Indian Rupee Malayalam Film Review

Before getting into analysis of Indian Rupee, one thing I would like to point out is the refreshing attempt on the part of director Ranjit to portray the regional slang ie in this case Kozhikode language throughout a film. In most commercial films writers attempt to play safe by going for that standard Malayalam so that no one is offended.I don't know how much of the Kozhikkodan Bhasha here in this film is authentic, since I am not from Kozhikode and that is one thing Kozhikkodan natives have to decide.

This film deals with two small time real estate brokers,their dreams to make it big ad the lessons learned in that process when large sums of money is involved.Prithviraj here plays the role of that honest,but one with big dreams and with the gift of gab tries his best to achieve his dream,that is become rich. But everything is not rosy at it looks since,if one has to become rich overnight,there are lot of shadier people out there with far shadier deals.This poor broker learns the lessons of life the hardest way when he gets involved in one such deal.

Director Ranjit has to be appreciated for maintaining a racier screenplay. It is able to maintain the interest of the viewer and keep him in a state of suspense about the action that unfolds before him.But there are some roadblocks that derail the flow.I did not get the far more importance given to the role played by Thilakan.I feel that character was quite unnecessary to this story.It seems as if Ranjit is so enamored of Thilakan that he invented a role and just added to the screenplay just for the sake of it. I am not denying that Thilakan has given an impressive performance,but this character do not add any value to the film.One of the cringe worthy scenes from the film was the preaching part on Dowry by already proven crook Thilakan and I found it quite ironic.Regarding performance of Prithviraj, I have to say that he was quite impressive,but still I  feel that he has to go miles before his acting look natural like that of the two M's. In some scenes I find him somewhat wooden.Timi Tom and Rima have played their supporting roles well.The performances throughout are satisfactory and film looks at a contemporary subject in an authentic way rather than with the usual commercial trappings.

My  Verdict : GOOD

The Cult Of Santhosh Pandit

I am a big malayalam film buff.Due to time constraints I may not be able to watch latest malayalam movies,but I try to keep track of latest releases and their box office fate.I was surprised when I came across a news that a film called "Krishnanum Radhayum" starring Santosh Pandit has opened to bumper response.Even when the two big M's are struggling to get a big initial,then who is this Santosh Pandit?.I was curious and did what most of the people do these days..google..and I came across the cult classic video song "Raathri Shubharathri".Of course the video was entertaining and it proved that Santosh Pandit has a skin which a rhinoceros will feel envy of.but more than the video what attracted my attention was the comments which followed the video.Malayalees are generally a gentle,peace loving people but it seems everyone here is venting their  fury with the choicest of Malayalam words your grandma wouldn't want to hear.Why this outrage?..Even though no one will admit,but deep inside everyone has a dream,to become a superstar,say those thunderous dialogues,bash up the villains and save the heroine.But truth is most of us do not have the guts to work towards that dream.Santosh Pandit at least try to do this in his own unique style,it is another matter whether his work measures up to the current standards of the society.May be it is ahead of its time,may be not.

Why this sympathy for Santosh when everyone seems to be hell bent on bashing him?The interviews he has given.He seems to genuinely believe that he has created a masterpiece.At least he gives that impression.Nothing wrong in that.Honesty counts.If it is other than that and he is hoodwinking all of us then he is world's best actor.At any day I will take a honest "Krishnanum Radhayum" than pretentious craps like Christian Brothers,20-20 or China Town.As far as the question of talent which is pretty much subjective,I will say that he do have talent as far as music direction is concerned.The song sung by Chithra is a genuinely good one.Even though the tunes of songs are pretty much generic,the orchestration is well worked out with some good flute work.

Santosh Pandit may or may not remain as a superstar,but Santosh Pandit phenomenon is here to stay.As internet enters more households,you expect a barrage of youtube videos of wannabe Santosh Pandits in near future.Hope that some genuine talents come through,some future Bharathans and Padmarajans

The Dante Club Matthew Pearl Novel Review

The Dante Club is an interesting mystery novel where a group of poets try to solve the mystery behind a series of gruesome murders.It is a debut historical mystery novel by Matthew Pearl.Here the background is Boston of 1865.A group of poets which consists of Longfellow,Holmes,Lowell and Greene(called fireside poets) want to bring to the American public,English translation of  Italian poet Dante's divine comedy.But Augustus Manning,treasurer of Harvard fears that the excessive violence in Dante's poetry will bring chaos into the society so try to dissuade the poets from this task.But they are determined to complete this task since they feel that they have an obligation towards American public who should be made aware of the  beauty of Dante's poetry.Then a series of gruesome murders occur where the victims are tortured and to their horror they find parallels to their work about Dante and these murders.The novel takes you through the stages where the poets assume the role of investigators and try to unravel the identity of the sadistic,unhinged serial killer.

The basic premise of making real life literary heavyweights to be the detectives them self is an interesting concept,but which can fall apart if not executed properly.In that sense I will say Pearl has come out with flying colors.One can see that Pearl is in awe of these literary figures and has done his research well to make it seem real and authentic.He has succeeded in recreating the Boston of 1865 and its history convincingly so that even a lay person who is not well versed in the history aspect will find the mystery aspect interesting and would love to know more about the fireside poets,Dante and the civil war which all served as the background of that period. The book is a page turner and keep your attention throughout.At the same time Pearl is able to give a depth to the main characters where one see the poet's burning passion for their work,their dedication to see their work come to fruition,but at the same time their compassion for the victims,their acceptance of coming in terms with the destruction of human life on wake of their work ,all these conflicting emotions captured in excellent writing for most of the part which can be considered to be of high literary quality. 

