Again Kasargod Khader Bhai Malayalam Film Review

To celebrate sixtieth birthday of Fr.Tharakkandam,former artist Unni and his friends arrive at kaladarshana.They agree to do a programme at Viyyoor jail for jail inmates where their old enemy Kasim Bhai is lodged.Unfortunately for these artists Kasim Bhai is murdered and they become prime suspects.The film concentrates on this murder investigation with elements of humor.

This film is one example of a film where comedy is created just for the sake of it.Even though this film boasts of a huge cast of talented comic artists like Jagadish,Salim Kumar,Suraj,Innocent,none of them is impressive and film just drags and the murder investigation led by a police officer(a wooden,pathetic actor) seems juvenile and irritating.Even the reliable Suraj falling flat with his imitation of popular actors.Only one scene where he is impressive is the one where he imitates superstars singing film songs with him getting their mannerisms right.The new mimicry artists are also not impressive and not able to generate any impact.To add to the misery of audience,not only one has to endure low standard slapstick comedy,but also there is vulgar comedy for the sake of it.Thulasidas thoroughly disappoints as a director.This film seems to be made just to encash on the original movie which was a moderate success at the time of release.

My Rating : POOR

Saath Khoon Maaf Hindi Film Review

This movie is about Susanna, a beautiful woman who kills her 6 husbands.Why she kills them is being explored here. Director Vishal Bhardwaj uses Susanna as a medium to look into the dark corners of human mind and about the evil that lurks behind it.This film is not just about a wronged woman's revenge,rather about the evil that lurks behind a human being who takes advantage of person who is dependent on him.The message is that they should be exterminated at any cost,rather forgiving them leads to further exploitation of weak.Susanna is no psychopath who kills for pleasure,rather a strong hearted woman who stands by her faithful associates at the time of need,who has taken the path of violence so eventually the world is more peaceful by getting rid of the evil.But in this zeal to terminate evil,we see gradual destruction of Susanna where there comes a time when her human side with its full frailty is exposed.But this film is not so dark and it is heartening to see that in a surprise twist towards end,Susanna finds happiness and true love in the form which she has been searching all along.

Her first husband, a wounded soldier who has won laurels for his country but insecure due to his handicap and inability to have children,subjects Susanna his object of frustration.Things reach a boiling point when he seriously injures a loyal associate of Susanna by his cruel act,which prompts her to take necessary action .Neil Nithin Mukesh does justice to this selfish,cruel,possessive soldier's role.

Second husband a handsome musician,who wins her heart turns out to be a copycat and a drug addict who in spite of best efforts of Susanna,do not mend his ways and so pays the price.John Abraham is a mediocre actor,but fortunately he is just a blink and miss character here,so his inadequacies are not noticeable.

Third husband a poet,who won the heart of legions of followers with his heartrending poetry,turns out to be an animal with no control on his primitive instincts rather than the soft hearted poet,physically abusing Susanna to the extend that she had no option other than to cut short his life on earth. Irrfan Khan plays the role of chameleon like poet convincingly who hides a cruel streak behind his soft poetry.

Fourth husband a handsome Russian wins her over by his charm and wit ,but in reality was a double crosser who leads another life in Russia,which becomes the reason for his eventual demise.Russian who played this role is a revelation,he is at his charming best when he blurts out Hindi film dialogues to woo Susanna.

Fifth husband a police officer,takes advantage of his ability to pinpoint Susanna's role in previous murders,by embarking on a relationship with Susanna which is purely based on lust on the part of officer.The obsession of this lecherous officer reaches a flash point where taking out his life seems to be the only option before Susanna.Annu Kapoor is perfectly cast in this role which has shades of dark humor.

Sixth husband an Ayurvedic doctor,who tries to poison her and kills her faithful associate instead gets his own medicine when Susanna decides to avenge his death. For an actor of the calibre of Naseeruddin Shah,this role is cake walk and he does justice to it.

