Manmadhudu

A masala love story with all the emotions you can think of.

Abhi (Nagarjuna) is a rich, good looking, suave bachelor running an Ad Agency. The only glitch is that he hates women. All the women at the agency are tired of his attitude. His uncle decides he has had enough and appoints Harika (Sonali Bendre) as Abhi’s assistant. There are hilarious altercations between the two. At one point she is about to resign when Abhi’s uncle tell her about his past.

Abhi was in love with Mahi (Anshu), niece of one of their managers. Thinking that the two families are worlds apart, he decides to get Mahi engaged to someone else. Abhi follows her and the two leave in Abhi’s car. The car meets with an accident and Abhi is unconscious for ten days. On waking up he, learns that Mahi has married someone else and h loses his trust in women.

Harika on learning Abhi’s past decides to stay and becomes his boss. The two of them fly to Paris for an assignment and come to like each other. But Harika tells him that she is already engaged. On their return Harika tries to express her love but Abhi is oblivious. Meanwhile Abhi learns that Mahi had actually died during the accident and to save him from trauma people lie to him.

Harika finally comes to give him her wedding card before leaving for her wedding. Abhi loves her but wants her to acknowledge first. From a station enroute to the venue Harika calls him and expresses her love. Follows a chase where Abhi uses all possible forms of transport to reach Harika leading to the climax of the film.

Nagarujuna and Sonali Bendre look good together but Anshu and Nagarjuna have even better chemistry. Hummable songs though the script could have been sharper.

A well balanced film, good timepass.

(Can Watch)

Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha (A midnight murder story)

Most of the movies I appreciate or the way I see them is with the premise that there is a core of the movie, then the backdrop and then the supporting characters that help take the movie forward. The supporting characters, backdrop might have their own story and significance, but the better movies do not make them larger than the core.

The movie Paleri Manikyam can be reviewed from many perspectives – politics and use of power in Kerala during fifties, atrocities of feudal lords and exploitation of poor, psychological analysis of what drives people towards certain actions etc.

I see the movie as a murder mystery against the backdrop of dictatorial feudal system and play of politics in the society. And as a murder mystery, it keeps you guessing till the end.


Haridas (Mammotty) is a private detective who is intrigued by two murders which were committed the night he was born at Paleri. The murderer was never convicted for the lack of evidence. Haridas wants to go back and unearth the truth and he is accompanied by crime analyst Sarayu in his quest. Almost fifty years after the murder, he travels back to Paleri to meet anyone still alive who can shed some light on the case.

Manikyam (Mythili), bride of a poor low caste Pokkan is brutally raped and murdered soon after her marriage. Pokkan’s mother Cheeru (Shwetha Menon) tries to cover it up as an epileptic attack but the police soon decides that it was a murder. The main suspect is the wealthy and powerful Murikkum Kunnathu Ahmed Haji (Mammootty) who is notorious for his affairs with beautiful village women. Infact Cheeru, Pokkan’s mother was also his mistress at some point in time. His two men are caught as accomplices but for lack of evidence are evicted by the court.


Since no one associated with the murder is alive today, Haridas tries to reconstruct the crime mainly by the versions of some village folks, like Barber Keshavan (Srinivasan) who was a communist party worker. It appears that at that time Haji was sheltered by the leaders of the party. Various reports and facts were buried and not brought to light. There was another murder at the same time which was never linked to Manikyam’s murder.

During the movie we also learn why Haridas has such unusual interest in the murder. The most interesting aspect of the movie is the narrative where Haridas narrates most of the events and moves along with the characters and which brings together the present and the past in a surreal way. Also notable is the way each character tells their version of the events such that you can almost feel getting closer to the truth but not quite there. Also with each character’s narrative you also get to see the various shades of their lives and the society they live in.

Haridas’ quest ends when he meets the eldest son of Haji, Khalid (Mammotty) during the climax.

The cinematography of the movie is pretty neat and Renjith has recreated the Kerala of yester years with brilliant finesse. The background score, not overwhelming gives a lot of character to the movie. The only place where the movie lacks is that there are a little too many characters and thus a lot of loose ends. For some of the characters there is no apparent reason for their actions. The movie could have definitely done with some editing to make the script a little crisper. Mammotty comes in three different roles but shines out as Haji.

Interesting, fast paced, quite gripping, well executed.

