts abusing and hitting him. A fight ensues and Ravi is accidentally killed.

Repentant, Thomas surrenders to the army police.

This is one of those reviews where the summary will not do justice to the movie. It is next to impossible to capture various nuances in the movie.

The scenes from the boarding school and the teenage love of Ravi for a fellow student will instantly take you back to your school days. And we all have that one teacher who guided and mentored us.

For me the movie belonged to Mammootty. His transformation from a brother’s friend into a jealous and irrational lover and gradual and riveting. From periods of sanity and regret to violently laying his claim on “his woman” – Mammootty is par excellence.

This is the kind of movie I wish, the international film festivals for critically acclaimed cinema saw. At par with Fellini and Bergman. Human emotions in their most complex form shown ever so subtly.

Rahman has done a good job as a teenage boy embroiled in situations outside his comprehension.

Padmarajan is a director par excellence. His kind of movies is the reason I started this blog. In my own small way to make people aware of the great cinema that India has.

Must watch.

Kariyilakkattu Pole (Like a Zephyr of Dry Leaves)

Even before I start writing anything about the movie, I want to confess that I am in love with the name of the movie. It is like reading the first line of a Kamala Das or Amrita Pritam poem. And it becomes even more sublime when you consider the fact that the movie is not a sufiana ode of love and longing, it is a crime\mystery\thriller.

Mystery dramas are my guilty pleasure. I read and re-read Agatha Christie, Feluda, Sherlock Holmes etc. like a maniac. I watch all mystery shows on TV and movies of this genre. Lack of good mysteries (and not crime\thriller) in Bollywood movies is my constant source of consternation.

Thankfully Malayalam movies come in handy. The fabulous CBIseries, Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha (Amidnight murder story). Add to these Mammootty and Mohanlal starrer Kariyilakkattu Pole. I could not guess the killer till the very end :)

The movie starts with the dead body of a noted film writer and director Harikrishna (Mammootty) at his cottage where he retreats while writing. DSP Achuthankutty (Mohanlal) is assigned to investigate the murder. The investigation team finds various clues at the crime scene, all of which point to the fact that a woman had committed the crime.

The only problem is that it is soon revealed that there are at least three women who had a grudge against Harikrishna in addition to the fact that he was an incorrigible womanizer.

I always hesitate when I write about a murder mystery because, I don’t want to give away any indication about the killer. In this case, all the three women seem to have a strong motive for murder and each of them is hiding something during the investigation.

All the actors in the movie have given excellent performances. The ambiguity of Mammootty’s character where you never know his true intentions, the calm yet commanding demeanour of Mohanlal and the shroud of secrecy surrounding the characters of Karthika, Sripriya and Unni Mary will have you riveted to your seat.

P. Padmarajan who wrote and directed the film has kept the movie fast paced and editing crisp where every moment takes the story forward.

For those who love this genre, you will not be disappointed.

Do Watch.

Molly Aunty Rocks

I had seen this movie some years ago, but for some reason never wrote the review. Probably one of those days of slumber and inanity in Mumbai.

Anyways, I vaguely remembered enjoying the movie and decided to see it again. Prithviraj after all does add to the temptation.

Molly Aunty rocks! As is evident from the name is the story of Molly Aunty played by Revathi. She lives with her husband and two daughters in US but for past two years is in Kerala, working in the bank. All indications show that she has some financial trouble and is trying to raise money by breaking her FDs and selling ancestral property. The feisty, fearless and witty character of Molly is what lends colour to this movie. From insisting on doing everything herself, bargaining even for the smallest things and doing what she wants, Revathi gives a very entertaining performance.

One fine day, Molly gets a notice from the IT department for tax dues worth 30K. When she goes to the IT department to clarify, a corrupt officer asks her for a “gift” of 15K to make the matter go away. She rebukes the officer and later files a police complaint against him.

Within a few days, to her surprise, Molly gets another IT notice this time with due amount almost 10 Lacs. Enraged, she goes to meet the assistant commissioner Pranav Roy (Prithviraj). He comes across as an egotistical, powerful, abrasive officer and completely justifies the tax amount.

Over the course of time, Pranav and Molly have several altercations, involving even family and church to mediate. Finally, Molly’s husband comes back from US and hires a lawyer.