These incidents are narrated by Arun,whom Susanna gives shelter,nurtures and helps him to become a doctor who in turn of fate helps in eventual redemption of Susanna.Vivaan Shah impresses.

As a director Vishal Bharadwaj is in fine form.He is able to extract a competent performance from Priyanka who played central character and all other actors.The film's pace is sluggish at some points,but overall the screenplay holds together.Music didn't rise to the expectation we have of a Vishal Bharadwaj soundtrack.

My Rating : ABOVE AVERAGE

Pranchiyettan and the Saint Malayalam Film Review

Francis is a  businessman who in spite of finding success in business, is not happy with life since he is made fun of by people due to his lack of formal education. He also has a bete noire in the form of Jose who not only snatches his childhood love away from him but also defeats him in club election due to his better educational background.A freak incident at an awards ceremony prompts Francis to acquire status in the society by any crooked means.The film looks at this attempt by Francis and also at Francis's attempt at romance,his interaction with his favorite saint, a child prodigy with attitude problems,all with elements of humor embedded in them.

I would have termed this film a brilliant attempt,if not for some scenes which did not pan out well.The saint angle was really thought out and brilliantly executed,even though the actor who played saint seems lacking on the acting front in some scenes The film's satire works perfectly in Francis's attempt for that coveted honor. Ranjith as a director shines here  and the manipulations that go on behind the so called esteemed awards is brilliantly captured.My favorite scene here is the padding up of  Francis's resume  with secular credentials and the reactions to it from his associates. As long as the film concentrated on that aspect it worked well,but unfortunately the film starts going downhill when the romance angle was introduced.It just didn't fit with the flow of the movie.The child prodigy angle even though done with good intention did not pass muster,because the boy who played that role was annoying and the incidents to prove his genius looked juvenile and childish.There was no need for that child prodigy angle,rather on an emotional level it would have worked if that kid was just a normal one.

On acting front of course Mammootty  runs away with all the honours.He is in his element as the much maligned Pranchi. Innocent,Siddique,Priyamani all do justice to their roles.

My rating : GOOD     

Calcutta News Malayalam Film Review

Ajith is a malayalee television journalist working in Calcutta.While on work he meets a newly married couple who happens to be from Kerala.Later on in a television news he finds that the man among the couple has been murdered.Fearing about the safety of the woman,he along with other people from the social club formed by malayalees,search for this woman and finds her at a ramshackle house in a slum area.He finds that the woman named Krishnapriya has been duped by her husband who married her for a sinister objective.The film looks at this journalistic investigation by Ajith and shocking truth it reveals.

Blessy as a director shines in parts,but seems to be confused on what aspect of the story to concentrate.In the end, film do not have a cohesive screenplay and it meanders into meaningless subplots which not only confuses audience,but pull down the movie completely towards the end.The film which starts on an intriguing note instead of maintaining that mysterious,suspense element, needlessly get into superstitious stuff which is not only unbelievable but unintentionally comical as well.Also Blessy seems to play to the gallery by bringing in a stereotype villain and fights which do not serve any purpose,rather becomes a letdown after such a promising start.In spite of all these flaws film is some what saved by few trademark Blessy scenes and good performances from lead characters.Credit has to be given that he has not completely lost it,when you look at the natural portrayal of middle class life of Ajith as well as an authentic portrayal of Calcutta.

Coming to acting front,it is Meera Jasmine all the way because of her awesome screen presence and charm,eventhough she has not nailed the character to perfection.If you do a microanalysis,you can find flaws in her performance,still she carries the film by her sheer presence and innocence which force us to forgive the minor flaws. Dileep gives a fine performance as the sensitive journalist.Innocent as usual gives a fine performance,but the scenes involving him to invoke laughter seems to be cliche and one expects better stuff from a director of calibre like Blessy.Special mention has to be made to Indrajith,who though in a small role was able to make an impact.

My rating : AVERAGE