Ronth

2025, Malayalam, Theatrical release, 8.2/10 IMDB, Directed by Shahi Kabir

 Published in Baradwaj Rangan's blog - https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2025/06/22/readers-write-in-818-ronth-the-mind-patroller/

An intelligent plot-driven cop tale, that gradually transforms character-driven, engulfing the viewers through its gripping narrative and mindful acting. A novel premise, ironically feels very familiar, as it is tightly packed with acquainted sub plots from our everyday news-paper articles. But the screenplay effortlessly transcends the film to newer heights, as the lead men's past trauma, changes the viewer's notion about these two characters, only a while before the duo is left stranded helpless, towards the end of the movie.

A cop story by a screen writer who had worked in the police force, is bound have an edge, as the character traits are often drawn from real life character and the situations are fact-checked. We have been a witness to Shahi Kabir's impeccable nuanced screen writing, right from his 'Joseph' days to the recent 'Officer on duty'. His directorial debut, 'Ella Veela Poonchira' surprised the viewers, with an isolated cop story, that took an unnatural turn, leaving one numb. He was very convincing, as his skilful directorial skills, matched his prowess in writing and character building,

In 'Ronth' (meaning 'patrol'), Shahi makes the viewers ‘shadow’ the night patrol officer and his driver. What begins as shadowing, turns an ‘overnight internship’ at the police station and a master class in story- telling. Shahi’s strength is that his story absorbed the audience into his world, making them become part of the lives of the lead actors. He is in fact a representative for his officer’s clan, as his work never misses to voice out for the police force in its entirety. His stories not only braves the world through his insider angles, but also silently pleads the mass, to take a closer look at the humans inside those uniforms.  

The premise is established in brief beginning with the two police officers, one the assigned driver of the patrol jeep, played by Roshan Mathew and the other the patrolling officer on duty, played by Dileesh Pothen. Other than the lead characters, there are plenty one-liners looming around every other character that the lead duo is seen to be interacting with, making the backdrop move closer to reality and making the narration come alive on the big screen with added layers of story-telling.

For instance, the wife of Dileesh being inquisitive of the call records on his mobile, is layered with additional chapters of grief in a later reveal. In another instance a woman police officer on night duty pleads the night patrol officer not to bring any drunkards to the station, as they cause ruckus. The additional later layer is, when she requests Roshan to move aside while she attends a video call from her husband, as the husband is suspicious of her working on night duty around men folks.

The movie progresses as the duo attends to emergency calls during the length of their night patrolling and each encounter of theirs, is a short story in itself. The beauty of the narration is, with each emergency-call, that the duo tends to, renders a deeper glimpse of the human that they both individually are. Roshan’s eerie sequences of dealing with a call relating to a mentally unstable man harming his child, evokes his memories about his dad. Dileesh’s practical approach while handling a suicide case, mirrors his agony in his personal life, which unravels in the pen ultimate sequence.

The awkward unfriendly interactions between the duo, as Dileesh is constantly belittling Roshan, would normally indicate that the film would end with the two understanding each other for the honest person they truly are. But the director leaves the viewers twisted in grief, as the closing scene makes one dumbstruck, just like the way the director’s previous writings had. Indications were plenty in Ronth, but the director lures the viewers so cleverly and the movie ends ever so shockingly, NOT the way one would have wished it to have ended.

Operational stressors, are known to take a toll on the mental health of a police personnel. But the makers decide to highlight the consequences of traumas, relating to the organisational stressors as well. On one hand, the screenplay builds their stress levels up, block by block, through a beautiful documentation of the mundane events on a night patrol, and on the other, we are made to analyse that the duo’s stress actually stems from the ‘worry of perceptions’, by their own department men, their relatives and of course, the public.

Those ‘so-called’ mundane night patrol deed, gains significance, comes under scrutiny, as the sun rises, thanks to the usual ‘power abusing higher official’. The patrollers finally succumb to the chaos of vindictive accusations. And the movie ends, letting the audience sample the contrasts - how a seasoned officer would handle the allegation and how an emotionally fragile newbie would handle the same. The grim filled calmness in Dileesh’s face, to me spoke volumes on how an officer is torn apart from all possible sources and yet is expected to resurrect from it all, to be on duty, to save lives around, when he can’t save his own.  

Our gaze on those poorly maintained, noisy, ‘Ronth’ vehicles, would remain changed, at least for many years until this story is forgotten. And that kind of a paradigm shift is what the team should have hoped to arrive at. And while achieving that, the team also leaves the viewers, speechlessly pondering how unfair life is for some. It only seemed natural to account how privileged each of our lives are.

The movie is an immersive experience as the viewers are completely drawn into the director’s narrative world that involves the lives of two policemen. And he accomplishes it all, in a single night’s narration. The intent of the Director’s script grips harder in retrospect, as it keeps lingering for long. I was left clinging to the duo’s lives, for days after walking out of the cinema hall, and wondered if it was only me.

Ponman

2025, Malayalam, Jio Hotstar, 7.5/10 IMDB, Directed by Jotish Shankar

Published in Mr. Baradwaj Rangan's movie blog- https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2025/03/25/readers-write-in-785-ponmaan-the-golden-deer/

A character driven movie 'casually' instilling an urge to find the purpose of life among the idling population and giving a grand hope for the slogging lot. On the go, young girls are sent on soul searches to decode what true beauty is, aimed to knock down the 'dream killing' dowry fanaticism, in the land of God's own country.

The premise is novel, like majority of Malayalam industry's. The 2023, Biju Menon and Vineeth Sreenivasan starer 'Thankam', gave a Thirssur perspective of the city's gold brokers trying to find market in Mumbai. In 'Ponman', it is Kollam perspective of a gold agent, an unheard kind. An extension of the traditional goldsmith practices of those days, who made jewellery and delivered it to households, this is one such story of a middle man, an agent in present day scenario.

The gold smiths were apparently referred as or mobile jewellery or 'Madiyil Jewellery' (madiyil translates 'in the lap' meant to refer 'in the embrace') and hence the fancy blend word title - Ponman. On the face of it, 'Pon' means gold and hence man who delivers it becomes ponman, more like, attaching their job to their names with a tag, something like a 'postman' or a 'milkman'. The metaphorical second layer behind this merger word, transpires beautifully towards the end of the movie. 'Ponman' in south languages, in spite of being a letter short in the English version of the title, sounds more like 'ponmaan' translating 'golden deer' indicating the key element in the Indian epic, Ramayana. And Golden deer, is a metaphorical reference to temptation and illusory desires called 'Maya'. This is exactly the intention of the makers; to equate the yellow metal to maya and they subtly begin the process, starting from the title naming.

The movie is at its best with abundant non preachy eye openers and seamless screenplay. The makers strike the right chords as the movie conveys their true intentions in right proportions at the right time. It easily is the best socially responsible movie in recent times, but for the excessive alcohol dependent characters especially the lead character P.P. Ajeesh, played by Basil Joseph. But, again, the more we delve into the psyche of the character and start reading in between his unpretentious dialogues, it adds multiple layers to the character.

Character development both external and internal is an art and without question, is the key to any screenplay which is intended to captivate the audience. Ponman scores big in detailing the traits of its prime characters and eventually swapping the traits among them as the film progresses. Viewers are introduced to the lead character Ajeesh through, the brother of the bride, Bruno's eyes. Bruno himself is a hit man associated with a party and is introduced as a muscling rogue. Ajeesh comes out to be this no-nonsense casual broker, who may seem petite but is a heavy yet steady drinker, passionate about his job and is well connected.