Amidst all this, while Molly and her husband keep on insisting that they do not have any money. The lawyer sets about to find what happened to the money that Molly got from sale of ancestral land, FDs etc.

The matter is finally resolved between Molly and Pranav in a surprising revelation.

There are few actors in today’s generation as versatile as Prithviraj and he does full justice to the part of a young officer slightly heady with power.

The movie is feel good, entertaining and fast paced. Having said that, this is not something that will remain with you after you finish watching. 

Direction and editing are crisp with enough comic relief and no melodrama.

Can Watch.

Vadakkumnadhan

It’s exciting to get back to a Mohanlal movie after such a long time. He is after all my all-time favourite actor.

Vadakkumnadhan is the story of Bharathan (Mohanlal), who is an acclaimed scholar of Sanskrit and Vedas. He is a professor and engaged to Meera (Padmapriya) who is also his student. Just before his wedding day, Bharathan starts behaving strangely. He walks out of an award function, resigns from university, burns his books and hits his fiancé. Ignoring it as an aberration from his otherwise calm demeanor, the family goes ahead with the wedding as planned.

On the wedding day, Bharathan disappears, presumably to witness Kumbh Mela. A year later, a sage comes back from Himalayas, carrying his ashes. The whole family, including Meera are heartbroken.

Five years later, when the family is visiting Haridwar on a pilgrimage, they are reunited with Bharathan. Then unravels the story of Bharathan's strange behavior and his disappearance.

There is an element of suspense in the movie and the build up to that is quite gripping. The director leaves you guessing as to why a learned, well-mannered and kindhearted man would disappear without any reason.

Unfortunately, for me unraveling of the mystery wasn’t quite as powerful as the built-up. For a moment, I almost thought that the director must be inspired by Tarkovsky’s Sacrifice.

It’s an interesting movie still, and Mohanlal has done justice to the role he plays which brings to light the duality of his character. Padmapriya while there doesn’t really add much to the story or to the movie.

First half is quite well directed and fast paced, though the movie does succumb to a little melodrama and introduction of an unnecessary villain. I also feel the director couldn't decide the genre of the movie - drama or romance or suspense.

Still worth a watch.

Can Watch.

How Old Are You

For those who do not know about Manju Warrier or haven’t seen her movies, I will recommend to immediately do some googling. She is one of the finest actors of our times. Her movies never disappoint.

“How Old Are You” is a story of a UD Clerk, Nirupama Rajeev. Nirupama, is a woman going about her life nonchalantly. She is a mother of a fourteen-year-old daughter, living with her husband and in-laws. Life has no interests beyond the clerical job and taking care of the family. Aimless and dreamless, Nirupama exists.

The husband, Rajeev (Konchako Boban) is fed up of his wife whose sole preoccupation is what to cook for breakfast. He gets a chance to go to Ireland and applies for a visa making it abundantly clear that he will not be able take Nirupama, unless she gets herself a job. Unfortunately, Nirupama is unable to get one. Meanwhile, The President of India visits Kerala and Nirupama’s daughter gets a chance to ask him a question. The president is impressed wants to meet the person who taught her this, and that person turns out to be Nirupama. She is all set to meet the President for breakfast. Unfortunately, with all the hype, the meeting doesn’t go well and Nirupama becomes the laughing stock of social media.

Amongst all the chaos, Rajeev leaves with Lakshmi (the daughter) for Ireland, telling Nirupama that he doesn’t trust her upbringing.

Meanwhile, Nirupama’s college friend, Susan David manages to find he through all the social media hype and visits her. She reminds Nirupama of the dreamer that Nirupama was in college and encourages her to find that aspect of her life once again.

Nirupama has on organic terrace garden which gets noticed and she gets to supply organic vegetable for a 2000 people marriage. How she finds her determination and resolve and becomes an ideal for her daughter as well as the world, is the basic story of the movie.

Roshan Andrrews (also directed Udayananu Tharam) , the director of the movie has done a superb job in telling a tale of a woman caught in the social mores and the expectations of the world from her. A subtle and yet powerful depiction of how a woman can lose her self-respect and forget what she is capable of, because people around her treat her like a condiment. It’s not a lecture in feminism. It’s about a person believing in themselves to leave their mark on this world. The film also remains relatively fast paced and doesn’t succumb to melodrama or histrionics at any point.

And what a comeback movie for Manju Warrier. She has played the part to perfection. All kudos to her for not letting the film become a cliché.