My Rating: GOOD

Marykkundoru Kunjadu Malayalam Film Review

Malayalam commercial cinema,just like other language commercial  cinema has a structure,the films should have the necessary masala ingredients to make them a  boxoffice success.Usually these type of films do well at the boxoffice but will be cliche ridden and really a pain to sit through.To give credit to Marykkundoru Kunjadu,it is a film well steeped in the usual malayalam commercial structure with the usual cliches,but fortunately do not stoop too low to be considered as garbage.The film has its moments,works like a sort of fable with an innocent charm to it so that the obvious manipulations which is on your face can to some extend be exempted.

The setting is a remote picturesque village where you meet the hero Solomon who is a simpleton with dreams of becoming a film director.He is lazy and is a burden on his poor family since he is not serious about life and is not interested in helping his family.As such he is on constant lookout by brothers of the girl  he loves,who don't hesitate to take advantage of his meek character to subject him to  physical beatings when opportunity arises.When a stray stranger appears at his house,he takes his help to fight back against his tormentors.The film looks at the mystery behind the sudden appearance of this stranger and his connection to Solomon's family.The film interestingly sets up the mystery where the audience is subjected to probe on the true intention of this guy.

As I mentioned, the film is like a fable or a children's story where there is this setting of this village with God fearing people, a church with its missing golden cross,where hero is expected to bring back the golden cross and everything will turn out fine.As such this story line looks little bit implausible,but then this is a  fable  and at the end when mystery unfolds you feel that this film has touched the right chords  and as much implausible this story is, you feel that the film has succeeded in telling a story with its human touch intact.

For Dileep who has played similar characters before this role is cakewalk and is something tailor made for him.He has done justice to the role.At some point I had a fear that given the superhero image which is expected from our  heroes,he will ultimately fight back against his tormentors and teach them a lesson which our super heroes usually do.Fortunately director do not take that route and so there is no dilution in hero's character.Some minor flaws like excessive stunt scenes to generate sympathy for the hero should  have been avoided.As a director Shafi has been able to bring authenticity to the setting and has handled his job well.Performances are pretty uniform and Biju Menon,Innocent,Vijayaraghavan,Jagathy,Salim Kumar all have contributed to make this film pretty strong as far as acting department is concerned.You can't find fault with any of these performances.For me the standout scene in this film is the introduction of Salim Kumar through the character of government doctor.This is a really well thought out scene and here the intended humor is of high quality.Of course the same quality is not  maintained throughout but as  pure entertainer,the film do not disappoint.

My RATING: ABOVE AVERAGE

Race Malayalam Film Review

You are young,successful and have a bright future ahead,You have a loving family,wife that adores you,a cute daughter and you are going great guns at your career.But then your perfect world starts crumbling around you.Young,successful doctor Aby finds himself in this predicament when he meets a woman at a medical conference who informs him that his daughter is kidnapped and his wife is held hostage.He himself is held at gunpoint and a series of events take place that turn his life upside down.The film looks at the standoff between Aby and his family against a gang of ruthless criminals where by we see the seesaw battle between them with Aby trying to save his family where as the gang tries to achieve its objective.The suspense element lies in the fact that we get the feeling there is much more to the kidnapping with all the stakeholders trying to be mysterious with some secrets to hide.

This is a film which promises so much at the beginning,but really let us down towards the end.The initial portions are really interesting,you expect the film to end up as a taut,psychological thriller.But the film disappoints in the sense that it becomes too conventional just like many other films before when you truly expect it be different and thought provoking.As such it is not difficult to guess that there is a complex reasoning behind the kidnapping and subsequent standoff and when it all unravels there is a tinge of disappointment because filmmaker has really screwed up with a lame reasoning for all the drama.

In spite of the disappointment I felt,the film do have directorial merit.For most of the part it has been able to maintain that tense,suspense element intact and definitely credit has to be given to Kukku Surendran.The performances are noteworthy with all the actors able to put in impressive performances,even though Mamta Mohandas in some scenes were little bit underwhelming.The child artist is excellent.Jagathi displayed what a seasoned performer he is with his scenes with the child particularly worth mentioning.Kunchacko is in his elements here.Indrajith also do justice to the role.Music is not worth mentioning and is not memorable.Some scenes which do not add up to logic is the ones where Aby and his wife try to upstage their tormentors which the predicament in which they are in find hard to believe.Then again there is no need to over analyze and little bit of a leeway can be given as long as film is able to keep the viewer on the edge of the seat.The film accomplishes this to some extent and as I mentioned before unfortunately crumbles towards the end.In spite of the cringe worthy reasoning behind the whole drama,there is no doubt the noble intention of the filmmaker to highlight a serious malaise affecting our society.

