City of God - Gritty and Daring

Cross-posting FK review. For further analysis and comments go to the FK.

Theatre: Rex, Bangalore
Show: 9:55 PM, April 30, 2011
Status: 20(+unknown in 1st class)

I liked Lijo's previous movie Nayakan as a fresh attempt. Even though the movie had several "inspirations" and deeply flawed, it showed the glimpses of a promising young director. I had expectations from City of God, and Lijo delivered. City of God is a true Director's movie. Refreshing to see the actors rather than the stars.

The story revolves around 2 separate sets of people at different spectra of the society. The narrative is non-linear, but the non-linearity can throw off the audience at the start of the movie. Have patience, watch on without judgement and you will get into the mood.

The movie could have benefited from a better screenplay. Screenplay is decent to good, but better writing could have elevated a lot of issues like pacing, the need of incisive dialogues, and black humour would have been effective. Lijo as a Director deserves kudos for doing a brilliant job. Continuity is of prime importance in a multi-narrative and I couldn't pick out any issues. Camera movements may look jolted, but it provides the gritty feel this movie requires. Lighting is brilliant and the effort is evident from the numerous night shots. By far, one of the best cinematography in recent times.

All the actors have done a great job. Indrajith was perfect as the Tamil migrant and Prithviraj was apt as the thug. I guess Om Prakash (Muthoot case) was the inspiration for Prithvi's character and he fits really well. Contrary to popular opinion, I though Rima was a good fit. She played a character, who simply goes through the motions and is defeated by fate. Too much emoting would have hampered the character. The guy who played the rich business man was also good.

The biggest letdown for me was the Tamil song. Crass cacophony to the ears! The other two songs were decent and fits the mood.

Its really hard to see such a movie fail. You can feel the amount of effort put into the movie by the writer and the director. The passion that elevates the film altogether. At the end of the day, you have to applaud the sheer audacity to do such a movie when only the nonsense prevails.

If you do not watch City of God, you should be ashamed when you start to bitch about the lack of innovation in Malayalam cinema.

TL;DR: City of God is a gritty take on the often hidden face of a city complemented by brilliant direction and an excellent cast.

Rating: Excellent!

China Town: Mindless fun!

Cross-posting my FK review. Visit FK for reactions and comments.
Theatre: Kairali
Show: 15/4/2010. 9:30 PM
Status: Houseful

China Town neither offers a fresh story nor a unique presentation. Story is a blend of comedy, action, revenge, and everything else that Raft and Mecartin could concoct. The movie sticks to a formula which works most of the time. A good blend of three great stars in our industry. Unlike Christian Brothers where all the other actors felt sidelined, China Town has given the others some more space to perform.

I loved the look of senior Mohanlal circa 1986. The "youngster" looked very much out of shape and old to be frank. But the man has given a brilliant performance with lots of energy that lets the audience forget and perhaps forgive the looks. Probably the most energetic performance in a long time. Good action scenes and good comedy scenes wherever he was required. Still not back to his midas comic timing, but adequate. As a Mohanlal fan, I really hope none of his future movies would sport a thirty something character trying to romance twenty somethings. (Casanova is a special exclusion!)

Jayaram sports a horrible wig but otherwise has given a good performance. Dileep drives the comedy section and does a great job. Great to see Captain Raju back. Ladies have nothing much to do. Look Pretty. Dance. Job done. The villains are typical northie villains that you get to see in Malayalam movies. The Sumo wrestler was a good addition. The theatre lit up with laughter when the man was first shown. Surprisingly, Suraj was good throughout and one of his rare roles in recent times that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Direction and script are good in the first half. The second half things go a bit awry. Thanks to the duo, what could have been a brilliant comic caper has been turned into a decent, fun entertainer. Hangover inspired parts were ok for me. Camera work is really good and editing is top notch. Songs sounded good in the theatre.

China Town may be just another multi-star to get the cash registers ringing, but for me its a new path that our film makers need to exploit. May such formulaic movies lead to great movies like Ocean's series and Heat which absolutely require multiple high-caliber actors.

TL;DR: China Town is a fun ride. Lock your brains at home, loosen your tie, and enjoy yourself.