Ajeesh seems a compassion less mechanical person with a monotonous routine, and Bruno with no brain and no job. Similarly, Bruno's brother-in-law Mariyano, the groom, played by Saijin Gopu is another classic character. He is the third kind, a bulk looking man with no principles but is very passionate about his work. What the director makes out these three characters within the boundary of the story is what makes Ponman stand tall.

Dig at dowry mongering is the crux of the story but the director never touches upon the subject, other than a couple of personal conflict remarks between characters. Ajeesh is even seen warning the mother of the bride on a casual note - 'Gold is a curse and trouble follows it wherever it goes'. A subtle remark, but it is the very statement, the crew is trying to establish.

Lijomol Jose as Steffie, the bride, shines in her character that transforms from being helpless to becoming selfish, and then to search within to bring to surface her individuality. She represents millions of women across the country who are catteled into the institution called marriage. Girls who stumble upon when life throws rationale questions on beliefs, like those from the movie 'Laapataa Ladies' depicted from the villages of Uttarakhand.

Bruno's transformation is a beautiful one too, as he gets a lease of new hope in life, an inspiration from Ajeesh, to helps him streamline and turn responsible. Ajeesh's constant booing on Mariyano to belittle him for vying on the bride family's sweat money, is a pricking gesture pointing to all dowry solicitors in the audience.

When the movie ends, all that drinking and merry making by Ajeesh comes as he was masking his fear and mustering his courage to dive each time into the risky venture, which he had made his livelihood. His 'underwear morning merry' at the beach is yet another indication of his emotional disturbance that he tries to mask it off in the name of fantasy, merely to be woken up early and to get over his hangover. Yet another beautiful layer and it made more sense as the end credits rolled.

Ajeesh's simple hardworking family is an insight into his poor background as the character hints the lack of any ancestry wealth for a 'head start' in life. It is another facet that the makers establish to confront the men in the audience, who make grand plans for their lives, hoping dowry would be their stepping stone. A man who is determined to succeed in life fighting all odds, A man who would go to extremes to safeguard other's trust in him, A man who is untouched by emotional dilemmas, A man who is sincere to his job, A man who is focused and unintentionally sets the path right in many people's lives around him, A man who appetites the goodness in a bride who chucks her newly-wed groom, in realization to prioritize herself and to leave the 'pon' gold behind - Basil Joseph playing Ajeesh, just nails them all, capturing more hearts this time too.

The pride of the 'all praise' Kollam title song, slowly wanes away to expose the engagement people get themselves into, in the name of dowry gold. They are merely caught in 'maya', as the dowry gold is mimicking the ancient mythological 'PonmaAn'. When Ajeesh and Steffie row away to the city banks, Steffie is seen removing her jewellery, slowly shifting consciousness to a state of awareness. She overcomes the illusion, prompting girls in the audience to follow suit. And Ajeesh comments true beauty doesn't lie in the 'jewelry of gold', implying, true beauty is in the 'flawless heart of gold'.

Philosophically, the veil called 'Maya', a mere manifestation of Brahman's power, which was obscuring the true nature of reality is lifted and both the characters shine nothing less that 'Pon'.

 Ullozhukku

2024, Malayalam, Amazon Prime, 7.7/10 IMDB, Directed by Christo Tomy

Published in Baradwaj Rangan's Blog.

https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2024/08/09/readers-write-in-716-ullozhukku-a-halo-shatterer/

Engulfed by a sinister aura, this beautifully narrated drama, surfaces the buried emotions of two women, only to align their moralities eventually. The leading ladies 'grieve their grievances' through intense, 'layered performance', and we audience find ourselves becoming 'agony aunts', comforting the onscreen-duo.

Director Christo's premise is straight from a chapter of his personal life, as he had acknowledged in an interview - 'lashing monsoon preventing the burial of his family member'. The gloomy tonality of the premise is constant but with every moving frame, one is drawn closer to story and the lead characters, Leelamma Ammachi played by the terrific Urvasi and her daughter in law Anju, played by the striking Parvathy Thiruvothu.

The minimalism in the story line, ironically translates a challenging production design. While a low-lying area, that stagnates water from the heavy down pour for days together, is the premise, the crux is that the stagnation prevents a burial ritual. The timing of the OTT release, works in favor of the makers, as it is in perfect sync with the aftermath of a disaster in the state, a reality check, that sets the mood right making the viewers resonate with the ground reality. Camera gazes the water stagnated cemetery, and the tombs narrates a 'non-welcoming' story of their own on 'climate crisis'.

Director Chirsto's narrative style is crisp and his shot divisions are befitting. The frames are definitive and sequences, precise. Anju is in love with a man, but her wedding photo shoot camera angle, captures a different person, walking in to the frame. The circumstances are dealt with later, and the director chooses to do it only when the time is right. Similar are many disentangling situations in the story, and Christo aces narrating each one of those plot points at the right time.

The sequence, Leelamma, her sick son Thomaskutty and her daughter-in-law Anju at the doctor's out-patient department, doesn't reveal much. But a hunch is sowed when Leela askes Anju to fetch medicines, just when the mom and son enter the consultation room alone, while Thomaskutty looks Anju walking away, with guilt-stricken eyes. . I was reminded of one of my husband's patients who was diagnosed with Chronic Ulcerative Colitis. He was accompanied every time by his parents, and his newly married wife was asked politely to wait outside, until one day the wife walked in alone with her parents, to know more about her husband's ailment.

Coincidentally, both in the movie and in reality, the wives nursed their husbands, through the ailment and hospitalization, irrespective of her physical detachment in the case of Anju in the movie. The wealthy parents of the girl in reality, were concerned about their young daughter's life, as she was fraudulently married to a sick man, but in the movie, the director's sub plot tell a heart wrenching tale, about the 'not so wealthy' parents of Anju, in a revelation later.

The screenplay catches us unaware by breaking familiar patterns. The scenes overlap beautifully, moving the story forward by revealing vital plot points unassumingly without any pomp and the editor Kiran Das deserves a mention. Anju in her forceful marriage's 'almost consensus' consummation, indicates she had 'moved on'. She is haloed, when she cares for her sick husband. But her intimate indifference, instantly trails us to the phone call from a saved number in the name of a 'girl' and her meeting her lover accidentally in the pharmacy during her husband's hospital visit.

The genuity in the care she provides to her sick husband, a striking contrast to her illicit affair, are quite illustrative of her two facets and the viewers are left in dilemma whether to be judgemental of her. Leelamma, learning about Anju's pregnancy was another shot that catches Anju and the viewers off guard, and it happens so organically. Similar are the instances when the family's wooden cradle climbing down the loft even with the backdrop of a delayed funeral, and it climbing back to the loft again as soon as Leelamma second guesses the father of the child, after a hearing a male voice from Anju's female friend's number.

Halos keeps shattering, Leelamma's, for maintaining secrecy about her son's health and then shatters Anju's mom's, who confesses, that it was her who kept the secret from the family about the groom's illness, so that her daughter would be married into a big family. But when the final halo shatters off Anju's lover Rajeev, her final decision, though predictable, is heart-warming.

The lead ladies seemed to have devoured their respective composite characters. Both their acts nudge the audience, to morally evaluate their deeds and the repercussions there after, but the distress these beautiful ladies had to undergo in their personal lives, all in the name of societal pressures, restricts us from calling them out as fraudster or a cheat.

Both their halos do 'mend' with their final choice and acceptance, to be a family, discarding societal norms. While the maker surfaces the intangible distress in women around us, by narrating the stories of these two women, he also addresses the role of parents in shaping these helpless women's lives.

