Virus (2019)

Director: Aashiq Abu
Writers: Muhsin Parari, Sharfu, Suhas
DOP: Rajeev Ravi, Shyju Khalid
Cast: Revathy, Tovino Thomas, Parvathy, Indrajith, Soubin Shahir

Film recounts the details of the deadly 2018 Nipah Virus outbreak in Kerala which claimed lives of around two dozen people. The Nipah virus is very contagious with a very high death rate and it was happening in Kerala for the first time. There was every chance that it could turn into an epidemic considering Kerala's high population density but the medical community here along with the administrators were successful in containing it. The film basically recounts that story and is not focused on any particular protagonist. That is quite apt for the huge ensemble cast that was assembled for the film.

I am a huge fan of Steven Soderbergh's Contagion which also dealt with a virus outbreak like Nipah but on a global scale. I had seen some similarities to it in Ashiq Abu's previous film Maayanadhi (Kodaikanal scenes) in terms of shot visualisation and background music and was wondering whether he would use a similar approach here as well. That is not the case here because it wouldn't be realistic to take that approach when the central location for much of the film is Calicut Medical College. Contagion dealt with largely a what if scenario of such a global epidemic happening and how the society's functioning will get affected. We got a mini version of it in Kerala as Calicut city became a ghost town. Social exclusion of families affected happened and there was considerable fear in the two affected districts, Kozhikode and Malappuram.

Virus begins showing the everyday life of a medical college casualty in a riveting fashion and the busy nature sets the tone for the film. First half of the film depicts how it was diagnosed, it was an incredible feat that it was identified as Nipah from the second patient itself, and steps taken to monitor around 3000 people who came into contact with the initial patients. The bodies of those who died were not given back to the relatives and the challenges that the administration faced for cremation of it is also shown. Second half of the film deals with identifying how each of the patients were linked to establish how the virus got transmitted. Film takes a largely political tone in second half as you have the centre suggesting the possibility of a bio attack due to the religion of the index patient. I can see this aspect generating controversies in the coming days from the right wing dickheads for targeting them as well as from others for the logic of dedicating so much time for what then seemed like an internet phenomenon. It will be interesting to see if such a push did came from the centre and won't be too surprising. Anyway the makers have the licence to take creative liberties.

The original cut of the film was three hours long and they shaved 30 minutes off it for the theatrical release. You do see where it got the cuts as the Asif Ali storyline seemed quite half-baked. Overall the film works very well as a procedural without going into a semi documentary format. There are enough traits given for many of the characters from medical community to make it interesting and the administration characters are played largely in a matter of fact manner. A Nipah case was identified in Ernakulam last week but people seems to be dealing with it in a confident manner.

Rating: 4.25/5

ഉയരെ (Uyare) (2019)

Director: Manu Ashokan
Writers: Bobby-Sanjay
DOP: Mukesh Muraleedharan
Cast: Parvathy, Asif Ali, Tovino Thomas, Siddique
Language: Malayalam

Uyare follows the story of a girl who wanted to be a pilot but ends up as an acid attack survivor when relationship with her boyfriend goes south. Asif Ali plays the role of overly possessive asshole boyfriend and Tovino is the bubbly CEO of an airline company in conflict with his businessman father.

It is ultimately a feel good film done very well. I am not really a big fan of films or roles that Parvathy does as they are generally about very unique situations and  unique characters that require 'hard-work' acting. This role or film is no different but the trailer was sufficiently interesting and reviews very favorable for me to check it out on the smallest screen in my town (100 seater). She is not that convincing in the college graduate phase of the story but for the rest of it she carries it easily. The makeups are really convincing and changes through time post the acid attack and subsequent years are also dealt with. The plane scenes and the outside atmosphere have been captured in sufficiently convincing manner without us feeling the cheapness that a normal Malayalam film budget would afford.

It also has the usual problems associated with Bobby-Sanjay films like middle class righteousness. Friend-father of female protagonists have become a cliche in these films with Siddique playing it here. Despite its minor flaws and convenient plot situations it is a pretty great watch overall. It generates enough teary eyed moments which is a sign that it worked.

Rating: 4/5

Lucifer (2019)

Director: Prithviraj Sukumaran
Writer: Murali Gopi
DOP: Sujith Vasudev
Cast: Mohanlal, Vivek Oberoi, Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas, Sai Kumar
Language: Malayalam

Film follows the events after the death of a chief minister and the succession drama that is precipitated by it.