Rating: 7/10

Urumi: A magnificent epic

Cross-posting my FK review. Visit FK for reactions and more discussions on Urumi.
Date: 1st April 2011
Theatre: Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore
Status: Houseful

First of all, I would like to say cheers to Prithviraj and Santhosh Sivan for their belief in Urumi. A huge risk when you consider the reach of Malayalam cinema and its two-faced audience.

Visually, Urumi is stunning. Leaves you breathless at certain instances. I could feel the water running down my face, the grass crunching under my feet, and the fury of battle in my nerves. Santhosh Sivan as a camera man has exceeded himself here. Probably the best visuals I have ever seen from him. I cannot recall better visuals in an Indian movie from whatever limited viewing experience that I have.

While its kudos to the Santhosh Sivan, the camera man; pebbles to Santhosh Sivan, the director. The direction is sub-par, especially in the beginning and many scenes feels too rushed without enough character development. The modern-ancient integration didn't work out properly as well as Vidya Balan's appearance in the ancient era. Not sure if its an issue with the script or direction, but I guess its a combination of the too.

Script is pretty good with some excellent dialogues, especially the ones with sexual innuendo. Some more punch dialogues would have helped raise the audience pulse, but whatever is present now seems adequate to me. Hats off to Shankar Ramakrishnan for a good work.

Prithviraj did well. The role was physically demanding and he delivered. He didn't have much to portray his acting skills. Script should have given more space for his character development. For me, Vasthavam and Vargam remains Prithvi's best works to date. Genelia was an excellent choice. She excelled in a demanding role and was exceptional in the action scenes. Lip sync was an issue and Director should have reduced close-up shots or found different ways to convey the effect of such shots. Prabhudeva was also good and played the sidekick role to perfection. Refreshing to see a full length role from him after a long time. Nithya Menon was good, but her modern role didn't make any sense at all. The script totally let down the sync between the modern and ancient roles. Jagathy was awesome throughout. One of the most amazing performances in recent times. Amol Palekar was also terrific.

Music was good and probably the best songs in Malayalam for quite some time. BGM at places where excellent. Sound design was also pretty good. Editing was slick and visual effects didn't feel artificial. Urumi should be sweeping the technical awards for this year.

I am very curious about the trimmed down international version of the movie. I suspect it would be better without all the songs and some fluff.

Rating: 8.5/10
TL;DR: Urumi is a visual spectacle with an awesome cast and excellent dialgoues. Must watch!

Edit: Personally, I liked Urumi more than Pazhassi Raja!

Christian Brothers: Intoxicating Stuff

Cross-posting the review I wrote in ForumKeralam

Date: 18th March 2011
Theatre: Trivandrum New (11 AM show started at 11:30, not sure if the earlier show was a fan show)
Status: Houseful (I got the tickets in black. Otherwise, there was no chance of getting in)

I did not have that high of an expectation with this movie. I was hoping it would at least compare to Pokkiri Raja so that fans and the entertainment value would make the movie a success. Oh boy, I was in for a treat.

On the outset, the movie practically offers nothing new. Fight between two families. One righteous, other not. A son misunderstood by the family. Dead/distanced siblings. Mashed together by loads of action. Christian Brothers follows all these still becomes distinct by the brilliant performance by the cast and the plethora of punch dialogues.

Hats off to Sibi-Udayan for writing a script which essentially gives all the main characters ample space to perform. Another hat tip for writing so many punches and comebacks through out the script. Joshi has done a fabulous job of making the movie thrilling without boring the audience even for a minute. Commendable task considering the length of the movie. I didnt glance at my watch a single time throughout the screening. Camera is adequate and editing is good. Sound mixing in songs should have been better.

Mohanlal rules the roost as Christi Varghese. The man carries the role with aplomb. His dialogue delivery is terrific. It was truly heartening to see then man back in action with some good old verbal sparring. Action scenes are very good, but nothing out of the world. The only space where I felt a little awkward was during a couple of scenes with Lakshmi Rai where Lal clearly looked out of place. Wonderful return of form for Mohanlal in mass hero roles.

Dileep was brilliant where ever the role demanded. I was a tad disappointed at the length of his role in the first half. The character had a lot of potential and it would have lightened up the situation.