After a bout of illness of her son's, Leelamma talks to Anju about her unfulfilled medical college dream in spite of her good marks, compromised for an early marriage and child birth. A mother regretting not to have pursued her studies, when her adult married son is sick, is a poetic representation of the helpless plight of women who are sabotaged in the name of societal pressures.

Leelamma claims, 'God is jealous of her happiness' and later Anju confronts her mother-in-law, when the two exchange dialogues in front of the freezer box. Anju's spuing sadistic remarks, that Leelamma's life was nothing to be jealous of, makes Leelamma realise that her life had been a sunken ship all along. Likewise, Leelmma's courteous words while defending Anju from her accusing daughter, by acknowledging Anju's loving care in nursing Thomaskutty, in fact influences Anju to turn her choice around, in the climax.

The superficial bond between these two women blossoms into a mom-daughter relationship and then into companionship. The transition only reflects their innate positives and humaneness. Was fondly recollecting Director K Balachander's 1977 movie 'Avargal', for the estranged mother of Ramanathan, was 'Leelavathi' and the wife's name was 'Anu'- a coincidental rhyme to the names 'Leelamma and Anju' and their choices in the climax.

Anand Ekrashi’s ‘AATAM’

2023, Malayalam IMDB 8.1, Directed by Anand Ekrashi

Published in Baradwaj Rangan's Movie Blog:

https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2024/04/09/readers-write-in-686-anand-ekarshis-aattam-an-introspection/ 

An awakening art, a maze, that shuns all moral solutions redundant and questions one's inner judgments about people around. Committed performance by the much talented cast keeps one engaged, but screenplay undoubtedly plays 'hero'. An enriching experience that prompts one to redefine boundaries, through self-evaluation.

A novel introduction of the premise - a theatre troupe, whose on-screen 'theatre play', tears off the mask of the on-stage protagonist. The play is teaser, for the rest of the film aims at tearing many such real-life masks, off-stage. This complex process eventually unveils few masks off viewers faces as well, at least off the daring lot, who brave to introspect.

The premise finds its parallel in the1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose and its adaptation for the silver screen Twelve angry men. The adaptation had drawn its metaphoric inspiration from the new testament's twelve ordinary men, who were chosen as apostles to serve the world with gospel. The twelve theatre artists in 'Aattam' (which simply translates 'Play') also tries to either identify the culprit or to eliminate who isn't one.

Interestingly 'Aattam' introduces an 'eve' to the equation. The troupe's stage play midst the opening credits, beautifully outlines the essence of the plot. The maker replicates Girish Karnad's 'Hayavadana', and brilliantly attempts to mix myth with contemporary elements such as the #me too movement, to establish similarities between past and present.

When the country is flooded with 'rape statistics' of all sorts, the Writer/Director Anand Ekarshi, chooses to keep aside the trauma of heinous assaults and decides to handle a debatable 'groping' incident, as his primary crux. And the screenplay spins around questioning our believes, through the 12 male characters the film houses, and the director chooses not to include visuals of the incident, making audience the 'Jury Panel'

Apparently, a hand of Anjali's colleague/friend, whose company she trusted, gropes her bosom through the window, in the middle of the night, when she is 'not sober'. What might have been her state of mind then? She obviously couldn't react or confront the person, owing to her intoxication. She presumes who the offender might be and is in a state of shock because the offender was one of the troupe members. She prefers to keep it to herself- a classic feature of guilt in women, who turn victims of assaults of all magnitude. It might also be because she didn't want to distort the troupe's harmony based on her hunch. But ironically, her 'assumption' as to who the offender might be, also loses significance due to her alcohol consumption, as it might have distorted the sense of her judgment.

Each one of the male characters are societal samples of misogyny, patriarchy and chauvinism, but on the contrary the director amplifies the consequences of such 'uncertain', 'not-so-sober' accusations. The screenplay for a while, topples the equation, in favor of them, men. Either the sample size sadly didn't represent enough 'morally ethical men', or our opinions became jaded, given the twisted scenario.

The table keeps turning at many of the twelve men, but the director doesn't put a face to the groping hand- just as I couldn't get a glimpse of the face of the man whose hand sneaked from behind, in the cinema hall, when I was 10. However, the facts point to the 'most liberal sounding' of the twelve men, Sudheer, whose wife and daughter had accompanied to the resort, sharing the room with Anjali on the night the incident happens. But speculations can never lead to conclusion and along with Anjali, the viewers are on their own, to scout the offender for themselves.

Anjali is hell bent, that she wouldn't lie to the group that she 'was sure' that it was Hari who groped her. As much the director establishes her character's morality- she not fearing a conflict with a powerful new entrant of the group, a big screen actor with possible networks, the director also contrasts the character's shortcomings- her 'insecurity' in continuing a relationship, compromising her self-respect. She remains stuck with her self-centred coward, boyfriend, Vinay, played by Vinay Forrt, who had earlier dumped their four-year relationship, to get married to another girl. While Vinay is furthering a divorce with his wife, Anjali pathetically lets him, continue exploiting her, by insisting they keep their relationship, a secret. The flawed character trait brilliantly plays out, emphasizing that even a rational girl like her, needs a blow, to jolt her out of the relationship mess, as 'love' turns the naive, 'blind'.

Owing to atone actor Hari, in exchange for the recognition and remuneration through the proposed European show by the actor, the twelve men, try hard to find faults with Anjali. And 'Tactile Hallucination' is the 'pinnacle of creativity' by the artist bunch. When Jolly proves Hari was in bed ten minutes prior to the incident, and it can't be him who groped Anjali, it's inevitable not to be lured by the revelation. This is because the audience are consciously loaded with vile assassinations about Anjali's character, similar to the copious misinformation that are hurled at us in our real lives by people around.

My teen memories are vivid, those sneaking hands in the cinema hall's 'rexin' wooden chairs, those shoulders that aim at my chest at crowded exhibitions and temple festivities. While I revisited my state of mind then, I was of course left shocked, pretty much like any pre-teen would have been. But what I do remember was, catching hold of the repeating hand from behind and pricking it with a safety pin- a trick my dad had taught, except we couldn't catch a glimpse of the face in the dark. But wondered, why me and my dad didn't dare to cause a commotion, confronting the offender. I realise now that, in the 80's maybe my dad wanted to evade a lecture against taking a young girl in the crowd, especially to a movie hall. Is that why Anjali refrained from calling out the offender immediately, because she would be reprimanded for being drunk?

Anjali wants to keep the incident to herself and not tell anyone else other than her boyfriend. Was it because either she was guilty on the inside or she was ashamed of herself for letting this happen? As a mother of an adult daughter, my first thoughts were, 'if not for the alcohol, she could have found the offender and punished him, so he wouldn't dare to commit a bigger offense next time'. Also, the director adds fuel to the fire by proving Anjali's muddled accusation, might have stained a probable innocent man, Hari, for life, putting an end to his film career.

'Not to step out without Dhupatta (the upper cloth)', - a repetitive counsel I have heard all my life, up until last month, in my late 40's. And surprisingly I have rebelled it all along, arguing that it was not only me who had been fumbled at but also the girls who promptly pinned their dhuppatas to cover their bosoms, also faced such harassments.

Avoiding crowds, staying alert and never trust anyone around, had been my mantra ever since. The female lead 'Anjali' played by Zarin Shihab, actually picks up from where I left. Redefining my mantra, in today's scenario, would it be - not to trust people around and to refrain from consuming alcohol in public, I asked myself? Sounds gravely regressive and judgmental. I wondered what my adult daughter's thoughts would be on this matter? If I had rebelled for not wearing a dhupatta for 30 odd years, I should be rebelling not to accept these assaults, maybe? Perhaps I should work towards a society, that educates men to keep their hands to themselves rather than throwing guidelines at girls for their public behaviour?