My Rating: AVERAGE 

Makeup Man Malayalam Film Review

When Balu faces financial ruin due to the mismanagement of his company,he seeks help from his close friend,Kichu who is a production controller with movie company.Not only he has trouble in the financial front but also in his love life where he is forced to marry his longtime lover Surya.Kichu helps him by arranging a place to stay since Balu is facing evacuation from his own house due to the loan he has taken from loan shark Vareeth.Misunderstandings galore occur wen Surya is misunderstood as an actress seeking opportunity in the film industry.She gets an opportunity to become the heroine of a movie.Since Balu is clutching at the straws as far as his financial situation is concerned,he readily accepts that and forces the reluctant Surya to accept the offer.The film looks at the aftermath of this when in order to be in proximity of Surya,Balu takes up the job of a make up man.The hilarious sequences that follow constitutes the basic premise of this film.

A positive aspect of this film is that humor do not go overboard most of the times.Director Shafi and writers Sachi-Sethu have been able to give a fairly pacy screenplay to grab the attention of the viewer.The way misunderstandings pile up is handled with an element of humor of fairly good standard.The character of proud,arrogant,hot tempered director has been handled well.The skirmishes between the director and producer has been handled properly and has been able to provide fodder for some natural humor.Even though film was really interesting at the beginning,it starts to move towards boredom from mid portion onwards when the fight between the couple escalate where I feel screenplay loses its grip on the proceedings.Still filmmakers have to be applauded for handling a theme of distrust,inferiority complex,one-upmanship between the couple with sensitivity without too much of damage.Kunchacko's and Pritviraj's guest appearance is also well handled and fortunately do not take away the attention from the core story,rather compliments it well.The way television channels handle stories to increase the TRP ratings by playing on the lives of celebrities is brought forth in an interesting way.The story as such is old wine in new bottle,but since because of earnest performances from lead actors,a fairly good screenplay,a satisfactory conclusion,due to these factors I do not feel that viewer will be disappointed after watching this movie.

Jayaram and Sheela as lead characters have been able to give good performances.In the case of jayaram we have seen him in similar roles before many times,still to give credit to him he has not failed the audience here.But I feel the standout performer is Suraj as the production controller.He brings the house down with his humorous antics,add his own unique style to make this character interesting.Another great performance is by jagathy,as the loan shark who is at the receiving end always.He has been able to imbibe the characteristic slang in the language this character speaks,the slyness required in the character to perfection.Rest of the cast is adequate with special mention to Siddique and Janardhanan.Music is poor and none of the songs register any impact.
 
My Rating: AVERAGE

The Stoneman Murders Hindi film review

Year 1983.A series of killings occur in the mega city of Bombay.The victims happen to be pavement dwellers with their heads smashed with stones and the killings occur at night when the victims are asleep.Police is mystified and in spite of increasing night patrol,there is no stopping of the carnage.Mean while inspector Sanjay is suspended for a custodial death.He wants to get back into the force,so with the help of his superior Satam,he unofficially carries out the investigation to nab the serial killer who is known as the Stoneman killer by now.The film looks at the cat and mouse game between the officer and the psychopath where Sanjay is so overwhelmed in this quest where by cracks begin to appear in his family life.The film is an edge of the seat taut thriller where a surprise conclusion awaits at the end when the serial killer's identity is unmasked.

Director Manish Gupta has to be applauded for telling this story in a realistic manner,rather than taking the approach of the manipulative ways of Hindi commercial cinema.He has been able to extract good performances from lead actors.The investigative aspect is structured in a way with which one can identify and seems authentic and natural.The inner skirmishes among the police department is portrayed without any exaggeration.In fact loved the portrayal of Sanjay who also has some dirty secrets in his cupboard who is not the straightforward one as one assumes. Even though there is no wide pool of suspects,still the way suspicion shifts from person to person hooking the viewer to the proceedings has to be applauded,thereby passing the litmus test of what a good suspense movie requires.

The reasoning behind the serial killer's objective seems plausible,but the film's minor flaw sees to be the fact that the ease in which the killer is able to pursue Sanjay,do raise doubt about killer's identity at early stage.May be the screenplay should have taken care to have a wider pool of suspects so that film would have been more interesting.

Kay Kay Menon has given an excellent performance.He has been able to bring forth the inner turmoils,emotional outbursts of a cop outwitted by a wily,cunning psychopath convincingly.Arbaaz khan unfortunately has not been able to nail the character.He looks wooden in many scenes.The rest of the cast is adequate.Background music is excellent.It has been able to bring alive that eerie and haunting atmosphere of the film.The songs are also well tuned.

My Rating: ABOVE AVERAGE

Gaddama Malayalam Film Review

There are some films that shock you with realism,the films that tug at your heartstrings,Gaddama belongs to that category.An average Malayalee is a migratory bird,he is someone who risks dangers to give life of happiness to his near and dear ones.When Ashwathy a young woman,who fell into financial difficulties due to untimely death of her husband accepts the job of a housemaid in a conservative,male centric but oil rich gulf country with tribal laws, she didn't expect the dangers that awaited her there.The film looks at her journey,her attempt to escape from her life of misery,the people she meets in this journey,most with sinister objectives,but some with hearts of gold.It also looks at the life of an immigrant population,the race to earn money,how it extinguishes humanness,how it forces people to betray their own people.This is a film by a director with a profound sense of knowledge of human conditions,acute observation power of Malayalee way of life,he who observe the various shades of gray even in relatively harmless common man and bring forth it  convincingly to the audience.