Suresh Gopi did well. He had a lot of good dialogues and he showed he still had his old spark. Sarathkumar was intelligently used and added a new dimension the movie. All the other actors did fine. Saikumar deserves a special mention. Ladies as usual had a limited role in the movie.

Negatives would be the old school story and lackluster music. Couple of songs sounded decent with pictures, but nothing to write home about. BGM also was adequate and nothing unique.

I am sure that the movie would be lapped up by the fans. I suspect this would also sit well with all the other type of audience. With a summer vacation looming, the marketing trick would do wonders.

TL;DR: Christian Brothers is a fun ride. Hop in and enjoy yourselves with some old school action and fiery dialogues. Recommended for all fans of commercial Malayalam cinema.

Rating: 7/10

Best Actor Review: Not the best, still pretty good

Cross-posting the review I wrote in ForumKeralam.

Theatre: Innovative Multiplex
Show: 11/12/2010, 10 PM
Status: Housefull

I had high expectations when I went to watch the movie after reading the review and preview reports. Slightly disappointed at the outcome. When I thought about it later, the movie did not have any glaring negatives. Only thing that dampened my spirits was the expectation. You cannot really blame anybody for gushing about the movie. Best Actor is probably the most proper Malayalam commercial movie to come out in a long time. A good story, great performances, and enough elements for a wholesome entertainment regardless of whether you are a fan or not.

Not going on to the story since its been repeated more than 50 (or is it 60?) times in FK itself! Martin Prakatt deserves a pat on the back for doing a proper homework and execution with no glitches that first time Directors make. Direction was decent in the first half. Pace was pretty decent considering the fact that nothing much happened for most part of it. I thought the second half was brilliantly executed. It had all the recipes that could make or break the movie and Martin skilfully weathered the storm. Script was also decent, but a better script could have turned the movie into a classier affair.

Kudos to Mammootty for taking a chance with Martin. He looks younger by the day and I suspect that he has turned into a modern Dorian Grey! His performance was top class. The most notable scene is when Srinivasan spurns him in the school. He expresses the emotional turmoil perfectly. His avatar as a Bombay Dada was very good, well aided by his motley crew and the dialogues. Only gripe I felt was in a couple of Hindi dialogues. They seemed to land somewhere in the middle of punchy and comical instead of veering towards the right path.

The other cast members were really good and got decent screen time. Salim Kumar looked good after a long time and Nedumudi Venu was awesome as Aashan. Sreenivasan was adequate fitted the role of a no-nonsense Director perfectly. The heroine was not that great. Granted that she had very little to do, but there was space for a great performance given the limited screen time. It would have fleshed out the movie a bit more. This should have been taken care by the Director/script.

Ajayan Vincent's camera was outstanding. Editing felt choppy in the first half, but Don Max was in his elements in the latter half. Songs were ok and BGM was good.

Martin Prakatt is someone to look forward to in the future. Its great for Malayalam cinema that this year witnessed the emergence of quite a few talented Directors.

TL;DR: Best Actor is a wholesome entertainer for all kinds of audience, packed with great performances and good direction.

Rating: 7/10

Rakhta Charitra - 1 : A History written in blood

Posting the review I wrote in Forum Keralam.
Theatre: Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore, 24th October, 11:30 AM Show
Status: Balcony - No idea, must be around 80% First Class: 30-40% with 3-4 girls

To be frank, I expected a lot more violence looking at the various reviews. The movie sure has its fair share of it, but nothing revolting. I found it necessary and realistic enough for the topic tackled by the movie. Then again, it depends on the threshold of the viewer. The guy who sat next to often cringed and was hid his face when something gruesome was about to happen.

The film is based on the real life story of Paritala Ravi, a powerful politician in Rayalseema who lived and died by the sword.

Anantpur is place ruled by Narasimha Reddy, a powerful politician. Veer Bhadra is the trusted lieutenant of Reddy, who hails from the lower caste. Naga Reddy, the number two in the party is jealous of Veer Bhadra's relation with Narasimha. Naga Reddy manages to poison Narasimha's mind to turn him against Veer Bhadra which eventually culminates in Veer Bhadra's gruesome murder. This incident triggers of a spate of violence between the two factions led by Veer Bhadra's son Shankar played by Sushant Singh and Naga Reddy's son Bukka Reddy played by Abhimanyu Singh.