(Can Watch)

Devasuram

There is something very unique about the directors and script writers from Kerala. They have uniquely engaging style and a continuity in the movie they make\write.

Devasuram is one such film. Mangalassery Neelakantan (Mohanlal) is the son of a famous personality but does nothing except wasting away his father’s wealth. The only actual passion he has is for music and appreciates ad patronizes local artists.

He himself is a gifted musician but lacks the self discipline. He is also at loggerheads with another feudal family in the village and there are frequent fights between the two camps. Neela has a trusted advisor Warrier (Innocent) who takes care of his daily affairs.

The rival gang corners Warrier and beat him up one day. To retaliate Neela’s friends decide to hire a thug to rough up the rival leader but instead the thug ends up killing him. He then goes into hiding.

Meanwhile Appu master (Nedumudi Venu) is a drunkard with two daughters. He has sold all his land and has taken multiple loans for the dance education of his elder daughter Bhanumathi (Revathi) who is very gifted and is all set to go to Delhi to further her career as a dancer.

Neela restores an old concert hall near the temple and the villagers want to plan a grand opening. They decide to invite Bhanu to dance at the temple. When Neela’s men go to invite her, she rebukes them and sends them away for their rowdy behavior. Later Neela apologizes to Appu master and pays him the token amount to have Bhanu perform at the temple. At the last minute after the artists are ready Neel forces Bhanu to perform in front of him and his friends in his courtyard for insinuating them earlier. Bhanu though forced to dance is furious and vows never to dance again till Neela’s death. Warrier believes, she has cursed the family.

Shortly after that Neela’s life starts to disintegrate one thread at a time. The killer who had gone into hiding is caught and demands a huge sum to keep quiet. As a result Neela has to sell his ancestral land for peanuts to a buyer he had refused earlier.

Hard times also fall on Bhanu and her family as they have to give up their house to the debt collector. They start living at a relative’s house who misbehaves with Bhanu. Hearing their plight Neela sends Warrier to bring the family to live with them and Bhanu has to relent under pressure from her father. Meanwhile, Neela’s mother is not keeping well and stays with her brothers. When Neela goes to visit her he learns a terrible secret about his birth which completely shatters him. His mother dies soon after.

Neela decides to change for the better. Meanwhile Bhanu’s relative comes and offers them a place to stay. Soon after in a fight Shekharan from the rival family runs down Neela and he is paralyzed.

The rest of the movie is about how Bhanu supports him in this difficult time and how they rediscover each other.

No doubt the movie is engaging and fast paced and has the kind of attraction Godfather has. I still feel the characters needed to be etched out more. They don’t get to show individuality and seem to be always giving in to circumstances.

Mohanlal again delivers a superb performance. Revathi is not too impressive.

Fast paced, engaging.

(Can Watch)

Thirakkatha… (Screenplay)

Another one of those movies which rekindles my love for cinema. It’s actually my love for stories. Over time I have learnt to appreciate other aspects of a movie but quintessentially for me it is the script closely linked to performances.

Thirakkatha which literally means “screenplay” has an interesting script and an engaging narration. The movie follows a young director Akbar aka Akki (Prithviraj) who highly appreciated for his first movie is looking for a script. He finally decides to make a movie on the life of a celebrated actress of yester years, Malavika (Priyamani) who has completely disappeared from public life. What follows is essentially the journey of Akki discovering the life of Malavika for his script.


Malavika was at some point married to a now famous star Ajay Chandran (Anoop Menon) who was just a struggling actor back in the old days. In his quest Akki meets the son of an old friend of Malavika and Ajay, the late director Abby (Renjith). Abby’s son gives him the diary of his father and some letters in which he had chronicled the story of Malavika and Ajay.

From this point the narration moves from present to the past seamlessly as Akki reads through the diary.

Malavika and Ajay Chandran met at a time when she was a successful actress and he a struggling artist. They fall in love in spite of the opposition by Malavika’s truant mother and eventually get married for which Malavika had to leave her entire fortune. Ajay is struggling to revive his career after a series of flops when Abby decides to direct a film casting Malavika and Ajay as the lead pair. Just then Malavika realizes that she is pregnant but Ajay forces her to abort the child. Soon after that she has to undergo another operation for minor growth in ovaries. Her close friend later confesses that her fallopian tubes were cut during that operation and she will never get pregnant again. Distraught and feeling betrayed Malavika thinks that Ajay did this purposefully and leaves him. She falls on tough times and ends up doing cameo roles before completely disapeering.

