Irandam Ulagaporin Kadaisi 'Gundu'

 Irandam Ulagaporin Kadaisi 'Gundu'

2019, Tamil, Netflix, 7.3/10 IMDB, Directed by Athiyan Athirtai

A never heard story line in a never seen canvas, with some thoughtful social responsibilities, goes downhill while trying to incorporate too many strings at the same time.

Nelam production has the innovative story line of bringing to light the 'goof-up' of Indo American companies trying to bury underwater the undiffused World War missiles. But it would have been a super scorer than it is now, if the debut director would have stuck to the plot, rather than inter twining honor killings kind of weak links to the main story.

The waste disposal process and the lives of the workers involved in segregation were an interesting watch. The transportation saga in lorries though, fatigues you as you are reminded of the very recent Kaidhi where you were travelling in a lorry from start to end.

Dinesh could have had a meaty role but the director choose not to make him a hero but be a mere instrument in educating us the heroic stories of the days of the nuclear bombs.The romance does excel but Anandhi some how does bore you with her kiddish dialogue delivery and you are left distant from the couple and don't see yourself rooting for the couple to get together as you are constantly worried about the movie not progressing with the thriller quotient it ought to, when it is a nuclear bomb that is on the loose.

Muniskanth does tickle you but again it's incomplete as you are caught between unnecessary drag. Rithvika playing a JNU student journalist sucks as she doesn't fit the cast or performs the character, except of few unnatural tension here and there to substantiate.The casting of the Pa. Ranjith school of actors from Attakathi to Kabali, from Madras to Pariyerum Perumal, bore you to hell. They might be great actors but the combos work bad as its like you are following a drama troop.

Too many ideas weaken the main string and lack of thrill in the sequences, pulls down the momentum of the otherwise strong movie.

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. 

Navarasa

 Navarasa

2021, Tamil, Anthology, Netflix, 6.7/10 IMDB, Directed by Bejoy Nambiar, Priyadarshan, Karthick Naren, Vasanth, Karthik Subbaraj, Arvind Swami, Rathindran R Prasad, Sarjun KM, Gautham Vasudev Menon

The nine independent directorial episodes in the midst of the pandemic, initiated to help the daily-wage film employees, affected by covid, stands tall in its cause. The anthology gains mileage in pooling the talents of the southern industry but the extempore allocation of one emotion each of the nine rasas, seemed to have curbed the creativity of the directors.

The anthology strives to showcase novel ideas and some are very well composed for the 30 odd minutes slots. The Revathi and Vijay Sethupathi starrer directed by Bejoy Nambiar, for some reason reminds of the Thalapathi moive's Srividhya and Rajinikanth sequence in the temple, even though both the plots are entirely different. The sub plot of Revathi's character, regretting her ego of not talking to her husband for over 10 years, which refrained her from effectively attempting to save her husband from being killed- was a hard-hitting moment. But the director not emphasizing that crux in the initial scenes, is a let-down and doesn't pay off when she talks about it to Vijay Sethupathi in the temple. The audience are left to wonder- if the couple aren't talking to each other to an extend that her ego doesn't bother to caution her husband from meeting the dangerous man, why would Revathi's son request his mother to convince his dad to talk to his soon to-be in laws. The episode Edhiri's allotted emotion- 'compassion' tries to seep through but unconvincingly.

Shortage of humor storylines in the industry, numbs you, as you whiz through 'Summer of '92'- a confused venture of Director Priyadarshan's. The credit 'Based on true events' does more harm than an iota of good, to both the short story and the actor, whose childhood story the director intendeds to capture. Gone are those eras of 'body shaming' comedies of the duo Goundamani and Senthil. And just when the actor Yogi Babu is reputed for his choice of characters and his performance in critically acclaimed films, like his recent film 'Mandela'- the short film not only demeans the actor's hard work but also rekindles the unsavory reputation of the 90's comedy from which the audience have been mercifully weaned off.