Even though on the outset the film looks like telling the simple story of a harassed house maid trying to escape from her employer,there is far more beyond that in this film.There is a level of complexity in this film ,that astute viewers could extrapolate if given sufficient attention,the way various stakeholders try to play their game and utilize the occasion to steer it for their advantage.The journalist who takes advantage of the situation by giving an yellow journalistic aspect to the story to increase circulation of his newspaper,the driver who betrays Ashwathi,these people in fact are far more dangerous and malicious than the tribal laws that punish innocent people like Ashwathy and her protector.You can see the strength of screenplay here where even a minor character like that of injured construction worker,how he takes advantage of the social worker who tries to help him,which proves that even among the so called common man you can find parasites which sucks the blood out of good Samaritans.

Kavya as Ashwathy has given an excellent performance.Her expressive eyes speak volumes,her transformation from innocent, wide eyed woman with hope of a bright future ahead to one who lose all hopes when everything crumbles around her is astonishing.Another noteworthy performance is by Murali Gopy.He is able to inculcate the conflicting emotions that character has to endure where by he has to decide between himself and another fellow being in need.Srinivasan is aptly cast as the social worker with a conscience among the hard hearted,selfish people around him.He has done justice to the role.Suraj also has given a good performance.Another noteworthy performance is by Shine Tom in the role of Basheer.Director Kamal has to be applauded for bringing forth this true story to silver screen and telling this in a simple straightforward manner without the usual trappings of the commercial cinema.The dialogues are also worth mentioning with dialogoe writer complimented for coming up with humane,hard hitting,realistic dialogues.

The songs by Bennet Veetrag is haunting and melodious.Background music  also complements the film and helps in enhancing the appeal of this well made film.

My Rating: GOOD

A Place Of Execution Val McDermid Novel Review

When you are young,you look at life with optimism and if you add ambition to it then that is a potent mix.For young police inspector George Bennet when he was presented with the case of missing teenager Alison Carter from the remote village of Scardale,he was enthusiastic and wanted to prove his worth.But as days rolled by with no trace of Alison,the initial enthusiasm starts to evaporate and the case starts to take a heavy toll on him.His wife is pregnant and his concern for the unborn child and Alison make him a person on the edge until the fierce determination to solve the case is what prompting him to move forward.He feels that the villagers instead of helping him in this quest are trying to shield someone among them.But by some lucky break emanating from the villagers itself,Bennet is able to zoom on the person responsible for the disappearance of Alison.Bennet is relieved,but is it really the end?.As one can read in this excellent novel,there is a deep mystery behind the disappearance of Alison where even the good hearted Bennet it seems have something to hide.A journalist who wants to write a book on this case is the one who untangles this web and brings out the secrets buried years ago at the village of Scardale.

This is one novel,where I confess that I find it difficult to put down once I started.The suspense is really well built and keeps you on the edge in the anticipation of what is going to happen next.You start sympathizing with the character of Bennet,the pains he go through to solve this tough case and you root for him to win.But then again you realize that life is not fair and what looks obvious need not always be so. Val Mcdermid has been able to paint the remote village of Scardale of 60's and the colorful characters of that village with a type of realism which only novelists with eye for detail and keen observation about human conditions can convincingly pull off.We realise that when we are introduced to the various characters in the village,there is a sense of camaraderie among them and general distrust towards outsiders.You are introduced to grandmother Lomas who turns out to be a mysterious character who holds some aces in this puzzle.As Bennet digs deeper,Ma Lomas's extensive knowledge about the terrain unearth some important clues which help him in getting closer to solving this intriguing puzzle.

This novel is considered one of the best among Val Mcdermid books.It has been nominated for Edgar award and has won several mystery awards.Even though on hindsight you may feel that story is little bit implausible,still what trumps is that this novel has got all ingredients in right mix that makes an excellent suspense/mystery novel.The pace never drops,the writing even though can't be termed as of literary quality,never wavers and maintain a consistent standard enough to maintain the pace,there is depth in characterization,the inner turmoils,emotional outbursts of the characters caught up in a tragedy well brought out by the writer.

My Rating: EXCELLENT

Game Hindi Film Review

Suspense/mystery is a genre which requires considerable thought and has the chances to bomb if not done right.The most important aspect of  this type of film is a racy screenplay which do not distract the attention of the audience and forces him to invest his attention on the film.'The Game' is a film which breaks this cardinal rule and is an abomination to this intelligent genre.The screenplay is weak,the story is implausible,the performances are irritating,add all these factors and what you get is a mish mash of a suspense movie,devoid of any mystery,which the viewer wants to finish as quickly as possible so that he can get on with his life and forget the fact that he wasted 2 hours of his life on this crap.

Kabir Malhothra is a billionaire with some secrets to hide who resides in an Island at Greece in his palatial home.He keeps track of four people from different parts of the world with whom he has a connection which will be made clear as the movie proceeds.These four people are from different backgrounds ranging from a casino owner in Turkey,a movie star in India,a journalist in England and a prime ministerial candidate in Thailand.He invites these four people to his island.They also have some secrets to hide and is at a stage of life where they are staring at failures,so this invitation from a billionaire rekindles hope in them for a better future.But what awaits them is not what they expect and they could see that their already miserable life crumbling in front of them when they meet Malhothra.The meeting sets off a chain of events that turn their lives upside down.What now follows is a murder and then the investigation with these four being the primary suspects,the secrets are slowly revealed,we are exposed to shocking truths and surprising revelation awaits at the end.