The dynamics are different today, but the angst remains the same, as I'm trying to find parallels with my four-decade old teen life, to that of a millennial girl. It pains that the plight remains unchanged. As I mount courage to write about it, so did Anjali, as she stages her experience through a play on the incident, while onlooking savage men continues to objectify and hurt women.

I briefed the plot to an elite women group and asked if they would judge the girl for being drunk, because she was not in a state to confront an offender, immediately. To my surprise I was asked whether the girl was upset that she was groped or not. There are girls who are no longer upset or angry when they are groped? Are girls conditioned by society to ignore groping? Well, I myself was conditioned four decades ago wasn't I, not to make a big issue out of it? I did set out bravely to prick the dirty grouping hand, but wasn't encouraged to call out the offender and putting him to shame in public?

When I did manage to answer the women group, 'yes, the groping did upset the girl'- the women's views were very straight forward. They judged the girl for getting drunk and substantiated that it was only human to judge the girl, as they didn't know her personally. Anjali was not in the company of strangers and was surrounded by trusted humans as she didn't judge any of them. She thought she knew them well, but the twelve men judged her all along, each one of them in their own way.

The world is never going to stop judging you whether they know you personally or not. Only when one learns to become immune to people judging us, we could advance our lives. While judging people around is not uncommon, it is also not a crime, as it ascertains boundaries and helps one stay in a state of awareness all the time. If someone offends you, instead of victimizing one's own self, it is only sane to call the offenders out immediately and move-on, with head held high. And like in Anjali's case, rule out who the real offender is rather than hypothesizing who it might be.

Aatam - Life lessons indeed.

 

Manjummel Boys

 Manjummel Boys

2024, Theatrical Release, 8.7/10 IMDB, Directed by Chidambaram S Poduval

The vision of capturing 'divinity in friendship' in this 'commercial' survival drama, is surpassed sadly by the passionate fan base of the 1991 cult Tamil movie, Gunaa. The fans enjoy milking 'recognition' long over due, for the then underrated masterpiece of actor Kamal Haasan. The movie is an entertainer but the nostalgia mar it's true spirit and mute talents, as emotions become manipulated.

An opening credit about the 2006 true incident that the movie is based on and an animated ode to 'Gunaa', introduces an inquisitive premise. Associating themselves with the name of their home town, a group of boys are shown to cause nuisance and embarrassment at a private event. After losing a tug-of-war match with a rival group (cameo played by the real Manjummel boys) and induced by a brief moment of envy looking at the rival group's vacation photos, the group sets off for a trip to the hills of Kodaikannal in a haste. Little do we as audience know, that their experience with the rope is going to give them an edge in saving their trapped friend, during their upcoming expedition.

The screenplay doesn't spend much time in throwing light on the bond that the boys share, except for the little backdrop of Shubhas's family when Siju picks him for the trip. The director chooses to do away with much melodrama and stacks it for jump cuts in the later half of the flick. At Gunaa Caves, Shubhas slips inside a hole in a 'flick', following the rushing momentum of the menacing boys, trespassing the restricted area. The fall was almost like he was sucked in or disappeared in thin air.

The plot intensifies as the camera stalls zooming in on the insides of the cave, parallel to the delay in rescue, owing to border polity and inattentive police personnel. The camera eventually does zoom in at the reverberation of Shubhas's groans. The terrifying blood soaked visuals on a slippery rounded rock, leaves one spine-chilled, as it looks he could slip further down any moment. When the fire fighters turn incompetent, the screenplay paves way for the 'tug-of-war' boys to shine as heroes. Siju played by Soubin Shahir, volunteers to be lowered into the cave to save his friend Shubhash played by Sreenath Bhasi.

The director's inter cuts of the childhood days of the group of boys, achieves a beautiful composite scene, and is tactfully used to imply the thought process of both the survivor and the saviour. The isolation in the dark cave, triggers Shubashs's childhood fears and It aligns promptly in the narration, adding layers to the story. The standard story-telling technique, keeps alive the urge for the duo's safety. However, establishment of their innocent childhood bonds doesn't suffice. To justify the crossing of restricted barricades despite warnings from the local guide, needed something more complex than conquering childhood fears of the intoxicated bunch maybe?

A friend in the gang of nine, is distantly familiar, mentally unstable and his features vaguely reminding Kamal Haasan's. When the duo, Siju and Shubhas are pulled up together and they wouldn't come up any further, we get a prologue to the most nostalgic moment of the movie. The 'Gunaa look-alike' friend is the one who suggests from atop that the rope is stuck in the cave's groove and asks them to lower the rope and pull it back again. The dramatic turn of the exciting event is 'intended' to appeal to the emotions of the viewers, as the director chooses to reinvigorate the 1991 movie.

And then comes the 'most awaited' sequence, the duo successfully being pulled out and the score of 'Kanmani' song in maestro Illayaraja's music from Gunaa, plays in the background. It was magical indeed, but I was wondering if it would have been organic, had it not been mercilessly pirated and thrust down by social media abusers in the name of celebration. Nostalgia mongers turned promoters, did help the makers achieve the 'magic' numbers, but did they do it at the cost of 'selling the soul' of the movie. Selling the soul of which of the two movies, is yet another debate.

I was contemplating whether the placing of the song could have been done any differently, like a mobile phone ringtone or a distant radio. What could have been more natural, rather seemed 'schemed'. The frenzy crowd in the theater seems to think otherwise though. Did 'Gunaa' steal the thunder of Manjummel Boys, I was puzzled.

People's choices evolve drastically but for a movie to be celebrated after three decades is phenomenal. It is not new that certain work of art flops like Gunaa did, but goes on to become a cult movie. But in Manjummel Boys, by celebrating the cult, both the makers and the viewers didn't let the movie shine on it's own grounds and rather let it be hyped for the elements that shouldn't have been it's primal focus.

The survivor shifted back to Kerala, after minimal first aid, cramped in the same old vehicle with his friends, wiped away the speculation of the gravely critical injuries of Subhash. The save was noble and heroic, but I doubt if the gratification was similar to that of watching the movie 'Aram'. Had the movie ended on a regret note from the boys for risking exploration in restricted areas, putting themselves in danger, would it have been any different? But that is how accidents happen, don't they, I ask myself, especially the fall was unfortunate.

The survival drama did stay true to the genre and to the cult followers of 'Gunaa'. If the director attempted to bring out the divinity in their friendship like that of the Gunaa's with Abirami, then, such divine reiteration should have been backed up by the character arcs of Manjummel boys as well?

Wish the 'God theory' of Shubash's with the driver where they define God as 'The light that shines from above', had extended a little longer. A few more layers to establish the traits of the lead characters would have done good to the screenplay. Malayankunju, a survival drama did that beautifully. Even though this is based on a real story, the makers could have woven a few more sequences in the name of creative liberty, which might have brought us closer to them. Also, wonder if the film was mutilated off a few essential sequences, for instance I was waiting if there was any significance to the mention of Shubhash's belt which he took it from his brother without his consent. Through out the rescue mission my eyes were zooming in on his belt, thinking if it might play a crucial role in lifting him.

The boys who were considered a nuisance, proves people around wrong, by going to extremes to save their fellow friend. Soubin Shahir's humble underplay and Sreenath Bashi's helpless wails does linger long after one leaves the theater, and of course 'Kanmani' song is playing in the back ground as well. A grand pay off for a perfect set up indeed. 