Shankar gets murdered and his brother Pratap Ravi played by Vivek Oberoi takes over the helm. The rest of the movie deals with how Pratap Ravi avenges the death of his father and brother, and how he transforms from a guerilla leader to a power politician.

The performances are top notch. You cannot name a single person who has underperformed or hammed in the movie. The best performer by far was Abhimanyu Singh. He plays the brutal Bukka Reddy to perfection. Bukka Reddy enjoys murdering people in the unconventional manner. Bukka kills people for pleasure and kills his own people when he is angry. A rampant womaniser who literally lifts women from the streets and rapes them. Abhimanyu is successful in creating the aura of unpredictability around the character and spite in the minds of the viewers. Vivek Oberoi has performed really well. Probably his best since Company. He is controlled when required and at his smouldering best in certain scenes. The surprise comes in the form of Shatrughan Sinha. Shotgun is left in the cupboard and he acts the smooth Shivaji Rao (probably inspired by NTR) to perfection.

There is a scene which shows how violence is a routine for the people. Bukka Reddy is smashing the pulp out a man's leg with a rifle butt in the front yard of his home. The lady in the house saunters out and asks Bukka whether he wants to come to the temple as if he is sipping tea. Bukka pauses, replies in the negative, and continues his work. The lady without a blink gets into a car and leaves.

The movie is filled with RGV signature shots. The close-up shots, wacky camera work. Fast frames. The director is near top form after a long time. For me, this is one of his better works and the best work in quite some time although the movie is nowhere near Satya or Company. Sound is very loud and felt a bit unnecessary. The BGM is over the top in most places. It felt grating in the beginning, but afterwards it synced with the tempo of the movie. Same holds true for the weird sound of the narrator.

The movie had a satisfactory ending making the viewer crave for more. A short synopsis of what is to be expected in the second part is shown in the end. Surya dominates the section and it sets the tone for the next part. Priyamani is also shown in the montage and probably Sudeep will have a bigger part to play. He was introduced as an intel officer after the first half with no part after that.

TL;DR: Rakhta Charithra is a must watch for the connoisseurs of political-thrillers, provided you can stand the amount of blood and gore.

Rating: 7.5/10

Anwar: Slooow Poison!

Cross-posting from the review I wrote in ForumKeralam.

Theatre: Athulya, Trivandrum, 6 PM show
Status: Full. I was sitting in the box above the balcony.

Amal Neerad has shown once again that he is a one trick pony. Stylish shots with no substance. The problem with Anwar is that the stylish shots does not manage to hold the viewer's attention. Most of the time the movie just meanders along the way in ultra slow motions with nothing much happening. Even if things happen, you just stare at the screen sans emotions. The only time I got excited was the starting of the last sequence were Anwar takes on the bad guys. All the other stunts does not provide much value. Its often left to the viewer's imagination. They should "know" and "feel" the power of Anwar, rather than "see" them on the screen.

Story is threadbare and its difficult to divulge anything without breaking the suspense. The story was something on the lines that I had expected and it was no big surprise at all. Ditto for the 3 who watched the movie with me, one of whom is barely 14 without the burden of having watched countless hollywood flicks. Story is sometimes overrated as Amal once said in an interview. But in those cases, you need a strong script to back you up and great dialogues. Script is absent in Anwar, but dialogues at places are good.

Prithviraj's performance is the only salvageable aspect from the movie apart from the songs. He has matured as an actor with a very controlled performance required from the character. His role did bring back the memory of Stop Violence, where is brooding look worked and not his sound. But in Anwar he has come a full circle where his looks and expressions were great along with perfect sound modulation. Comparison could be because of them the fact that I watched Stop Violence first day in the same place!

Mamtha had nothing much to do. Lal was good as usual. Prakash Raj was good, but didn't have the meaty role the man deserves.

Some people would call the movie technically brilliant. I would disagree and call it rubbish. Using the latest techniques won't make a movie any good. Ultra slo-mos should complement story telling, not take over the entire movie.