As Akki is trying to put this story together, he gets a call telling him the whereabouts of Malavika who was untraceable till now. He rushes there and realizes that she is terminally ill with cancer and looks really frail and wasted. He and his friends take her with them to take care of her.

Towards the end her dying wish is to meet Ajay and Akki persuades him to come. When the two meet we learn the mystery and the secrecy behind their separation. Malavika asks Ajay to take her to Cloud’s End, a bungalow in the hills where they first met. Ajay agrees.


Beautifully written with excellent direction and editing. Priyamani has done wonders and her transition through various stages of Malavika’s life is very touching. Anoop Menon is just another prop and fails to make any impact. Prithviraj, though not outstanding has carried off the role of the young director well. Overall, Priyamani shines out.

Beautifully told story. It won the national film award for best feature film in Malyalam in 2008.

(Do Watch)

Nadodikattu… (Wandering Wind)

So the thing about movies in languages you don’t understand is that you either enjoy a brilliant storyline or superb performances or something that makes the movie worth watching in that language and not the one you actually can understand. So even if a movie might be entertaining, to a person who does not understand the language it will come across as very mediocre because it is like one of the million movies that one has already seen.



Nadodikattu is one such movie. Bringing Mohanlal and Sreenivasan pair to the screen, in their early days, the movie is no doubt a typical masala movie. It reminded me of the countless Manmohan Desai kind of films I have seen and enjoyed.

Ramdas aka Dasan (Mohanlal) and Vijayan (Sreenivasan) are two friends working in a company as peons and dreaming of steady government jobs. Dasan is slightly high and mighty on account of his being a B.Com. graduate while Vijayan has only done Pre degree. They eagerly wait for the new MD to join so that they can request him to give them appropriate jobs. By some quirk of fate instead they get thrown out of the office. Their landlord helps them get a loan from the bank to start selling cow’s milk and ends up selling them sub-standard cows so that they are unable to make ends meet. With loan sharks behind their backs they decide to bribe a boatman to take them to gulf. Instead the boatman tricks them and they end up in Chennai. On the beach a bunch of smuggles mistake them for smugglers and hand them a suitcase full of narcotics. Like any law abiding citizens they take it to the police and end up in police custody. What follows is cat and mouse chase where the don ends up thinking that Dasan and Vijayan are CID sleuths.

Meanwhile, in Chennai they take up a house for rent and their neighbor is Radha (Shobhana) and her mother. Dasan and Radha develop a special bond and Radha helps him start selling vegetables. A local politician tries to get them to vacate their houses so that he can build a hospital on that land. Dasan tries to stop him and his goon. Through all the confusion ultimately both the don and the politician want to kill Dasan and Vijayan. The final climax happens in an abandoned mill where the politician and the don are finally arrested by the police. Police, to award Dasan and Vijayan gives them jobs in the force. And all live happily ever after…

Like a said a typical eighties movie combining social problems (unemployment, crime and poverty) with right amount of lightheartedness, romance, fights and happy endings. You will appreciate the movie if you understand the local nuances.

For people who do not understand Malyalam,

(Can Skip)

Bhramaram

The movie tells the story of a simple jeep driver Sivan Kutty (Mohanlal) who is convicted of killing a classmate in school. After his release 21 years later, he changes name and his family moves to a different village to settle. Rid of the past, he is happily married with a new identity and has a loving wife and daughter. The wife is blissfully unaware of the past. But the past catches up when she learns of the truth accidently. She leaves Sivan Kutty and goes to her parents place with their daughter. Distraught Sivan Kutty goes in search of his classmates who can prove that he is innocent and was falsely accused of a crime he did not commit.

In the city we see Sivan Kutty mysteriously appearing in the lives of Unni (Suresh Menon) and his wife and daughter. He tells his name is Jose and Unni is unable to place him in his class. Later on Unni realizes his true identity and feels threatened. This is actually the part of the film which is decently done where Unni feels terrorized by the presence of Sivan Kutty and tries to get rid of him. However Siva forces Unni to journey with him to tell his wife and daughter that it is not he who had committed the crime but Unni. From this point onwards the movie takes a turn for the worst and is irredeemable. The rest of the movie is Siva’s journey back to his hometown with Unni with a very predictable end.