The film struggles to keep the attention of the viewer.The shocking revelations do not have the necessary impact and there are logical flaws through out the movie.The setting in a foreign country completely botches the authenticity aspect,since the intention here seems to shoot only at scenic places around the world rather than concentrate on the mystery aspect and give a satisfactory solution to the puzzle.

The film is technically sound.Stunt scenes are well pictured.But the chase scene involving Neil Menon trying to get rid of surveillance was poorly done and was getting on the nerves due to its length and its drag on the already snail like pace of the movie.Music of the film is also disappointing.None of the songs are memorable.Background music also do not rise up to the occasion.

Anupam Kher  has given a fine performance as Kabir Malhothra,Shahana Goswami as a journalist has also done justice to that role.Abhishek Bachchan is just about passable as Neil Menon.Rest of the actors do not pass muster.Jimmy Shergill is generally a reliable actor but here he seems to be out of sorts.Kangna Raut seems to be trying too hard to make an impact and comes off superficial and fake.The entire concept of Indian police officer working with English police is something difficult to digest.Then again this film is such a poorly thought out one that there is no point in wasting time in analyzing stuff like this.

My Rating: POOR

Sahasram Malayalam Film Review

Sahasram is a suspense thriller with an element of supernatural in the background.If an investigative murder mystery combined with a hint of supernatural in the form of a Yakshi(Ghost),makes an interesting premise,then the result can be termed as the story of Sahasram.

A film crew arrives to  shoot a horror film at a dilapidated old building in a remote village.When art director Vaishakh who is also addicted to drugs first visits this building,he meets some people and then tragedy strikes when a group of people attacks them.Vaishakh escapes from there and he later comes to know that the people whom he met happens to be the ghosts of people who got killed in that building years ago.When he explains this to others,everyone associates this as his hallucinations.While at the shooting site the main villain in the movie,Sudhir gets killed and suspicion falls on Vaishakh who had a previous history of enmity with Sudhir.Police officer Sahasranamam is entrusted with the task of unmasking the murderer.The film looks at how Sahasranamam sets about to achieve his objective and what we get is twists and turns,suspicion shifting from person to person and culminating in a surprising conclusion.

This film cannot be termed as a brilliantly executed murder mystery,but director has been able to maintain the suspense to some extent and thereby keeping the viewer interested enough to see through the unfurling of the mystery.It is also interesting that the supernatural element also fits in with the proceedings and add to the mystery element rather than meandering in a different direction.As such there are instances when you feel like it is an implausibe story,then again film as an art form especially when it comes to mystery movies,little bit of leeway can be given as long as director is able to maintain the suspense element with out taking the audience for too much of a ride.

Suresh Gopi of course has become the stereotyped murder investigator in Malayalam films.But then again nothing wrong with that since he does this job pretty well.Here I won't say he is perfect in that but can only say that he is just about adequate and has done his job.Bala as art director was pretty impressive and his interesting face and expressive eyes gave some depth to that tragic character.Some other good performances of note was that of Jagathi,Sudheesh and Suresh Krishna.Madhu is wasted in a small role.When it comes to music,the songs are really good even though background music which should play an important role in this type of films fail to rise up to expectation.

My Rating: ABOVE AVERAGE

August 15 Malayalam Film Review

August 15 is a well made suspense thriller written by SN Swamy and directed by Shaji Kailas.It cannot be termed as an excellent edge of the seat thriller since at many points pace do drop,but for most of the part director has been able to keep the viewer hooked.

An assassination attempt is made on chief minister,and police officer Perumal is assigned the task of foiling any further attempt as well as to find the assassin.But the assassin turns out to be wily,cunning,an expert at disguises who has been able to evade the police with ease. The cat and mouse game between assassin and Perumal begins where both try to upstage each other.The aftermath of this is that assassin becomes determined to carry out his mission since he is someone who cannot tolerate failure,who is a psychopath who destroys anyone in his path to achieve his objective.The film looks at this dangerous battle of control between the police officer and the criminal,with a surprising conclusion which takes you unawares when the dust settles towards the end.

Shaji Kailas films usually include Kerala politics and it is clear in this film that where his political affiliations lean towards to.Any astute viewer could see that on whom the chief minister in the film and party secretary is modelled on.Even though it gets little bit on the nerves,the chief minister here is portrayed as paragon of virtues,a so called perfect person which is hard to believe and I feel director who modelled it on real life personality has gone little bit overboard and seems to have mastered the art of flattery.Then again this is not an important thing since fortunately the focus of the film is not on hardcore politics but on the investigation aspect and here unlike previous Shaji films,tone is somewhat subdued.Fortunately there is no unnecessary fireworks in the form of bombastic dialogues and too much of slow motion walk by the hero.The inner politics among the police department is depicted,but it has not gone overboard.

As a director,Shaji kailas has not let the viewer down.The film is technically sound.The chase scene between Perumal and assassin is well handled.Talking about performances,there is nothing exceptional in the role played by Mammootty.As is usual is the case he has been able to deliver.Siddique as the psychopathic assassin has also done justice to the role.He has been able to bring out the various shades of gray convincingly required of this character.Jagathi unfortunately is little bit off color here.Generally a reliable performer,but here his character sort of didn't gel with the movie.Lalu Alex ,Vijay are quite adequate in their roles. Back ground music by Rajamani suits this genre type film.