A perfect watch for a slow weekday.

Do Watch.

Ustad Hotel

I have ignored this blog for a long time. Reasons both actual and imaginary had me convinced I didn’t have enough time to do this. Well, what to say, I miss this and there’s always time J

After my long hiatus, the first movie I saw was something I had been waiting to see for quite a while – “Ustad Hotel” starring Thilakan, Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen in the lead.

I haven’t really seen any other Indian movie about food, and I love all the English ones I have seen, from Chocolat to Chef, No reservations and even Woman on Top (with the long-lost Penelope Cruz). So naturally, I was quite excited to see Ustad Hotel. It’s a story of a young guy “Faizi” who wants to be a chef dishonouring his father’s long standing dream to see him do an MBA and run a five-star hotel in Dubai (Awww so many clichés in one sentence).

Born to Abdul Razzaq, who migrated to Dubai, leaving his pregnant wife with four daughters only to find out that the fifth child was a much-awaited boy (and they keep on coming, them clichés). The wife dies and the father brings the four girls to run his kitchen and to bring up the boy (aint that the only thing girls are born to do) to Dubai. Well the kid grows up and is only passionate about one thing in life “food”, so skilfully depicted in the film as he twirls the ladle, rolls the dough and flips some cutlets all while his loving sisters cut vegetables and give him soulful approving looks. And now, our hero has a choice of colleges and countries (UK or US) to choose for his MBA. Lo behold, he discovers a third country called Switzerland and dupes his father to go to a cookery school. Trust me, his father never saw the name of the school even while paying the college dues.

The prodigal son returns, to be informed that he is gonna get married off to finalize a business deal. Our naïve “swiss trained”, “job in London” chef goes on to meet the girl even while his firang girlfriend back in London is waiting to put a down payment on a London apartment. The girl (sensibly so) turns down the proposal on discovering, he is a chef or cook.

Father is mad, takes away his passport, uncle smuggles him back to India to his grandfather who owns the best Biryani restaurant aka hotel in Kozhikode. Grand pa wants to teach the kid humility or business or God knows what but makes him run around carrying rice sacks, cleaning tables, making deliveries etc. Finally, he gramps shows some pity and gets Faizi a job at the adjacent five-star hotel.

The story is now how he impresses the fusion food toting Paris chef, charms the staff at ustad hotel and rekindles the friendship with the same girl from Dubai his father wanted him to marry. It’s just gulf, we don’t need an explanation of how the girl turns up India and becomes a rock chic.

Anyways, Faizi turns around the hotel, saving it from the clutches of an evil banker and hotel tycoon.

And now, the final lesson awaits.

This swiss trained chef has learnt how to cook but now needs to learn why he cooks…dah. Gramps in a dramatic turn of events is in the hospital with a mild attack and sends Faizi to Madurai. There he meets up with another chef who was once with “Taj”. Now, he runs his own kitchen to feed the needy and the old. Just like that Faizi gets inspired and drops his plan for a job abroad, to manage and run the Ustad Hotel.

All's well that ends well.

I know, I know, I write reviews, not rant for the lack of any creativity is some movies I have seen recently.

But unfortunately for Ustad hotel, I saw it on the heels of Jolly LLB 2 (that’s a saga-esque rant for another day). For once, I was hoping Ustad Hotel will turn out to be a movie extolling the younger generation for believing their dreams and taking up their passions even those involving being a world class chef. But the scriptwriter, director, producer just couldn’t let that happen, could they?

There is a moral to be told. Some lesson to be learnt. Everything is not about money or being the best at what you do. Nah nah nah…unless you are saving the humanity, getting rid of hunger and (wait for it….) world peace….

Dulquer Salmaan, has no expression…movie begins and ends and I am not even sure I registered him. Had to google multiple times before figuring out who he is (and to my surprise he is in O Kadhal Kanmani). Nithya Mennon hardly had any screen time. Thilakan is the only one who did justice to his role. A man who has been there, done that and figured life. No wonder every time he looked soulful there was a trio of Sufi dancers in the background. Seriously, the director needs to know (Anwar Rasheed), the audience really doesn’t need to be spoon fed to that level. (This reminds me, I must write about La La Land)

So in short, movie begins with a promise, however clichéd, but fails miserable in the second half.