Trailer of the film pretty much reveals what it is about. It is a mashup of several films from the past like Irupatham Noottandu and Ustad, but in a good way. It is not really about the plot but the quality of making on a technical level, narrative sureity and the performances from the huge ensemble cast whom all have got memorable roles and have been carefully cast. Expositions are cleverly done using the Facebook live from the Indrajith character. Prithviraj is usually one who talks the talk when it comes to his passion for making risky films but that is generally only seen in films he produces. He has been quite upfront about the nature of his feature film debut, stressing the fact that he is a Mohanl fanboy and the film will have things that will please his fans and that is pretty much what we get.

It is a mass commercial film that will please his fans and is a neatly made watchable film for the rest. Prithviraj is said to have ghost directed some of the films he has starred in the past and their shortcomings are also present here- primarily the length of it and a general lack of humour. It is only Baiju and Sai Kumar who provides some humour in it and that is just not enough for a movie of this genre with a running time close to three hours. Ustad, Aaram Thamburan and Big B, only ones that I like among films of these nature from recent times, had ample elements of humour to them. The first two action set pieces are done very well but the final one is bit of a letdown. BGMs work very well in some places and disappointing in the rest. Camerawork is uniformly excellent and specially loved the scale of the crowd scenes and that zoom out scene from that Mumbai slum, Danny Boyle like. It is a pretty good watch and has more nuances than the impression I got from the initial watch. The Russian scene, spectacularly done, adds a lot for the film.

PS: Kids will get the Irupatham Noottandu reference. Adults will get the Pulp Fiction reference. Legends will get the Wire reference.

Rating: 3/5

അകത്തോ പുറത്തോ (In or Out) (2018)

Director: P.P. Sudevan
Language: Malayalam

Akatho Puratho is the follow-up from director Sudevan to his state award winning feature film debut- Crime No 89. The latter was produced on a meagre budget of 7 lacs while his newest film cost a still meagre 15 lacs. His films are what you call as proper award films in Malayalam and is generally targeted for festival audience only. Some of them can really test your patience but in this film Sudevan pretty much hooks your from the beginning.

It is a two hour long film comprising of four short films with the last two considerably longer. Common theme running through them is death. First short is titled fish and is basically a depiction of food chain in our society through the lifecycle of a fish captured beautifully. The next one is titled the doll and does a similar feat over the lifecycle of a doll. The last two titled 'Old Man' and 'Her' respectively are human condition stories which can test your patience. The length, on reflection, is quite warranted for the first one as it is about the painfully slow process of death of a bedridden old man who is never shown on screen. It can really make you think about your own mortality and reaffirms the cause for assisted suicide, which I fully endorse. The last segment of the film is its weakest which involves a crime of passion and the protagonist role is played by a theatre artist. All others in the film are non-professionals.

Crime No: 89 was more cinematic in the traditional sense since it involved a plot. Akatho Puratho is more of an art movie and is available on Amazon Prime Video Service. Such streaming services can really provide a platform for these kind of niche films which can never get a theatrical release here in Kerala. The likes of Munroe Island and Ozhivudivasathe Kali, both of which got a very limited theatrical release here, are available on Netflix and comes highly recommended.

Rating: 3.5/5

കുമ്പളങ്ങി നൈറ്റ്സ് (Kumbalangi Nights) (2019)

Director: Madhu C. Narayanan
Writer: Syam Pushkaran
DOP: Shyju Khalid
Cast: Soubin Shahir, Fahadh Faasil, Shane Nigam, Anna Ben
Language: Malayalam

Kumbalangi Nights is centred on the lives of four Christian brothers who are parent-less and lives in a dysfunctional household, which is apparently the worst in the panchayat as per the youngest of the lot. Relationships between the brothers are also strained and the reasons for it are gradually revealed over the course of the film. They need to get their house in order as the third one falls in love with a Hindu girl whose brother-in-law (Fahadh Faasil) doesn't approve the relationship for quite obvious reasons.

Eldest of the brother is played by Soubin Shahir and he is the no-good out of the lot who is leaching on a Tamil guy. Second one is a mute played by Sreenath Bhasi and he is a dancer and visits the house only occassionally. Shane Nigam plays the third youngest as a jobless 'freakan', and the role  is against his usual type. Youngest out of the lot has sort of escaped from the house with a sports scholarship but is back home on his vacation. Fahadh Faasil stars as Shammy who is newly married into a women only household where he is passive aggressively establishing himself as the Patriarchal head. He is a barber in the city and runs a saloon in partnership with his equally creepy brother. All of these are revealed very slowly as the film meanders it way through with plenty of comedic moments as well as scenes which will tug your heartstrings.

Ultimately it is a feel good film which becomes conclusive as such only by the end. In another universe the Shammy character would have been played more subtyly and would have been equally as effective. Girl's father role in Thondimuthal for example. Portrayal of Shammy as a semi-psycho helps in keeping the audience on its toes. His role can be seen as a  representation of the angry Hindu in Modi's India with the aggression basically stemming out of inferiority complex/small-dick syndrome. He is primed to lash out at all and sundry.

