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

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

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

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

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

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