I felt that the director was completely confused and could not decide what flavor to give to the movie. So while first half seems like an urban drama of a yuppy couple with a past, the second half seems a semi-horror film with a psychotic killer on loose. And if you have a star like Mohanlal in the movie you definitely have to throw in some absolutely uncalled for fighting sequences. The two halves actually seem like two different movies.

Mohanlal for his bit has acted well, but then that is accepted of a star of his caliber and then too this performance is nothing compared to his earlier movies. Rest of the actors are not even average and don’t even deserve a mention.

Overall the movie had a promising script and could have been a movie to be reckoned with but instead suffers with lack of coherence and dismal direction.

(Do Skip)

Kalyanaraman

The movie is about a wedding planner. Ramankutty (Dileep) and his brother Achu (Lal) are wedding planners and take care of all aspects of a wedding from catering to pandals, decorations etc. At one such wedding of Thambi’s (Lalu Alex) daughter Radhika (Jyothirmayi), Ramankutty meets Gauri (Navya Nair) and likes her instantly. Unfortunately Radhika’s wedding is called of the night before the wedding because the groom loves someone else which leads to a lot of anguish as Radhika is dumb. Achu and Ramankutty seeing the bride get her married off to their younger brother Sivadas (Bobby Alumoodan) who is also a doctor. While Ramankutty likes Gauri, she seems interested in another guy Unni (Kunchako Boban) who is also a suave singer. After a lot of light hearted histrionics, Ramankutty realizes that Gauri is in love with him. The family easily agrees to their marriage. At the engagement in a kitchen accident, Radhika dies in a fire accident. Suspecting bad omen, Thambi consults a priest. The priest tells him that the groom’s family has a problem wherein all women in their family will die young and the family history corroborates. Thambi requests Ramankutty to call off the wedding. But Gauri learns the truth and tries to stop Ramankutty from leaving and meets with a serious accident. Her last wish is to get married to Ramankutty and he ties the knot in the hospital. Concurring fate against all odds, Gauri recovers and the couple live happily ever after.

Good time pass, nice comedy for lazy Sunday afternoons.

(Can Watch)

Chocolate

A total masala entertainer which is a romantic comedy has emotions and drama and rebellion against tyrant dads.

The movie begins in a girl’s college in Kerala which is completing its 50 years and contemplating converting to a co-ed. Trio Anne Mathews (Roma), Nandana (Samvrutha) and Susan (Remya Nabeeshan) along with their friends plan on protesting against that move and sneak out in the middle of the night to put posters all over the college. Due to vociferous protests by the parents, finally management has to give in and maintain status quo. But there is one seat in post graduate course reserved for a boy. The dean decides to admit the son of one of the teachers. Shyam Balagopal (Prithviraj) is a troublesome good for nothing rogue who has been kicked out of nine colleges in three years for his rowdiness. After a lot of cajoling by his mother and friends who are excited by the thought of his attending a girl’s college, Shyam agrees to attend.

What follows is nothing short of war of the worlds between Anne and Shyam where they try to outsmart each other at every instance to some hilarious consequences like an incident with pads, Shyam using ladies restroom and Anne ragging him by making him wear a petticoat. Shyam is then approached by a young fashion designer, Renjith (Jayasurya) who wants Nandana to model for him but is rebuked by both Nandana and Anne. Shyam agrees to help him get closer to Nandana. Things between Anne and Shyam become better when Shyam helps Anne to defeat her arch rival Preetha in the college elections and becomes the first chairman of the student’s council. Soon they become close friends and start preparing for the youth festival.


Meanwhile Anne’s father is looking for a suitable groom and asks her to meet a guy. Anne brings Shyam along and they individually realize that they are in love but are unable to say to each other. During the rehearsals someone take pictures of Shyam and Nandana and sends to Nandana’s father who is a tyrant and disapproves of her talking to any guy. He then tries to beat up Shyam to disastrous end. Meanwhile everyone thinks that it’s Anne who sent the photographs to Nandana’s father. What follows is a fast paced roller coaster where all misunderstandings are cleared up and Nandana and Renjith get together. Finally in a dramatic ending during the play, Shyam professes his love for Anne and carries her off.


Fast paced, youthful, chirpy songs, crisp direction (directed by Shafi), good acting, total masala entertainment.