Love

 Love

2020, Malayalam, 7/10 IMDB, Netflix, Directed by Khalid Rahman

Is 'Love' is subjective? Of course it is. When narrowed down to romantic 'Love' with a partner, is it subjective still? It again is highly subjective, as it is about 'two conscious people' with individual 'point of views'. But, isn't it the 'objective love' that binds a couple a given relationship-married or in courtship? That's the crux of the movie, written in a satirical tone- the very 'absence' of the 'so called', 'spontaneous and unconscious love', among the Millennials and Gen Z.

In any strained relationship, the 'unborn' is often the litmus test. The director Khalid Rahman, chooses to spin the story from that point in the lives of the lead pair. The maker also attempts to explore the scopes of a simple linear narration of this twisted tale, giving it a newer shade, by surprising the audience with an unexpected element, that topples the entire screenplay in its pen-ultimate sequence.

Spoilers ahead!

A marriage that is falling apart, is the 'start' of the premise. The 'middle', relates to the millennial's personal and professional lives and the 'end' houses a twist, a sheer revelation, of the intention of the maker. It speaks, rather 'warns', the confused generation, irrespective of gender, about their volatile relationships. There were ample trails in the introduction sequences, that might have given away the surprise that is thrust upon the viewers towards the end. But the makers cleverly uses them to intrigue the viewers to stay hooked to the narration.

The composition of the initial 'Physical Abuse' sequence of the couple, Anoop and Deepthi, played by Shine Tom Chacko and Rajisha Vijayan, was ironical, for the background was fascinatingly scored with a harmonious symphony. The symphony seemed a subliminal reminder to the audience that, 'life is a symphony', whereas the contradicting visuals of their physical abuses on each other, silently screamed- Life might have been a symphony, had they stayed 'adjusted and stable'.

There might have been instances in our lives, where we would have witnessed people swearing to kill each other in a 'fit of anger'. The key here is, the swearing comes from both the participants, meaning that they are 'equal' in their power, rage and of course in 'crime'. That is the synopsis of the maker's thoughts- In simple words it takes 'two to tango'.

Just as the symphony ends, the wife Deepthi, 'sits' dead peacefully, with her eyes opened and the background goes, 'silent as a grave'. She looks so alive, that you are hoping if she would choke and come back to life anytime soon. Anoop tries to kill himself, for the chaos that he had entangled himself in. Soon it dawns that, it's a decision made by him in 'reflex' and not in 'regret' to the murder that he had committed. When the door bell rings, Anoop shifts Deepthi to the bathroom and finds his 'friend' at the door - a 'friend' who doubts his wife of having an affair with his business partner 'Shellby' and thier sinking business is also taking along with it, his apartment to pay off the debts.

Anoop counsels his friend, to resolve his differences with his wife. At this point the viewers are made to believe that its the 'gyan' post-murder. But, when the story takes a U-turn towards the end, the counseling seem to have a whole new meaning. So is the advice to his another friend who has brought someone else's wife with him, to Anoop's house, requesting to use the bedroom for a while. As audience, we are in a chaos, as the story extends to weird extremes and the murderer Anoop doesn't seem to be assertive enough to ask both the friends leave, so he could decide whether to involve the police or escape or try to dispose Deepthi's body. Instead the three friends argue, whether killing 'troublesome' wives, is a wise decision. Anoop warns the other two friends that 'women's thought processes are different from that of men's' and 'never to mess with women folks'. We clearly could attribute it to his guilt, but after the major twist, these dialogues, translates differently.

Major spoliers ahead. If you are planning to watch the movie, revisit the review after you finish watching it.

Just when the viewers give up the thought that deepthi might wake up from dead, the door bell rings and to our surprise, it is Deepthi. The story in reality unfolds and we realize that both the 'friends' are the inner voices of Anoop himself. Anoop had supposedly had a dream that he 'killed his wife'. The director, cleverly visualizes the conscience of Anoop, by giving two different characterization to the two shades within him- interestingly, one is an uncivilized brute, who wants to kill all wives who flaw and the other friend, an urban, 'cheating' husband. The inner selves of Anoop, fights with each other, arguing 'for and against' the murder Anoop has committed. Evil and the Nobel are the usual binaries in one's inner self sage. But, we have dual 'fraudster sides' of varied intensity and the 'rational self' Anoop, as the third entity, who mellows down, apparently after he had spent 'quality time' with his 'silent' wife's corpse, during the process of plotting, to escape murder charges.

The realization of the 'consequences of murder' in his drunken state of mind, makes him evade his wife Deepthi's repetitive accusation and calms him to answer with caution. She comes home to reveal that she is pregnant, but starts to pick a fight bringing up Anoop's affair with the married woman. The makers try to picturize two kinds of scenarios, with reversed roles for the couple in each version. The technically sound composition, proves educative, for the viewers could reflect to analyze the gender specific behavioral patterns in themselves, upon internalizing which, it could help them rectify their real life mistakes. This is the success of the film, I thought.

Yet another 'super spoiler' ahead. Read at your own discretion!

The minute long suspense in the end reveals that, in reality, Deepthi kills her abusive cheating husband and surrenders to the highway police, while she is trying to take his body in her car's trunk to dispose. The irony is, Anoop actually had dreamt of killing Deepthi, but Deepthi ends up killing him for real. The final argument between the couple was effectively orchestrated. It showed how Anoop, restricts an outburst of anger, as he had experienced the pain of being a murderer, but he does loose his patience because he was cornered by his intriguingly pushy 'detective' wife. Deepthi on the other hand, could have easily walked out of the abusive relationship, deciding either to keep or not to keep the baby. But she chooses to win the argument with Anoop by proving to him that he after all is a low life looser and the detective role's upper hand seems to give her a 'high' of some sort.

There seems a pattern in both their behavior which the makers try to enlighten the viewers upon- Anoop's excessive chauvinism and Deepthi's unacceptability of reality. The black comedy elements enveloping the hallucination sequence, is an intentional realistic peek into the toxic masculine minds of a looser. On the other hand, Deepthi's inquisitiveness and choosing not to 'let go', might be because, either she fears of being left alone or she wants to prove she is right in choosing Anoop, over her Dad's caution over her marriage choice.

Either way, we realize, there never had been a true essence of the so called 'unconscious love' between the two. They were spontaneous in conducting themselves as 'husband and wife', but 'love' seemed to have faded away when the true personality traits of the individuals take over and make them what they end up as.

An interesting suspense thriller that leaves the viewers engrossed for its content, its making and inferences through its non-verbal channels. The conception of the crux and its clever narrative are commendable - a negative ending narration, leaving a collective thought to ponder. This was missing in the recent, 'Ela Veezha Poonchira', which ended negative and substantiated by speaking 'for' the human behaviors that are influenced by the unconscious psyche and its weird urges. The impact that both the movie leaves on society, are by far contrasts.

Easily one of my favorite movies in recent times. 

Malayankunju

Malayankunju

Survival dramas are tricky to get it right, for it can become a tedious watch, if not complimented with the right balance of emotional elements. The strength of the film is that it imbibes casteism in its narration, breaking it free from the monotony and adding few intriguing layers to blanket the plot with.

The novel premise shadowing the livelihood of an electronic repairman Anil Kumar alias Anikuttan, has been seamlessly brought to life, with a profound performance by the mysteriously fascinating Fahad. Sporting a despised look on his face and an overt disgust in his eyes, the actor gets in to the skin of the character, that holds prejudice against certain people in the small community that he lives in.