Crowd reaction. Cheers for Prithviraj. Majority booing for Mammootty. Lots of boos in some sequences and the loudest boos were reserved after the movie when the outro song ends. Even I booed!
Loudest cheers were for this dialogue.
: Ivinentha kuzhappam? Nalla payyanalle? Pinne kure ahankaram undu.

Prithvi should be careful at this juncture of his career. Couple of bombs could set him back a lot. I am afraid Anwar is one of those.

Rating: 4/10 (I am being very generous here, a brownie point exclusively for Prithvi for improving as an actor.)

Total "Enthira"tainment!

Cross-posting the review I wrote in ForumKeralam.

Theatre: Fame Lido, Forum Value Mall, Bangalore
Show: 2nd October, 4:40 PM
Status: House Full

First things first. I am not a fan of Rajnikanth and seldom hides my disdain for the brand of "style" the man is known for over the years. For me, Rajni films are either tolerable or a pain to watch. I had my apprehensions with the movie and had a constant dread after spending Rs 400 for a ticket. By the end of 15 minutes, my fears started evaporating. Endhiran is the Rajni film I absolutely loved. Hats off to the man himself and Shankar.

The plot is wafer thin as is the case with all Shankar films. Quite welcome that Shankar has made no attempt to steal the story from somewhere. Rajnikanth, a robotics scientist, makes an android capable of superhuman feats and models the look after himself. Things go wrong after the doctor introduces emotion to make the robot better. The robot falls in love with his girlfriend and threatens the world with a little help from the doctor's jealous mentor.

I loved Aishwarya Rai in the movie. Basically, she does her job as an ornament (a delectable one at that!) and does not have anything to act ala Raavanan. After a long time it was refreshing to see a normal intro for a hero, that too from somebody who has a stamp on the intro scenes as Rajnikanth. Director has succeeded in making the scientist Rajnikanth as human as possible. A terrible workaholic, prone to mistakes, jealous...the feelings which are unknown to the "normal" Rajnikanth. Rajni does his part decently to his credit. The robot Rajnikanth was simply mindblowing. I always thought Rajnikanth would make a great villain and he proves it. The Robot in the first half is an emotion less being which reminded me of Arnold in Terminator. In the second half, he turns into an evil monster. Rajni steals the show as the scheming, snarling supervillain. Other actors did not have much to do. Danny Denozgpa is upto the mark as the mentor jealous of his protege's success.

Music from Rahman is pretty average. The only song I really liked was the Endhiran song towards the end. The songs are shot extremely well. Songs oscillate between shot in exotic locales and imaginary locales. Lavish and stylishly shot. Choreography left much to be intended in my opinion. At some places it was really good and in most places it was just average.

Now to the best part. Graphics. I have never seen such perfection and polish regarding graphics in India. In fact, Endhiran would easily match a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster in the graphics part. One aspect I would like to mention is that, you would never see some of these graphics in Hollywood movies specifically because they don't have a compulsion towards songs. Almost all the graphics work in the movie are brilliant or close enough to being brilliant to allude most of the prying eyes.

My reaction to the movie was Holy S**t! My friend, a Rajni fan's reaction was Meh! According to him, the movie does not have anything that a Rajni fan would expect. No punch dialogues, no introduction, nothing to make his pulse race. May be this could work in the favour of the movie since the movie could have an universal appeal beyond Rajni fans.

TL;DR: Endhiran is a landmark movie in Indian cinema. Watch it for the jaw dropping graphics. Entertainment guaranteed!

Rating: 7.5/10

Pranchiyettan and The Saint: Good but disappointing

Cross-posting the review I wrote in ForumKeralam.

Show: 25/9/10, 10 PM
Theatre: Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore
Status: Balcony: Full, First Class: Full (I think!)

Lots of expectation from the Ranjith-Mammootty combo, especially since Renjith has supposedly moved away from making typical movies. Sadly, the movie does not meet the hefty expectation.