(Do watch)

Bharatham

A story which will resonate in bits and pieces with every family, Bharatham is a movie par excellence. A story of two brothers, both exceptional singers and what can be called a version of sibling rivalry; or a story about rise and fall in life; or story of finding the escape from the burden of your own fears; or more importantly a story depicting the circle of life.


Nedumudi Venu is a well known Carnatic singer who with age takes to drinking. Soon it interferes with his singing to the extent he collapses on stage mid-performance. Mohanlal, the younger brother and apprentice takes the stage and soon wins over the audience for his powerful, soulful and creative singing. Nedumudi Venu unable to accept the backseat falls apart. What follows is a poignant tale of how he reconciles with his destiny. But that’s not all; there is a twist in the tale that tells you that while you may be mortal, life is eternal and times it’s not about choosing one over the other but simply that you must pass on what you got.

The movie is not just a story of two brothers but a moving tribute to art. The elder brother must pass on his art and blessing to the younger brother for the tradition to continue, but there is always personal ambition to account for and the film delicately delves on the dichotomy between the two. On the part of the prodigy, he must carry forward what he learnt but in the process he owes it to the teacher a debt which can never be repaid.



Mohanlal and Nedumudi Venu have given stellar performances and it will be easily one of the best roles of their lives. Very down to earth, no frills performance. It actually reminded me of a few Ingmar Bergman movies I have seen, similar to Vaanaprastham in its treatment. I will simply not have the right words to justify Mohanlal's performance. His dedication, his talent, his burden, his anguish and dilemmas stay with you. It’s as if he is a musician.

I definitely cannot end the review without mentioning the music. Though I do not really understand classical Carnatic music but I can tell you that the music stays with you.

Beautiful script, superb direction, stellar performances, brilliant music.

(Must Watch)

Vellitherai (Silver Screen)

The first thing you feel on watching the movie is that of subtlety and subdued emotions. Nothing over the top. Even the satire on Indian Cinema is more realistic than the actual cinema.

Prithviraj and Prakash Raj again come together with superb movie about the movies. Prithviraj is an assistant director doing the rounds with his script to get a break as director while Prakash Raj is an aspiring actor. And the similarity ends in their struggle. While Prithviraj is a serious student of cinema and has studied the renowned actors and directors across the world, Prakash raj is nothing more than a street rogue all out for over the top performance and melodrama who is conniving and manipulative. He tricks Prithviraj and registers his script as his own and goes on to become a megastar. While Prithviraj dejected never really makes it after that.

Finally he also gets a script but every producer insists that Prakash Raj must star in it. What follows is a brilliant satire on cinema, what goes for talent and how stars become larger than life. Inspired by the legendary Eddie Murphy movie Bowfinger though.

I really like Prithviraj for restrained performance. Prakash Raj though has outdone himself yet again. Superb performance. And while he transforms from almost a street urchin to a superstar, you can see the subtleties in his character remain throughout.
Gopika who plays an actress and love interest of Prithviraj fills in for the character but doesn’t really deserve a special mention. Music leaves much to be desired.

Good direction, interesting script, superb performances.

(Do watch)

Abhiyum Naanum (Abhi and Me)

The reason I picked up the movie was because of Prakash Raj and Prithviraj. And of course Radha Mohan who directed Mozhi has also directed Abhiyum Naanum.

Loosely based on “Father of the Bride”, the plot follows Prakash Raj who narrates his experiences of raising a (now married) daughter to Prithviraj who has a young daughter. It takes you through the journey of a father watching his little girl grow up and move on in life to the point where he is no longer the only man in her life. It’s definitely a feel good movie with a delightful freshness and keeps you engaged. Though after a while I wanted the movie to rush to its predictable ending.



The script would have worked a bit better if it was little crisp in the second half. The groom and his family are a little over the top and unrealistic. I mean seriously at an instance the Prime Minister calls the groom to enquire about work.

Prithviraj is in a cameo. Prakash Raj has acted the part and I think he can carry off any role in any script without the associated melodrama. So he is fun to watch.
I particularly liked Aishwarya playing the mum. Trisha Krishnan fails to make an impact as the daughter though the girl who plays the kid “Abhi” is very lovable.

Overall a movie with better performances than script and direction which has its moments. Mediocre music.

(Can Watch)