Anikuttan is fighting a battle within and his mother, (played by the fantastic Jaya S Kurup), takes the brunt of her son's pent-up anger, as his moods swing. The actor's offensive behavior makes us cringe in disdain and his infuriation towards the crying infant in the neighborhood, characterizes him as this intolerant, mean human. But we viewers begin to empathize, as the actor triumphs in illustrating his mental exertion, when the sub plots of his sister's marriage and his father's death, crosses path in the otherwise linear narration.

Blinking is an 'edit point' for cinematographers but when actors like Fahad master the art of looking straight in to the camera, his emotions are conveyed intensely and are often reciprocated beautifully by actors opposite him. Fahad's non-blinking eyes along with his petite body of a commoner, prompts the viewers to experience the moment that the actor is seemingly experiencing on-screen. The actor is a pro in mastering his eye-line during his monotone shots and his control over his blinks, manipulates the viewers to make them believe in the character he plays.

The 20 odd minute sequence of the actor trying to survive the natural disaster, glues us to our seats. The intercuts of visuals that represent Anikuttan's thoughts in his near-death experience, evokes a heavenly composition under water. Those visuals are nothing but his thoughts, his goodness within, his true self, the one without the camouflage of his 'unexpressed anger'. I personally was familiar with those visions. I bet most of the viewers would have related to those visuals and the words of Anikittan's father, (impressively played by Jaffer Idukki)- the alternate personality of an individual, the alter ego.

Actor Mammooty's 'Puzhu' threads on a similar premise, but the protagonist's alter ego never stands a chance to win the evil within, as the maker chooses to speak, how one succumbs to the overwhelming power of societal intolerance.

But here the maker chooses to prioritize positivity as an effective approach to pursue happiness in life. Under the debris and the leaking sky, the infant's cry is no longer an exasperation for Anikuttan, but a cry of hope, a cry of compassion, a cry that reminds him of his guilt, a cry that awakens the survival instincts in him, a cry that leads to the search for the 'Malayankunju' (which translates 'tribal child', if my interpretation is right)- an analogy for the search of 'fellow feeling', that would vanquish the 'bigotry'.

Anikuttan's urge to see the infant in the neonatal ICU in the climax, symbolizes the keen intention of the makers in restoring 'Faith' in humanity. 

Pada

 Pada

2022, Malayalam, Amazon, 8/10 IMDB, Directed by Kamal. K.M

An enthralling work that jolts the viewers with its presentation and grippy narration. The thriller backed by true incidents, leaves the viewers utterly astonished through its edgy screenplay and impressive performances.

The opening sequence of the film, hints the real life incident that the film intends to illustrate. A hostage situation by the group that sympathizes with the tribal community, demanding to revoke the amendment of the tribal act. The interesting premise is paired with a screenplay that tries to set the right mood and it devours you with its story-telling skills.

The makers of the movie, holds the attention of the viewers, the key being the sequences involving the mysterious planning and execution. The character establishment sequences, beautifully crosses path with all the five characters.

The expectations rockets for their plan to unfold and when it does, the panic stricken actors perfectly deliver the complex shot-compositions. The clumsiness and the chaotic hostage situation at the District Collector's Office, is a fine reflection of the unpreparedness of the rebels.

The intercuts of the official decision-making lags, at the Chief Secretary's office and the huge police force trying to bring the situation under control, adds to the momentum. The fierce looking country bombs, tubes and wires tied to the Collector, threatens the entire police force and the eeriness resonates with the viewers as well . The irony of the fear in the eyes of the people who stage the hostage drama, being explicitly greater than that of the Collector's, is a brilliant choreography. It lets the audience weigh the efforts taken by these innocent protestors, risking their lives and livelihood.

The maker's intention of bringing the unresolved issue of the tribal people in to mainstream, is commendable. As the tribal land right's status is no different from what it was quarter a century back when the incident happened, the film reinvigorates the issue and by doing so it is a new rebellion in itself. To awaken the viewers on how lives are being taken granted for, the film toils to represent the living standards of the tribal community, through the hilly walks of Kallar Bala's family.

The Tamil movie 'Thaen', which translates 'Honey', is also based on true events and addressed similar tribal issues. But what Pada achieves is to revisit the anger of the group that staged their hostage drama. 'Ayyankali Pada', took the government laws to circumvent the High Court order in reclaiming the tribal land and evicting the Aadhivasis, to public conscience, the movie 'Pada' almost does the same, except it is also a reminder to the next gen law makers and the country's youth. The film's intention indirectly fights the hugely funded global projects that is evicting the Aadhivasis and to speed up the enactment of tribal rights reforms.

The actors playing the key roles, demonstrate courage and professional traits in choosing to be a part of the film. Balu Kallar's role played by the fantastic Vinayakan, Kunchacko Boban as Rakesh Kanhangad and the IAS officer played by Arjun Radhakrishnan leaves a huge impact long after the film's credits role.

Hridayam

 Hridayam

2022, Malayalam, 8.9/10 IMDB, Directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan

A fresher's life in a city of dreams and a title 'Hridhayam' ought to be backed with an intense admiration that begin as an infatuation and travels rough paths. The pair's passion is either short-lived or they end as life partners. This premise offers endless permutations that can be explored for another century at the least.

The makers of Hridhyam opts to keep the characterizations real and the emotions natural. Meticulous detailing of the sequences seems the priority of the team as there seems to be no rush. The psychological process of two persons trying to relate to each other's attraction is always intriguing and the characters Arun and Dharshana, played by Pranav Mohanlal and Dharshana Rajendran, emote it beautifully in the backdrop that is set a decade and half ago.

When the relationship fizzles out early, on untruthful grounds of a moment of weakness which, Arun duly regrets, the proprietorial behaviour pushes them to hurt, annoy and offend each other. Their competitive spitefulness that urges them to manoeuvre into untruthful relationships, is a well-choreographed sequence of the typical juvenile characteristics. The scenes that Arun becomes physically dependent on substances through unorthodox company and it taking a toll on his studies were shot extensively as a set up to be paid off when a lower middle-income classmate, pulls Arun out as a saviour from his unpleasant lifestyle.

The Director surprises you with his prowess to the mundane sequences. The 'not so true love' of Arun for his junior Maya, gets a beautiful closure when Maya asks Arun on the day her father died, if Arun's love for her was true. The insecurity in a girl who had just lost her dad is what the director is betting on, while constructing such an intense scene, over a loss. The dialogues and instances might be familiar but the treatment and the right placement is pristine.

The maker's trying to imbibe the distinctive quality of Chennai City - its multiculturalism, the housing board livelihood, the thirst for water, the self-motivated studious study circles, makes the premise more legitimate. The sub plots mightily influence the screenplay in substantiating its hero transformation template.

Dharshana's character is etched carefully with complex emotions, that reminds of Jessy's from 'Vinnai Thandhi Varuvaya'. While movies of the past mockingly illustrate 'letting go' as an easy biological phenomena of women folk, Director Vineeth chooses to make Dharshan a person who keeps dwelling, whether her choice of 'letting go off Arun' over a small tiff was a mistake.

The maker's attempts to establish that 'To hold on to' is a human instinct and it fulfills a need for certainty from Dharshana's perspective. Letting go becomes even harder when you know that you had misjudged a person and the other person is conveniently moving in to space where he needs nothing more than friendship with truce. Dharshana Rajendran emotes the character's traits perfectly in the scene where she bids farewell at the railway station after college. It sure does reminds 'Neethane Ponvasantham' in many instances but Hridhyam is unwavering and stays loyal to its story telling.