The movie started off quite well and established the fun part with the graveyard scene itself. The sequences with the Saint were hilarious and consistent through out the movie. The actor that portrayed the saint was fabulous. I was expecting a little better dubbing from Renjith though, still nothing much to crib about. Mammootty was brilliant was Pranchi. Thrissur accent was almost perfect. Innocent was refreshing after a very long time. Siddique, Khushbu, Pranchi's sidekicks...almost everybody did a neat job. In the acting department, Priyamani had nothing much to do and the child actor was misdirected at certain points. The boy looks like a good actor barring a few awkward scenes where things look forced. I would blame the Director than the kid for such sequences.

Script and Direction was top-class in the first half. Pranchi's trysts with chasing fame were hilarious. Quality comedy makes a return after a long time. Co-incidence that Suraj was missing from arguably the best comedy film of the year? I think not! Unfortunately, the things go wrong in the second half. The movie runs out of steam and meanders towards the climax. Priyamani's entrance and character never syncs with the rest of the movie. Helping the kid pass the examination sequences could have been gold, but looks very hurried. Revelation part in the climax looks good on paper, but ended up being not so good. The three revelations are predictable, dud, and lame respectively. The only parts worth remembering are in the first half where Mammootty rules the roost and the saint.

My major gripe is against Renjith. In his interviews, he hyped the movie saying that its something you never saw before in Malayalam movies. I could find nothing like that. Saint reminded me of Guruvayoorappan in Nandanam. So, it has something even Renjith himself attempted before with a lot of success. Movie was supposed to be a satire. Move along, nothing satirical here. Renjith has gone down a couple of notches since Paleri Manikyam.

All that said, its the best among the ramzan movies, derailed by lacklustre writing and direction in the second half. Its a typical commercial movie and not an experimental movie by any stretch of imagination.

TL;DR: Pranchiyettan and The Saint is very good in some parts, competent if not predictable in the rest. A good watch for its humour, performance of Mammootty, and the saint.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Shikkar: The Hunt

Cross posting the review I wrote in Forum Keralam.

Theatre: Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore
Time: 10:00 PM
Status: Balcony Full. First Class must have been full, looking at the online reservation chart in the morning.

After watching Shikkar, I felt both happy and disappointed. Happy that Mohanlal is back to his elements with a good role that suits his age and image. Disappointed that the screenwriter and the director made a mess of what could have been a classic. It looks like Padmakumar wanted to make the first half as mass and second half as class. The movie does not become a train wreck thanks to the awesome last 45 minutes.

Suraj was awful and should have been nowhere near this movie. The writer could have handled Jagathy's character in a much better way to provide the laughs if that was something critical. In spite of this, there were many places where you felt that eerie feeling that something is going to happen which would be displaced the next moment thanks to the stupid antics by Suraj or Jagathy. For me the highlight of the first half was when Mohanlal touches the man who tells him about the death of other officers. You could see the slight shiver in his hands and feel his fear.

Second half meandered along at first with the low point being a Jagathy comedy. Things started kicking into top gear with the flashback sequence. Crafted very well by the Director. Very refreshing stuff. The Telugu song was brilliant, the only song which seemed to be in place. Top class performances from Samudrakani and Lakshmi Gopalaswami. Climax sequences were breathtaking though I had expected a lot more. Hats to Lalettan's dedication to do such stunts when he could easily veto without any issues.

The supporting cast for the movie did a good job. Ananya is good. Hope she gets more meaty roles. Kailesh was ok for this role. I really don't see him going far though.

TL,DR: Shikkar is worth a watch (or 2!) if you are a Malayalam movie fan and a must watch if you are a Mohanlal fan.

Rating: 6/10

Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man

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This is terrific stuff. Wonderful backstory taken from Wizard of Oz.

Posted via web from Pain on the Posterior

Reminscing the Classics: Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare

The new series of posts to kick off some activity in this blog. I am trying to get hold off some old malayalam movies that I haven't watched in a long time. In the process, reminisce the best our movie industry has to offer to the viewers. First up, Onnu muthal poojyam vare.

Just finished watching this little masterpiece of a movie by Raghunath Palery. The title translates as 'From One to Zero'. It literally points to our old analogue telephone where one came before zero and figuratively points to the story of the characters: From hope to hopelessness.