Don’t waste your time.

Do skip.

(On a separate note, if any Bollywood wallahs want to adapt this, with minor modifications, and a better cast, it can be an entertainer.)

Pranchiyettan & the Saint

I have been a little disillusioned with movies in the recent times. Nothing worthwhile to watch... I mean every time I switch on the TV, I can just somehow manage to watch a record breaking ten minutes of “Chennai Express” before I switch the channel and that is the biggest hit of the year. And so while I have all the time in the world yet no will to watch any movie.

So after long I picked up this Mammootty movie and I must say it was an excellent movie to watch. There is no one like Ranjith to take the simplest of tales (he does that to complex ones as well ;)) and transform them into a story which tugs all you the strings of your heart, Nandanam being a classic example.

But not to divert - Pranchiyettan & the Saint is a beautiful tale of an uneducated, highly successful businessman with a golden heart. His only wish is that people should look at him with the same respect as they would give to an educated person. Even though he donates to all kinds of causes, he never gets the social status he so desires. He tries all tactics from running for presidency of a local club to donating to political parties and temple festivals but most outrageous of all, tries to buy Padma Sri for himself as he is conned into thinking, it is up for sale - all with hilarious outcomes.

Then enter Padmashri (Priyamani) and a boy who is failing in exams and with a tragic life and everything changes.

While the story might seem ordinary, what makes this story extraordinary is superlative acting of Mammootty and beautiful direction by Ranjith.

The movie has its comic moments and is very light hearted but still keeps you glued to the screen. I personally don’t think great stories or movies have to be necessarily complex tales with tragedy and complex emotions. Some of the best movies are simplest characters played honestly and the most mundane of tales told well.

Mammotty is par excellence and great storytelling by Ranjith.

Do Watch.

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.

Kanmadam

Another Mohanlal movie...Vishwam (Mohanlal) is a reformed thug living in Mumbai with his close friend Johnny (Lal). Though Vishwam earns an honest living, the police don't leave him alone and keep on troubling him. Johnny on the other hand is still true to the old ways and works as a pimp.

One day while waiting for Johnny, a guy gets into Vishwam's taxi and forces him and Johnny to drive on. A fight ensues, and the guy ends up dead. Vishwam and Johnny flee from the scene. Vishwam realizes that the guy left a bag in the car and goes through its contents. Along with some money and gold he discovers some letters from Damu's (the dead guy) sister Bhanu (Manju Warrier), imploring him o come home quickly as they are under severe debt and bank is threatening to take away their land. He also learns that Damu was cheated by a visa guy.

Feeling morally obligated, Vishwam, decides to go to the native village of Damu and help his family. On reaching there, he realizes that Damu’s three sisters and grandparents are living in abject poverty with some nasty villagers teasing the girls and making there life miserable. The second sister, Bhanu is carrying the burden of the family on her shoulders and thus is very harsh and bitter.

Vishwam slowly mingles with them and repays all their debts. Going is good till his good-for-nothing friend Johnny comes from Mumbai in search of him.

A slow paced, very non melodramatic movie. Mohanlal has of course done a good job but kudos to Manju Warrier as well. At times, I could feel the helplessness, the doomed existence, the cynicism that she portrayed on screen.

Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.

The DVD is available with subtitles with MoserBaer.

Can Watch.

Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja

This movie is a historical biopic. Since I don't really know about this historic character, I will just review the movie as a story, though I understand it will be limiting and not really do full justice to the movie.

It's the story of a prince who stood against the Britishers to save parts of modern day Kerala from their enslavement. To defend Kottayam and surrounding areas against Tipu Sultan, Pazhassiraja joins army with Britishers while his fellow kings run away. After the victory, britishers levy ncreasingly higher taxes in farmers resulting in social uproar. the taxman appointed by Britishers is a former aide of Pazhassiraja and he (Chandu) commits atrocities under Pazhassiraja's name. Britishers attack Pazhassiraja's palace, seize his property and wealth forcing him to run away.

Pazhassiraja along with his trusted army chief starts gathering army to fight against the britishers. He is joined by the tribal chief and his wife along with their armies. The rest of the movie is Pazhassiraja's resistance against Britishers and Chandu's evil plans to defeat him.