My Rating: ABOVE AVERAGE

Karyasthan Malayalam Film Review

Malayalam film industry always has this fascination for films related to warring families and then their happy reunion at the end.The story line of these type of films will be similar,there will be two powerful families in a village run by patriarchs with a dozen children who initially will be close friends,but due to some misunderstanding perpetuated by a villain,will become bitter enemies and their enmity will span decades until some one preferably from younger generation will set things right,whereby the villain is caught and at the end every one sings a happy song and all ends well.The story line of Karyasthan is also somewhat similar.Not only the story is one regurgitated many times before,I feel there is only one word to describe this film,and that is the word "silly".Yes this film is really silly,with its low standard comedy,manipulative emotional scenes,over acting and to add nail on the coffin,irritating songs.

Unni wants to reunite his father with his relatives,who banished him to a remote Tamil Nadu village when he married against their wish.So he sets on a journey along with his best friend Vadivelu to his grandfather's house to meet the objective of reuniting his grandfather's and his best friend's family.The film looks at the hilarious sequences that follow when he lands up at the house and take up the job of a caretaker.The film follows the usual pattern of love affairs,again misunderstanding,and it is of course the duty of the hero the emerge triumphant by demolishing the villain and needless to say everything is rosy at the end with every one singing the traditional family song in their best traditional attire.

Dilip is no doubt a good actor and this type of roles suit him,but if he wants to be taken as a serious actor,he should avoid this type of repetitive roles.Then again one cannot blame him,since he is typecast in this type of roles and if audience want this type of substandard stuff then who can blame him.Suraj as his best friend is able to evoke some laughs and that is only because of his natural talent rather than anything to do with the script.Two talented artists Salim Kumar and Harisree Ashokan are wasted in roles which require them to do overacting with the same set of expressions which they have done in countless movies before.

As such it was really a pain to sit through this boring film with tons of actors floating here and there and mouthing serial standard dialogues,there is no point in wasting time on analyzing the acting department.The direction is really poor,silly coincidences,poor script and thousands of other things I don't have time to point out.One of the worst films I have seen in my life.

My Rating: POOR    

Arjunan Sakshi Malayalam Film Review

There are some films which start of with a bang,gives you high hopes and then fizzles out towards the end.Arjun Sakshi is one such film.It had a promising start,but then ends up like just like another action film with the standard set of villains and the common man ranting against the system,which we have seen in many Malayalam films before. In spite of the flaws,the film do highlight some of the issues a fast growing city like Kochi face like the hardships common man face due to traffic jams and how some selfish people could derail people centric projects for their benefit.

A prominent newspaper receives an anonymous letter in which the writer claims to be the witness to the murder of Rashid Moopan,former collector.The newspaper publishes this,and the journalist who received this letter is threatened by an anonymous caller to disclose the identity of the writer.Roy,an architect is misunderstood as Arjun,the anonymous writer by the people involved in the murder of Moopan.This film looks at how Roy gets caught in this web from which he cannot extricate himself without causing damage,and how he tries to overcome that.

Even though the film is interesting on some levels,the way in which Roy trapped the villains,look too simplistic.Even if there is a witness to a murder,unless there is physical evidence,it is something difficult to prove.So the villans becoming paranoid seems to be created just to give the platform for the hero to win.Also I did not understand the logic behind the killing of Rashid's father.Coming to the execution of the film,director has been able to extract good performances from almost all actors,but falters when it comes to the action scenes.It is true that Malayalam films have budgetary constraints,so it is difficult to pull off heavy duty action scenes.So best option is not to atempt that and fail.The chase scene is not properly executed and looked amateurish.The final stunt scene with the four villains is also not able to make any impact.Even though primarily a comic actor,Jagathi has excelled in playing various type of characters and found success,but here in the role of Rashid's father he is not convincing.There seems to be too much of a conscious effort to get into that character,a neurosurgeon that it sort of looks artificial.Prithviraj even though stiff in some scenes has been able to do justice to the role.As such none of the other characters stand out,they all seems to be like cardboard copies you find in a typical action film,so there is no point in discussing the acting merits or demerits.

The background music is in tone with the film and is well done.The songs are nothing much to write about.They are just about there to fill in the gaps.

My Rating: BELOW AVERAGE

Best Actor Malayalam Film Review

'Best Actor' is an example of a film,which on script looks promising but when implemented do not look as plausible or interesting as in the script.This is what happens here also.A film with many implausible scenes,weakness in script,attempt to play to the gallery by creating unnecessary melodramatic scenes,irritating background score when combination of all these factors come together,what you get is an interesting concept gone wrong.

Mohan is a school teacher with the ambition to become an actor in a movie.His entire life is dedicated to achieve this objective where by he even ignores his loving wife and son.When a group of assistant directors planning to make an action film make fun of him and insist that he should have real life experience of a thug,he literally believes it due to his innocent nature and starts living with four real life thugs.The film looks at the hilarious sequences that follow when he encounters professional thugs and his real life merges with the reel life he dreams on.