The movie portrays the story of Aleena, a widow and her 4 year old daughter Deepamol. Aleena lives with her daughter treasuring the memories of her late husband (a western musician, played by Prathap Pothan) in a big house. She repeatedly dismisses the notion of remarriage. She is a painter and works in the advertising industry. Deepamol is a bubbly little girl always playing around with the telephone making random calls. One such call turns their life forever when Deepamol gets in contact with her "Telephone Uncle".
Deepamol gets attached to Telephone Uncle very fast. Though Aleena was on the fence and skeptical of the man's intentions, she eventually falls in love. Telephone uncle resists the coercions from the mother and never reveals his name or whereabouts. Finally, he comes to their place on the night of Deepamol's birthday raising Aleena's hope for a better life, only to put an end to it within a very short time.
The movie explores the loneliness of Aleena and the need of a father figure for her daughter. Wonderfully crafted and scripted. The copy I had with me was quite poor in quality and skipped a lot. I would guess the abrupt cuts I found in the movie is inherent to my copy and not in the actual movie.
Aleena is played by Asha Jayaram (where did she disappear?) and accurately reflects the emotions of a young widow. She emotes well, but does tend to go overboard in certain occasions. She has the perpetual sad face perfect to the role. Geethu Mohandas steals the show as Deepamol. Very childlike unlike most child characters we see in our movies. Does not go overboard with her tantrums or in saccharine high sequences. Hats off to dubbing artist as well! Mohanlal is brilliant as Telephone Uncle. He appears only in the climax (apart from minor glimpses), but maintains a presence throughout the movie as the voice on the telephone. His performance is spellbinding even when he is not making an appearance. His voice modulation is spectacular and we can feel his emotions through the voice itself. Minor characters played by Shari, Nedumudi Venu, and Sukumari are well written and well acted, blending seamlessly in the whole narrative. Suresh Gopi and Mukesh drops in for guest appearances. Somebody else has dubbed for Mukesh and it clearly shows! Feels like an absolute eye(ear?)sore.
All in all, finely crafted movie. Get hold off the movie from Moserbaer and watch it!

Star Wars Facebook Status Updates

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This is awesome! Click through for four more!

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Kerala Cafe

Kerala Cafe works! I had my apprehensions at first. 10 short films by 10 directors, woven into a single movie. But the pedigree of the people involved, led by Ranjith, made the project very intriguing. Portmanteau are always intriguing!
I liked the concept of Kerala Cafe, the cafe as the meeting point for all the stories. A cafe in a railway station. We mallus are perpetual travelers and nothing is dearer to a traveler than trains. Though the concept is good, the execution is slightly flawed. The stories are not intricately woven as we desire. This issue does not affect the viewer too much. Nevertheless, an issue it is.
The major plus for me in the project is that, the directors are not tied down to the traditional image bestowed upon them. For instance, Shaji Kailas, noted for his slick action movies, tackles a family/relationship issue and Shyamaprasad, known for offbeat cinema, attempts a comedy short. Same is the case with actors. They avoid typing necessitated by commercial demands. The best examples are Mammooty and Salim Kumar. These kind of roles from them is usually seen only by the selected audience of art cinema. The mainstream moviegoers get to experience how gifted they are with these offbeat roles.
The best movie of the lot according to me is Happy Journey by Anjali Menon. A smart and intelligent film which really works as a 10 minute short. Excellent use of the given time. Jagathy Sreekumar is outstanding and Nithya Menon is convincing as his tormentor. Anwar Rasheed's Bridge comes next. Anwar Rasheed is known for his blockbuster commercial movies like Rajamanickyam and Chota Mumbai. A lesser known fact is his passion for off-beat cinems. He has been able to do justice to his passion with Bridge. Visually, the short is outstanding. The best of the lot. Performance wise, Salim Kumar and Santha Devi steals the show. The kid in the short is also very convincing.
Puramkazhchakal by Lal Jose is another wonderful short. A great performance by Mammooty and Srinivasan. Ironically, the short really worked for me as I am totally pissed off at Mamootty in real life. Nothing personal, but the guy carries himself like a dick and a jerk. Anyway, the short really affected me. The climax is chilling to say the least.
Among the rest of the shorts, Makal by Revathy, Aviramam by B.Unnikrishnan, Island Express by Shankar Ramakrishnan are very good. M.Padmakumar's Nostalgia deals with the very interesting subject of a typical, selfish NRI. The execution could have been better. Shyamprasad's Off Season starts of delightfully. Suraj is pretty good in this. But the plot just loses its way after the first couple of minutes. Lalitham Hiranmayam by Lal Jose deals with a man's infidelity and the women in his life. Stylishly shot, but the short lacks substance. Mrityunjayam by Uday Ananthan is a horror short. The story seems to be an adaptation of the short story Indigo by Satyajit Ray. Sort of okayish. Such a short didn't really fit into the bigger picture.
This is a must see movie for all mallus. Especially the ones whining of the lack of good movies. More specifically the ones who whine and don't watch good movies when they are released. Cases in point: Thalappaavu , Thirakatha, and Gulmohar.
Watch the Kerala Cafe trailer. The title song is wonderful!