The voguish 'Project Agni', loaded with conspiracy theories seemingly grips you as it is a leap for a Tamil movie to speak such voluminous facts, in a convincing tone. The nerdy conversations and the western inspired making is a welcome change. What meddles the flow is, when the young Director Karthick Naren, tries to cover his love for Nolan in substantiating his theories. The characters argue more than once in the half hour slated film, that the theories and ideas have nothing to do with fan fiction. 'Time Loop' explored in simple illustrative sequences in the recent 'Kudi Yedamaithe' seems a better alternative to this attempt, as it mimic the mythological best seller's short route to success, with the characters named after God and his avatars.

The 'disgust' that the character of Delhi Ganesh in 'Payasam' was intended to evoke, enthusiastically got over-powered by the actor's seamless deliverance, leaving an awe for the veteran actor's acting abilities. The elderly worn-out actor, effortlessly cruises through the role of the this 'green eyed monster'. Elderly do behave childlike as they grow older, and here the jealous that the actor tries to portray, reminds of a naive school kid. The conversation with his dead wife, precisely is his own moral self, but it sure does resonate to the advice of a mom to her child. The actor brings out the untold evil in every human, which involuntarily raise its head in all our lives at some point in time. The authentic Brahminical wedding of the 60's, was choreographed meticulously and casting is the episodes strength. It gave a pleasure of reading an illustrative short story in a Tamil magazine. Director Vasanth's eye for detailing and character etching, makes this episode, easily one of the best.

I hoped Karthik Subbaraj, should have traded the Hasya (Humor) rasa, as the director's love for Ellam saga doesn't shine through in his attempt and the hiatus in the deliverance of his intended emotion, seems to continue as was the case in his last film with a similar core. The story representing the emotion of 'peace', ironically has a story line where a man gets killed, while he tries to thank the military for not firing at him. Conceiving the story seems to has some trouble as most part of the crux of an Elam fighter trying to save a life, be it a boy or a pup, in atonement for not being able to save his mom in the past, doesn't constitute with the chosen rasa, 'Peace'. The scene which needed much attention of the audience, happens too momentarily in a negligible screen pace and hence doesn't pay off the director's usual 'final twist' set up.

The layers of story that inter-twine with the past and the present is seamlessly woven, encompassing some memorable performances. The actor turned director Aravind swami, makes heads turn with his shot divisions and exhibiting human emotions- the pain of some to the contrast of the pleasure of few others. The 'Pasanga' boy Sree Ram emotes the title rasa 'Raudra' through every facial muscle of his. He distinctly plays the role and is easily the best of the performer in the entire series. The story isn't entirely novel but the treatment is what makes the episode stands out, making it a complete watch.

The 'Fear' rasa travels a 'revenge path' pertaining to black magic but surprisingly threads on a never witnessed composition of sequences that intrigues the audience. The 'fear' element is effectively interpreted and is choreographed in the disguise of black magic but ends up in coercing the wrong doer to take the life herself- an unique screenplay. Sidharth and Parvathy ace their acts but Ammu Abirami tops them acting as the young Parvathy. As the vital scenes which describe the essence of the story doesn't portray the lead actors, it doesn't let you appreciate the concept in its entirety. That seems the only thing that holds you from opting for 'Inmai' to be the best of the lot.

Atharva, as the military man and Kishore as the comrade of the Naxals is an extract from few Manirathnam's film, which supposedly talks the perspective of the antagonist strongly than the protagonist's The driving forces behind them both is uniformly justified but somewhere along the line, the characters become generic as the open-ended chase ends abruptly, not constituting a closure.

The much hyped 'Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru' of Gautham Menon is a pleasant way to end the series, a usual infatuation love at first sight, that turns poetic to an extent. Suriya's committed acting is commendable but his struggle to bring the character to life is evident. The actor has the same trouble in camouflaging his anxiety in portraying the character of falling in love for the second person in his live, the role that he had done in his decade old Varanam Aayiram. The same goes with Director Gautham as well for his 'run of the mill' romance sequence. With the changing times, these stereotypical characterizations apparently point more of 'Male Gaze' in them. Prayaga Martin, fails to hold the bold and beautiful character for long, as the shades of manipulation seeps through in the name of boldness.

An outing to sample few good moments, unearth and celebrate few worthy talents.