While I am not a great fan of period movies, I must say that this movie is quite commendable. Remember Jodha Akbar with super ornate and glamorous sets, melodrama by everyone at the drop of a hat - this movie is exact opposite. Extremely simple and realistic sets depicting the era.And of course Mammoottywith his superb performance. With every movie that I watch, I realize the finesse with which Mammootty acts. Rest of the cast is also good except maybe for the actors playing the Englishmen. They are slightly clueless and abrupt.

Slightly slow, but then it is expected of a period movie. It is M T Vasudevan Nair's script and thus worth watching just for that.

Even if you dont know this part of history, it is worth a watch and I would say that bollywood contemporaries can definitely take a page or two (actually the whole book with a version for dummies) from Hariharan (Director) and the rest of the crew on how to make period movies.

The DVD is available with subtitles with MoserBaer - Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja

Do Watch.

Spatikam (Prism)

Finally Two years after I bought the movie I finally saw it.

The movie is a story of a real life rowdy called "Aadu Thomas", played by Mohanlal. Let me first start with the name of the movie, I absolutely love the fact that many Malayalam movies have well thought out names ( contrast that too the barrage of names with pyar mohabbat dil etc. in Bollywood ). It's a simple story with no shenanigans. Son of an acclaimed Math teacher, Thomas runs away from home at an early age, unable to bear the atrocities of his strict father who wants him to become a math scholar. He returns many years later, still unaccepted by his father, ends up becoming a rowdy almost revered by the people he helps. A corrupt police officer makes life miserable for Thomas and most of the movie is his rebellion against the system.

What's interesting about the movie is the way it weaves the friction between the father and the son as a backdrop amidst all the action.

While the story is simple, the storytelling is fast paced and interesting. Without much melodrama, Mohanlal gives a superbly restrained performance and carries the entire movie on his shoulder. And of course it stars the original Silk Smitha ;)

Watch it like you are reading a short story.

The DVD is available with Moser baer with subtitles - Moserbaer - Spatikam

Can Watch.

Nivedyam

The movie traces the life of Mohana Krishnan (Vinu Mohan), who inspite of being a high caste “Namboodiri”, does carpentry.  He is sent by a lyricist who was his deceased father’s (a famous literary) to learn music to Kovilakom. There Mohana starts working in the temple while learning music from Thampuram. All the girls who are studying there also like Mohan. There is an orphan Satyabhama (Bhama) who also learns music there and she also falls in love with Mohan.

After this it’s the regular filmi story – boy meets girl...they fall in love...girl is betrothed to the villain...boy fights villain...society opposes boy and girl...boy is forced to kill the villain...Boy is jailed...girl vows to wait for him forever.

The only saving grace of the movie is Bhama whoes innocence steals your heart. She plays the character of an effervescent village belle who smiles with mischief inspite of all her trubles with aplomb.

Vinu Mohan looks like a foolish tongue in cheek rebel without a cause. No one else even deserves a mention. Music is below average. The story is all over the place. Very frankly I couldn’t sit through the movie.


The movie is available with Moser baer with subtitles - Moserbaer - Nivedyam

Do skip.

Twenty:20

Firstly I must say it's a feat in itself to pull off a movie with the stellar star cast as that of this movie. Mammootty, Mohanlal, Dileep, Suresh Gopi and all others. The director and the producer have truly done a remarkable job in getting all these people together.

Now about the movie, which is a murder mystery of sorts, has enough twists and turns to keep you riveted. Arun, grandson of a famous retired judge is Implicated in murder of a student. Ramesh (Mammootty) is a famous advocate who comes to the rescue. Arun is declared innocent and released. But soon Arun is murdered and police arrests Devan (Mohanlal) for the murder. His mother and sister request Ramesh to take the case, pleading innocence.

Ramesh believes Devan to be innocent and agrees. Devan is released. But soon Ramesh realizes that something is amiss and starts investigating. Thus unravels a complicated story of revenge, deciet and murder.

While performances, given the star cast, are stellar, it is the story which lacks crispness. The initial builtup of the judge Vishwanathan is quite useless, similarly the revenge motive of the SP (Suresh Gopi) stressed at various points in the movie does not play any part in the plot.

Another weakness is the timing of the twists. Unlike an Agatha Christie novel, where the plot changes just when you guess the murderer, here the twists come a second too soon or too late taking the edge out of the story. Also the movie could have done with massive editing.

Overall an interesting plot and good performances.

Can watch.