The later part of the film travels to a space where Arun meets Nithya played by the brilliant Kalyani, and they decide to get married. The fundamental dispositions and characteristics of humans, determine their ways of thinking, feeling and acting. This fantastic contrasting of the two women characters on how each handles relationships, is done cleverly and reflects how each woman looks life at.

While Dharshana is uncertain on getting married to a newly met friend whom she trusts, Nithya even after knowing Arun's serious past relationship, handles it more maturely and practically, even if she had to ignore the evident hidden feelings of Dharshana for her husband .

Through careful crafting and analytical music sensibilities, the director, seems to have a flair in finding the right harmony for his visual sequences, that comprehensively represent his creativity.  

Operation Java

 Operation Java

2021, Malayalam, Zee5, IMDB 8.2/10, Directed by Tharun Moorthy

The film's backdrop is extensively based on the cyber cases of the department, the heterogeneity of case presentations and their working pattern. The film opens to a sleepless night's events in the lives of these crime officers while nabbing a suspect. The subtle satire of the felonious officers and their illicit misuse of power during a hunt for an accused, establishes the director's intentions on his venture.

The film's primal knot is an inkling of two engineering graduates, on how the 2015 film Premam's piracy leaked on the internet and establishing that the leaker wasn't based outside the country. The 'novice-duo' are the first choice for a temporary opening at the Cyber Crime Department after solving the Premam leak mystery. Antony George and Vinaya Dasan, played by the fantastic Balu Varghese and Luckman Avaran keeps you engaged through the length of the film.

The gradual transformation of lives of the duo by following their hearts and the contentment that they for a fact do possess a flair for solving crimes are convincingly visualized. The measured romance and the rejection on account of the initial unemployment and later on account of the temporary job, even after Antony had extensively involved in solving his lover's job fraud case- the sequence heightens the despair of these temporary staffs, be it in any cadre.

The multitude of cyber crime cases that the duo are faced with, entices the viewers and the solutions are both emotionally and intellectually appealing. The case where a mother is falsely framed in a porn clip that defames the family but the makers insightfully steer the screenplay with the uneducated husband who staunchly believes his wife and stands beside her, even when their own daughter disowns her mom. The sequence sure does emancipates the innumerable girl children involved in such extortion and the non melodramatic revelation of Vinaya Dasan's sister's story was well placed and well executed.

The noteworthy supporting casts played the Binu Pappu as Officer Joy, who identifies, believes and motivates the youngsters with his own story of appearing for the exam, to officially enter the department, is the 'light at the end of the tunnel' kind, for many such lost, disoriented, skillful and unemployed lots.

Another noteworthy instance is, where Jacob Mani, an Inspector played by Shine Tom Chacko, in whose murder investigation the boys stake their own lives in nabbing the criminal after a night long chase. The warmth that translates to the audience, when the inspector asks for the names of the boys, just before taking leave, is again an instance where the team recapitulates the essence of the tale.

The maker's set ups on bringing to light the stigma of transient jobs, pays off when the youngsters have the right attitude in accepting the quantitative mismatch of the number of actively job seeking employable youths, to that of the number of actual openings in the job market.

The acceptance of reality and the endurance of the work force in constant chasing of opportunities are mightily summarized with the 'Official Stamped Intern Certificate' and the long shot of the duo walking the bike with the credits rolling - A metaphor to the long path that awaits the duo before any 'permanent happening' in their lives.  

Minnal Murali

 Minnal Murali

2021, Malayalam, Netflix, 8.6/10 IMDB, Directed by Basil Joseph

The down to earth superhero movie takes its time to set the premise in the small village with subtle establishment of its characters. The prologue of the drama troupe of Saint of Pallikannu played by the senior Tovino Thomas, a real life savior of many lives during a fire that breaks out in his drama watching crowd, teases the viewers aptly of what the plot is about. Jaison, a village tailor played by junior Tovino Thomas, engages the viewers with his MJ moves and his character being the naivest of all the characters that he had played so far, steal our hearts straightaway.

A superhero story without a super evil character to combat with, can never accomplish its purpose. The trained theater artist Guru Somasundaram playing the character of Shibu, does that so captivatingly, rubbing the distress of the character on to the viewers.

The makers decide to unravel the lead roles using extensive narratives. The revelation of the super powers of both the characters are done quite illustratively. While Tovino's is done with a lighter hilarity, Guru's super power revelation had darkness seep all through it and the actor pulls it off with ease using his expressive eyes and evil smug.

The subplots over stretches the screenplay, making the viewers restless to witness the clash of the good Vs the evil. But it does arrive with a bang in the last 40 minutes of the film, in its full glory, with the original gothic gargoyle effect and all. The sensitive version of the homegrown super powers, both the village 'super hero tailor', who stitches his own costume and the gunny bag masked lungi-clad 'super evil-commoner', backed with the flashback of a righteous father, leaves the viewers content.

Surprisingly the graphics were not a let down. The film needed a good trim but nevertheless was an original in many ways, be it the nephew who educates his uncle about the super powers or the cute martial art teacher female lead played by Femina Geroge or the true love of the Shibu's, Usha, played by the beautiful Shelly Kishore.

Varane Avashyamund

 Varane Avashyamund

2020, Malayalam, Netflix, 7/10 IMDB, Directed by Anoop Sathyan

A star-studded potpourri of stories revolving around malayali families, in an apartment at Chennai.

The director loves actress Shobhana just like any of us and a special kudos to him for bringing her on screen after so long. The last we saw her in Tamil, if I am not mistaken, was in Ravanan movie, choreographing Aishwarya Rai's dance sequence.. She steals your heart right away and you fall in love with the character she plays as well.

The story is distorted with too many characters with too less depth and arc resulting in kinda clumsy screenplay to begin with.

It was a surprise to see Kalyani, playing Shobhana's daughter taking a voluntary plunge into the groom hunt, herself. The story behind it does come much later, but it such a bliss to watch girls giving a good shot at arranged marriage proposals..

You are hinted there is a flashback to substantiate the hero's backdrop and Dulquer's character lacks depth up untill much later in the second half.

Suresh Gopi as an ex-military officer with problems managing his anger, is such an apt choice and you can't think of any one else playing that role except for him. The way he clenches the school labeled note book, with cute innocence overloaded on his face, it was just adorable.

The senior's love story between Suresh Gopi and Shobhana, had been carefully sequenced with care and director remained true to his promise made to shobhana before roping her in to the project I guess.. Absolutely no cliché what so ever. Loved it.

Kalyani plays her character with ease and she seems to be a natural.

Bonding through the time of floods was a nice tool. The only drawback was the characters were too many. There seems to be some problem in establishing emotional connect amongst all of them.

Some real funny moments but not as hilarious as it ought to have been, given the plot had too much scope for the same.

Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam

 Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam

2021, Malayalam, SonyLiv, 8.6/10 IMDB, Directed by Senna Hegde

A subtle comedy that leaves you smiling for its satirical elements and distinctive making. The film dwells on regular familial emotions but turns to be a compelling watch, when it addresses societal and political issues, carefully wrapped in its comical facade.

As the name suggests, the movie is all about a single event - an engagement of Vijayan's younger daughter. The maker promptly sticks to the happenings of the day, prior to the event. The story ironically reminds of the film Ee.Ma.Yau, which spoke about the sudden death of the elderly man of a household and the family's turmoil in conducting the funeral. Both the premise are completely different, yet it sure has a strong influence in the making, as here the family scrambles to organize the engagement in a haste, as the groom is leaving to Kuwait in couple of days.