Pazhassi Raja: A Magnum Opus

Take a bow MT and Hariharan! Contrary to popular perception, you made a magnum opus after all! The best malayalam movie to come out in a long time. I would go a little further to say one of the best movies to come out of India in a long time. I don't know if I am still affected by watching the movie, but I honestly cannot recall a better Indian movie I have watched in a long time.

I am not going to write about the story, go watch the movie! If you are a history illiterate then it would be a delightful lesson, and for the ones who know the history its a delight in itself to watch events unfold.

The movie is 3 hours 20 minute long, but you would never feel the length. It starts of slowly, gradually picks up the pace and second half goes like a big whoosh.

To be honest, the movie does not having gripping or memorable dialogues like Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. But still, it is the individual performances make the movie a delight to watch. There are way too many characters and some very important characters who literally just walk-in and go in a single scene. Especially, Unni Moosa Moopan, the character played by Capt. Raju comes in a couple of scenes which does not do any justice to the part he played in history. The 4 minute song at his home could have been converted to something productive. Apart from this minor grouse, I guess characterisation and casting has been spot on.

Mammooty is graceful and exudes an aura. Its difficult imagine anyone else as Pazhassi Raja. Thankfully, his screen time is limited in comparison to the fare he has been dishing out recently. This builds up to the anticipation of his appearance. Only flaw I can see is that he underplayed the character a wee bit. A little too graceful and sort of one dimensional. May be he did justice to the real Pazhassi Raja!

Sharath Kumar as Edachena Kunkan Nair stole the limelight. He is the real star in the movie as far as I am concerned. I never considered him to be a good actor and boy how wrong I am! His screen presence is immense and its not every day that you see someone stealing the show from Mammooty!

Manoj K Jayan as the tribal leader Thalakkal Chanthu does full justice to his role and Suresh Krishna as Kaithery Ambu is also very good. Jagathy Sreekumar as the Eas India Company crony has executed his role very well. His attempts at humour early on doesn't do justice to the man's ability though. And where did Jagadeesh disappear after being introduced as the second crony?

When it comes to female characters, Kaniha was her graceful best. But the best one was Padmapriya as Neeli, Chanthu's fiancee. Her action sequences are mindblowing and it does help that she looks damn sexy! Her last stand against the EIC army will be etched in memory for a long time.

The actors portraying the British are so-so at best. A haunting question: Why is there always a white female sympathetic to the natives in every pre-independance movie?

Technically, this movie is the best from Malayalam cinema so far. It does match up to the recent Bollywood big budgets productions as well. Camera work is breathtaking at times. LOTR esque shots, battle scenes inside the forest in heavy rains...the movie is visual spectacular. Sound perfectly matches the visuals if not surpasses. Resul Pookutty has shown why he is the best in the business. Sounds of swordfights, water, battles are intricate and adds to the experience.

Do yourself a service and go watch the movie! Its best watched in a theatre to say the least!

Coming to economics. The movie costs 27 crores. Nearly 6 times that of a normal superstar movie in Malayalam. Its almost impossible to cover cost from Kerala alone. I guess the movie would do very well in Tamil Nadu thanks to the career best performance by Sharath Kumar and Mammooty. I have my reservations on the success for Telugu and Hindi versions. It was heartening to see a packed house in Innovative Bangalore for the late night show on a week day though!

Rating: 9/10 (The only glaring negative I would say is the misuse of ropes in a couple of fight scenes.)