The Intoxicating Spirit!

Theatre: Sreekumar, Trivandrum
Show: Matinee, 14-06-2012
Status: A full house

I had high expectations on Spirit. Mohanlal-Ranjith combo after the latter moved on to meaningful cinema. After the film, I was extremely happy with what I had seen; but I was also left with a lot of lingering thoughts on how it could have been better. Like Pranchiyettan, Spirit places all the eggs in a single basket. A film entirely reliant on the lead actor to make it special.

What I would call post-Kayyoppu second half syndrome strikes again. Underwhelming and lazy writing in the second half. Slightly evident in Paleri(quite contentious though), Pranchiyettan, and now in Spirit. I thought Indian Rupee was relatively free from this. Take this with a bucket of salt though. These films are still miles ahead of other contemporary films. Its just that, Ranjith can do a lot better. Its a bit more damning when you see the kind of threads lying around in the script which could make for even more compelling cinema. Relationship between Raghunandan and his son, I felt could have been used in way more effective manner. Nandu's story felt very undercooked and rushed to be honest. Ranjith could have woven in a middle-class character which honestly would have been an accurate reflection of an everyday Malayalee.

Heartening to see Ranjith use more visuals to converse with the viewer along with his trademark dialogues. A couple of them were overdone though. Lal enjoying the sights and sounds of daily life without the effect of spirit was simply superb.

Mohanlal carries the film throughout with a remarkable performance. His best in a long time and he underlines his greatness yet again. The performance simply proves why he is head and shoulders above his contemporaries. Not just his trademark drunk scenes, the subtle change of emotions when Shankar breaks the bad news to him, his high power monologues in the talk show etc are a treat for the viewers. I have been drawing parallels between Raghunandan and Dr. House (from the eponymous TV series) ever since I watched the film. I always wanted to see Lal in such a role and I guess this is the closest we would get. What would have made the film even more gripping would have been Lal's battle against Spirit similar to how Dr. House battles his vicodin addiction. This battle got only a few scenes, though they were quite good. Ranjith could have written in a combination between Lal and Thilakan here.

Shankar Ramakrishnan was apt for the role. He did a good job of what was on offer. Kaniha was also good. Sidharth Bharathan had a good outing, which should have been an expanded role. Nandu had a good role after a long time. Heartening to see someone fresh. Thilakan was criminally underused. Whatever little we saw was terrific. Combination scenes with Lal would have been an absolute treat. Tini Tom get a good role yet again and delivers it to perfection.

Camera work was adequate, with some good use of lighting to convey mood. Editing was at par with the demand of the film. BGM was also good. Songs had great lyrics. But I didn't find the songs to be hummable in spite of having good music. Artwork is excellent with a wonderful little Koshy's bar, a well designed Casa Rosa resort, and Raghunandan's house strewn with a wide variety of poison.

TL;DR: Spirit remains an excellent watch despite of its shortcomings in the script. Must watch for an amazing performance from Mohanlal and yet another good effort from the master, Ranjith.

Rating: Very Good

Postscript: What I ultimately wanted after watching Spirit was to see Mohanlal play Kuttiyappan in Leela penned by Ranjith. It was amazing to see the result of the work by the two of them and I believe that Ranjith+Mohanlal in Leela would be totally awesome.

Indian Rupee - Bang for the Buck

Cross-posting my review in FK.

Show: 10 PM, 7-Oct
Theatre: Innovative Multiplex, Bangalore
Status: Housefull (Houseful note was put up by the time we reached at 9:40. Great to see a full house despite poor reservation earlier in the day)

Hats off to Ranjith. Brilliant movie. For the third time in a row he has managed to pull off a great movie. Its often easy to be a victim of your own success but Ranjith has managed to stay true to his work. Armed with a good script, his direction has made this movie a delight for the viewer. Apart from poor picturisation of an awesome song (what were you smoking?), you could hardly find any glaring (or otherwise) fault. Terrific dialogues. The little verbal spars and one liners are really enjoyable.

Not getting into the story details. Better to see it unfold in the screen. Movie basically discusses the urge of today's generation to make a quick buck with little regard to everything else.

Prithviraj did well. Possibly his best performance since Vasthavam. No signs of stiffness that had crept into his acting in the recent flicks. His performance as JP would be remembered. A very good performance throughout barring the scene where he runs away from home during his sister's pennukaanal. He was able to portray the emotions of JP to perfection. You could easily accept JP as a "9th pass". A little smattering of humour works really well for the character. He should try doing more of these rather than trying a hand at slapstick which does not suit him at this stage.

Thilakan has shown how we miss him as an actor. A dialogue from Prithviraj, "Ningalithu evide aayirunnu ithrem naal!", sums it up. Brilliant performance. The best in the movie by far.

I thought Reema did quite well. She was charming and did well as the supporting yet strong romantic interest. The chemistry between Reema and Prithvi worked really well for me.

Jagathy as usual was terrific. Played the character to perfection. Tini Tom has played a good role. The movie should do him a lot of good. All the others were also aptly selected and did a good job. Special note to the girl who played JPs sister. Fantastic brother-sister chemistry. A welcome relief from the usual cliched kunjupengal.

Technical side was quite adequate. Good frames. Terrific BGM. Shahbaz Aman is seriously good. Ee puzhayum song was brilliant barring the terrible picturisation.

Its great to see that Malayalam cinema has marched ahead this year with some good movies. Indian Rupee certainly ranks high in my list among the best movies this year.

TL;DR: Indian Rupee is a delightful movie that handles a good theme backed by good performances in front and behind the camera.

Rating: Excellent!