The plot houses a seemingly usual storyline- the girl is plotting to elope with a guy of her interest, as the father is unapproachable due the displeasure his elder daughter had caused him, by marrying against her dad's will. But certain aspects makes the film work exceptionally well, as it travels the extra mile in establishing the character traits of each individual in the family, the extended family who arrive for the engagement and even the odd job handymen.

The short tempered patriarchal father character also makes the audience empathize with his financial burden that weighs his shoulder. The character played by actor Manoj. K.U, has many layers to it and the actor nails each one of them beautifully. He is the soul of the film and so is the younger daughter Suja played by Anagha Narayanan.

The director brilliantly milks the penultimate scene in concurrence to the satire on 'democracy' while the father asks his family members to vote for the disapproval of his daughter's choice. The scene proves to be an extension of an earlier scene where the king's rule in Kuwait is compared to the 'gone to dust' democracy in our country and all this just seconds after the extremely emotional sequence of the father bringing the roof down in anger, discovering his daughter had gone against his wish.

The invariable effulgence that emit from each character, which keeps narrating a parallel story, in contrast to their explicit roles, is the strength of the film. Rib tickling moments aren't many, but the satire works really well. The director thoughtfully ends with an antidote to the social media trollers, subtly sending a message across that each human has a right to stay happy, just by ignoring the venom spewers.

Kaanekkaane

 Kaanekkaane

Malayalam, 2021, 8.7/10 IMDB, Sony Liv, Directed by Manu Ashokan

A drama turned thriller, catches more than just your attention, for its distinct premise and plot. The screenplay and the overlapping narrative pattern glues you to the screen. Before you even realize, the characters are etching your heart, leaving you with this novel warmth and longing for more such films that weave across genres.

The Malayalam industry's proven prototype- simple story, uncomplicated making, paired with some commendable performances- leaves you in awe for the thought process behind these 'story-telling' formats. The film walks you through the point of view of the father who is grieving the death of one of his married daughters, in an accident. The gloomy start sets the mood of the viewers and when there is foul play sensed, you are reminded of Director Vasanth's 1995 Tamil movie Aasai involving the murder of a wife with wilful intentions. But the makers make you guilty for having thought on those lines, for the story has a soul of its own, as it unravels in segments, each character's perspective- the Father's, the Husband's and the other woman's, who is now the wife.

Suraj Venjaramoodu is full of surprises. His adaptability to the characters that he picks is beyond belief. The binaries of the father character that he plays for the 'now and the then' versions, the past and the present of his, that keeps intertwining, as the screenplay demands these overlapping- are beautifully executed by him with effortless lucidity. So does Tovino Thomas who plays the husband, whose intentions are questioned by his dead wife's father, his guilt translates aptly onscreen.

Human emotions are captured in its intensity without much melodrama, making the film a content watch. 'To err is human and to forgive is divine', yes. When the error is indirectly costing a life, due to the delayed response on contemplating how to react- how do you forgive that person? The incident repeats twice in the film to both the characters, but the inner goodness in each of the human, is seen trickling down at the right time and prompts a personal evaluation on the viewer's mind.

I was left to recollect instances in my personal life where I ended forgiving people, if not on account of such big crimes as the ones that we see in the film, but relatively similar impactful ones, as in any normal person's life. While the father character was left to contemplate on doing the right thing, my mind kind of paraphrased the whole context- If at all I find myself as the one who is forced to forgive, would my scars and its aches overpower me and curtail me from being the kind of the forgiving human that is expected of ME? The answer was a 'MAYBE' but eventually a NO. On the other hand, if the situation had reversed and God forbid, if I am the one who had erred- won't I be longing that the person whom I have huge respect and love for, to be as forgiving as I would be towards HIM? And the answer was an instant big YES.

In many instances when I am the one who is forgiving, MY inner mind had never failed to prompt to 'forgive the erring human', even if not at that very instance, but sometime later and urge me to be that person whom I keep trying to evolve all through my adult life.

The sadistic guilt-tripping is never going to let you be in peace as much as you don't let the other person to be peaceful. The other side of this forgiving scenario is crucial as well- the person on the receiving side of the forgiveness should reciprocate your forgiveness by climbing down the high horse and succumb to the fact that he or she had erred. Only then your act of forgiving derives a meaning. This reciprocation is the sole possible solution to put an end to living in the past, to cherish the present moment and to walk towards a future that would leave behind happy memories. This understanding comes with fair number of years that teach rational thinking by putting oneself in the erring human's shoes. I could relate to this personal transformation of mine with the two characters onscreen. That was the huge success of the movie I thought.

The two women, Shruthi Ramachandran and Aishwarya Lekshmi rock in their roles but, Aishwarya scores with the repentance and her attempts to set right the wrongs. The makers approach the sensibilities with such care and not in one instance you find yourself disrelishing the delicate subject. But at the same time, the erring instinct, does question the trust worthiness of Tovino's character, but when he reciprocates with true love in the 'now and the then' sequences, the makers convince you of the realism in the plot.

Malik

 Malik

2021, Amazon Prime, 8.8/10 IMDB, Directed by Mahesh Narayanan

Malayalam industry's pragmatic representation of 'The Godfather' premise, that attempts to breath life in to the classic template, with its very own coastal politics backdrop, touching upon Manirathnam's Nayagan. The film's soul remains truly loyal to the God's own country's peculiar notion of realism and might faintly disappoint the macho-moment seekers.

The director's vision to fuse 'The Godfather' elements in to the nativity criterion is nothing new, as there were many attempts, the recent prominent one being Vadachennai. But what is unique to Malik is- with a title so virile, with a story so loud, with an ensemble cast, with a budget so huge for the Kerala state's films- Malik isn't self-reliant on these lofty facts and 'the making' remains distinctly real. The casting never surpasses the crux of the story at any instance. The story clutches the viewers, as it is solely about Sulaimaan and his life before and after he becomes Ali Ikka. The screenplay fades the charisma of the actor Fahad out of the equation as it delves in to the lives of the people of two different religion. It even ends up in erasing the viewer's perception of the title 'Malik' for that matter, except for a few denotations like the statue of Christ with open arms.

The narration is usually through flash backs and overlapping time periods in these larger than life stories. But the window through which we get a glimpse of the lead character and his life is, through this incredible camera work of the opening sequence. The 'trail of shots' give a panoramic view of the events at a feast in Sulaimaan's residence- both visually and narratively, as it pretty much sums up who Ali Ikka is.

The shriveled physique of the actor Fahad, is the new age representation of gritty naturalism. The underplayed habitual gestures in his body language, draws his character closer to the real life people, who had inspired movies like this and Nayagan. The pain taken to give an unabridged character arc for almost all characters, strengthens the elucidation of the plot that travels through many decades.

While Joju George and Dileesh Pothan contribute in making the world of Ali Ikka come alive, its Nimisha Sajana and Vinay Forrt who travel through the length of the film along side Fahad in helping him shoulder his role.

The unexplained haste in few sequences, transcends to become momentous, as every other character is significant in helping to accelerate the narrative and has its own bearing on past and future events of the screenplay. For instance Nimisha who plays Roselyn expedites in all her sequences, which intensifies her characterization. The cycle sequence leading to throwing bombs from a school terrace is again a chain reaction sequence that snowballs its way to the climax. Likewise, the prison doctor's unhesitating body movement is a well planned set up that beautifully pays off many folds in the climax that the audience are left dumbstruck.

A nostalgic watch that evoke memories of the grand Godfather days of the west and the east, this one being more true to life.