Credit has to be given that good actors like Venu,Lal,Salim Kumar have been able to master the local slang and make these colorful characters interesting,but a 2.5 hour movie just do not depend on just characterization,but should have an adept screenplay to hold the attention of viewer.This fact is sadly missing here.Also Lal's overacting at some scenes is off-putting.As a director Martin shines in parts,but not able to do justice in some scenes.An example which comes to mind is where the assistant directors indoctrinate Mohan with the Vivek Oberoi story.This scene do not come off naturally and seems to be fake and artificial.The actors also seems to be trying too hard to make an impact.Baiju in the role of police inspector is not convincing,and those scenes are also not handled properly.

Mammootty unfortunately is also not in his elements and in many scenes he looks stiff and uninterested.The hindi dialogue scene is really cringe worthy and embarrassing.The songs are not memorable and there is an irritating humming at melodramatic scenes.The objective seems to appeal to the emotional aspect of the viewer,but unfortunately I don't think anyone would be moved.As such I will concede that there are some really good,realistic dialogues which implies some hard work has gone into the dialogues.At least on that aspect the dialogue writer should be given credit.

My Rating: BELOW AVERAGE

Traffic Malayalam Film Review

Traffic is a brilliantly executed edge of the seat thriller.An accident at a traffic junction sets off a chain of events with in a period of 12 hours which culminate in an adrenaline pumping thriller fest.The thriller element is not in chase of a sinister villain or pulping of a dozen villains by a superstar.Rather it is in the race to save a human life by the delivery of a live heart from a town hospital to another and the entire machinery ranging from police force to the dear ones of people involved in this mission,their trials,tribulations,their emotional turmoil is captured here in a realistic manner.This mission is handled by a disgraced policeman,supported by a doctor with some secrets and by a guilt ridden youngster grieving for his best friend.Whether they will achieve success overcoming all odds,that is what this film is all about.

The best part of this film is its racy screenplay.There is not a dull moment.You are always in anticipation of what happens next.All the characters are well flushed out and ably supported by good performances from artists. Rahman as the arrogant superstar incapable of appreciating his love for his daughter gives a great performance.Sai Kumar is turning out to be one of the best character artist since Venu and Thilakan, and he gives a heartfelt performance as the grieving father. Anoop Menon is quite adequate in that role.Kunchacko Boban is a much improved actor these days and the result here also is not different.Rajesh Pillai as a director clearly shines in this film.

Even though this film can be termed as almost perfect,there is some minor flaws I would like to point.The secret behind the character of Abel is little bit unconvincing,also for the reason that he is a doctor,he should be able to control his emotions well.There is no denying that this factor is one of the reasons due to which the film was able to maintain a good level of suspense,but I feel writers should have exploited a more plausible reason.Another factor was the filmstar's fan club members trying to evacuate people in the slums,which looked rather filmy and looks as if inserted since director felt like film lacks some playing to the gallery stuff.

The background music is quite captivating.I loved the music played towards the end of the mission.The songs though not catchy,are quite listenable.

My Rating: GOOD

Ore Kadal Malayalam Film Review

A dreary,boring wannabe intellectual film by Shyamaprasad.Mammootty in the role of eminent economics professor is a drunkard,horny guy who scoffs at love,bonding,emotional attachments and is in dire need of women when the need arises.He meets a housewife Deepthi who is going through economic hardships whom he helps and as is his want seduces her.The cat and mouse game starts where you find Deepthi and Nathan going through emotional turmoils and the rest of the movie looks at the consequences of this encounter.

The character of Nathan,instead of the complexity the director is trying hard to hoist on him,comes across as a rather simple,normal guy who in the end start appreciating the fact that he is human after all.But the transformation and the events which lead to it all looks superficial by the attempt to give that psuedo intellectual arty treatment.Mammootty is no doubt a fine actor and here also he has tried his best to do justice to the role,but with poor direction and a weak script,he cuts a funny figure rather than the complex,eccentric,tragic figure.

Deepthi,the housewife who is enamoured by Nathan,who incidently unlike Nathan has strong views on what constitutes sin is tormented by the affair which even unbalances her mind.To tell the truth if this was handled by an able director,audience would have been moved by her plight.Instead there is no such feeling and I wanted the film to get over as quickly as possible.But credit has to be given to Meera Jasmine who plays this role without causing much damage.

Shyamaprasad as a director fails at many scenes which I would like to point out.A hallmark of a good director is how he handles child artists.Here Shyamaprasad fails miserably and it was a pain to sit through the scenes involving the child artists.Another scene which comes to mind is the one where Deepthi's neighbour tries to take advantage of her.Director did not handle that scene properly and a pathetic actor was chosen for that role.

Coming to side characters Narain and Ramyakrishnan have given good performances.Ramya's character also had some tragedy associated with it but like Nathan,it also comes out as artificial and fake.The scene where she gives money to a beggar boy can be termed cringeworthy including her backstory.

Background Music by Ouseppachan is just about listenable,but songs are not all interesting.It also has the same wannabe arty sound.Overall I would say a disappointing film.

My Rating: POOR

Salil Chowdhury Master Melody Maker Malayalam Songs

Salil Chowdhury is one of my favorite music directors.During the 70's and early 80's he has given music to number of Malayalam films. If one has to take account of best Malayalam film songs, I am sure that there will be many Salil Chowdhury songs in that list.Salil Chowdhury's songs are characterized by its catchy melody,meticulous arrangements,abrupt changes in tone which enhances the quality of the songs.He had a unique style due to which the moment you listen to his song,we can determine it  be a Salil Choudhary song.Initially my intention was to list best ten songs from his Malayalam songs,since it is difficult to just list ten songs since even his worst songs in Malayalam had a certain quality which cannot be disregarded.So in various posts I would like present my impressions of some of his songs

Aa Kayyilo Ee Kayyilo(Ragam)-A fun song by Yesudas.The song seems to just like a normal song till it takes a delightful turn at "Pookada Chennu thurannotte" which enhances an otherwise normal song according to Salil standards.

Araro Swapnajalakam(Puthiyavelicham)-A typical Salil Choudhary song.The twists and turns which you can usually expect from songs given by Salil to female singers you can see here.Nothing exceptional, a sort of sing along song and nothing more than that.

Aarattukadavil(Puthiyavelicham)-One of the weak songs among Salil Songs.Pretty simplistic and without the complexity you expect from a Salil song.Even though it is sung well by Jayachandran,unsual to Salil songs,this song sounds dated.

Aathira Poovaniyam(Pratheeksha)-When you hear the heavenly voice of Yesudas,you know that you are in for a treat and what a treat is this song.Melodious, sung to perfection by Yesudas.There is not much in orchestration here and song is completely dependent on Yesudas's singing.A simple song with a catchy melody which will arouse the romantic in you.

Allimaril Kavil(Anthiveyilponnu)- A song with folk touch sung enhanced by the child-woman voice of Janaki which suits this song perfectly.Best part for me is at "kannu Nattu Kathirunnu" when an interesting twist in the  song accompanied by an appropriate chorus.An above average song.

AmbadiPoonkuyile(Ragam)-An average song in the voice of P.Susheela.Even though Susheela is a good singer,her pronunciation leaves much to be desired.Nothing much to write about this other than that singer has struggled little bit in this song and not much damage is done but overall just about a listenable song.

Ayilyam Paadathe(Rasaleela)- An excellent song.Yesudas in high pitch and perfectly sung with perfect twist at the   part "Kiliye Kiliye" which takes abrupt turn from the beginning which is characteristic of good Salil Choudhary songs.Vani Jayaram's rendition is also excellent here and Salil introduces her velvety voice at right times throughout the song.Salil's orchestration is also excellent here which ranges from folk music to western style drums with excellent chorus in the background.

BhoomiNandini(Chuvanna Chirakukal)-An above average song sung well by Janaki with her haunting voice.Loved the guitar part and overall flow of the song which is pretty soothing.

Bhoomithan Sangeetham(Anthiveyilponnu)-An excellent song.A haunting,melodious song.This song can be termed as the song of those times,reflecting the musical style of that period,but to give it credit do not look aged at all.Of course Yesudas's sweet,divine voice  at its best.One thing I love about most of Salil songs is the appropriate placement of chorus which enhances the song and here also it is not different.

I would love to present my impressions about other Salil Songs in future posts.


  

The Sculptress Minette Walters Novel Review

You form the image of a person from the account on various media outlets.This may not be always true.Writer Rosalind Leigh is faced with this reality when she is forced by her agent to write about an overweight,ruthless woman named Olive Martin who hacked to death her mother and sister.But after meeting her, Leigh is not convinced whether Olive has done the deed eventhough she has confessed to the crime.Even though Olive has the reputation of being a big liar,Leigh could see that there is certain truth behind her lies and her objective becomes to filter out truth from the maze of lies floating about her.This novel explores this attempt by Leigh to uncover the truth behind the horrific killings and to unmask the murderer.

The novel is well paced and you are in anticipation of what happens next.Walter's writing is of good quality and she has been able to bring depth in characterization of the principal characters of Leigh and Olive Martin.The pace slows a bit when Novel concentrates on Leigh's romantic life as well as on Olive's attorney and his role in this puzzle.But then it picks up pace and comes to a surprising conclusion where Walters also offers an interesting alternative where readers are prompted toward the notion whether the happy ending is in fact a mirage.

This is my first Minette Walters novel and I am quite impressed and will definitely look forward to more of her novels.

My Rating: GOOD

Chatham School Affair Thomas H Cook Novel Review

An old man Henry looks back at his life,his childhood at the small town of  Chatham.It was year 1926 and a beautiful woman Channing joins his school as art teacher.This novel beautifully captures the life of this small town of Chatham,the teacher,her colleagues,Henry's father who happened to be the headmaster of the school in poetic prose as well as maintaining the suspense quotient intact.

This is not an easy novel to read.It do not have the pulse pounding action associated with the thriller genre nor can claim the edge of the seat suspense factor also.But it is compensated by the measured pace studded with lyrical prose,flushing out the characters,putting the readers in emotional turmoil by the tragic event which unfold and then ending with a surprising conclusion which neatly explains the emotional rollercoaster through which various characters in this novel pass through.

This is my first Thomas H Cook and I have to say that I have become a big fan so much that definitely I will look forward to more Cook novels.The powerful impact this novel still had on me is such that the principal tragic character of Elizabeth Channing is still fresh in my mind and refuses to go away. The way Cook has handled various human relationships,the vagaries of love,the rebelous,stubborn teenage mind,conservative and liberal thinking on the part of characters,all these have to be commended.
 
My Rating: EXCELLENT