The film is a great watch overall even though I was irked by some of its forced political correctness. Performances are top notch with Shane Nigam being the stand out IMO, even though it is Soubin who is getting all the accolades. Shyju Khalid once again brings out the beauty of Kumbalangi, which is a tourism village. I do wish these people also tell stories set in normal Kerala towns where everywhere you look is not picture perfect.

Rating: 4.25/5

9 (2019)

Director: Jenuse Mohamed
Writer: Jenuse Mohamed
DOP: Abhinandan Ramanujam
Cast: Prithviraj, Wamiqa Gabbi, Master Alok
Language: Malayalam

A comet is going to pass very close to the Earth, an event which is going to affect life on Earth for 9 days. Electricity, combustion engine vehicles with spark plugs, battery run things etc will all be out for 9 days. Albert (Prithviraj) is an astrophysicist of great repute and is assigned a task by his mentor which involves going to Himalayas to document the event and how it affects the tribes over there, whom have predicted this happening much earlier than the scientific community. He also takes his motherless son, Adam, with whom he have a difficult relationship. There they meet an outsider, Eva (Wamiqa Gabbi), which sets in motion certain chain of events for the film to jump from one genre to the next.

Genre jumping within a film can be quite risky because you can lose your audience with each jump. Prithviraj in his promotion interviews had been stressing on sci-fi aspects of the film while director Jenuse was more or less pitching it as a fantasy film with some cosmic sci-fi background. They have been keen to manage audience expectations to make sure that the right ones turn up during the initial days of the release. Trailer was also pretty detailed and stunning. Prithviraj himself produced the film with Sony Pictures International also partnering, a first for Malayalam cinema, and they haven't made any compromises. Film is top notch on a technical level and you're doing well when the audience is immersed enough to not notice the VFX while watching the film.

The first half an hour of the film is its weakest with lengthy expositions some of which could have been trimmed or made in a little more cleverer manner. You cannot fault them too much for it because there is quite a lot of information that they have to pass to the audience. The one flashback song in it also looked totally unnecessary but the reaction of Albert to the pregnancy news is also kind of key. Film gets going once they reach the Himalayas as they get the pacing spot on from there. It is difficult to talk much about the film from then on because everything becomes spoiler territory. Steer clear of them and pay close attention while watching. The ending is deliberately ambiguous and you have a science Vs supernatural explanations competingat the end. Such ambiguous endings are not familiar for Malayalam cinema and a section of audience will certainly fail to appreciate it. There is an explicit explanation sequence at the end for such people but many will find problem with the similarity to another Prithviraj film from recent times. Many have missed the alternate possibility suggested by the final line of the film and the brief closing credits scene.

Performance wise, Prithviraj is his usual self and it is Wamiqa Gabbi who steals the show. The kid actor in it is also very good as is the creepy caretaker. I'll be certainly watching it once again and very glad that I picked the best screen possible during my first outing. This is a film that has to be seen at the cinemas and I really hope it does well. Ambiguous films are hard to pull off and they've managed it.

Rating: 4.25/5

വരത്തൻ (Varathan) (2018)

Director: Amal Neerad
Writers: Suhas-Sharfu
DOP: Little Swayamp
Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Aishwarya Lekskmi, Sharafudeen
Language: Malayalam

NRI couple, Abin and Priya, moves back to latter's ancestral home in a high range village while they are facing some difficulties on personal and career fronts. The village is not an idyllic one as is portrayed quite often in cinemas and as the title suggests (outsider), they are not that fond of Abin for no other particular reason.

Film's teaser reminded me of Enter the Void's opening credits and the trailer gave me the vibes of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 movie 'Straw Dogs'. It turned out to be almost like a remake of Straw Dogs, with all the major plot elements being there except for its infamous half-consent during the rape scene. Some of the camera angles surrounding Priya also reminded me of Aronofsky's mother! as well. These are what you expect from an Amal Neerad film and its success depends on how well it is placed in the domestic setting. I don't have a problem with it being a remake in terms of the plot structure as his films are never really about plot but solely on the making.

It is the village's moral policing, executed chiefly by its perverts, that welcomes the couple initially. Abin, boarding schooled and city-bred, is oblivious to the pervy nature of the village as he is predisposed to see the good in others initially by default. Priya, who has history in the village, is at pains to point this out to Abin but he doesn't realise until it's too late. As in Straw Dogs, the story arc around the husband's masculinity is also explored in the film in a convincing manner. The whole cast is excellent but the one who steals the show is Sharafudeen playing the villain character. It should be a turning point in his career. Little Swayamp and Sushin Shyam provides ample support with camera and music respectively, which are like always the chief highlights in an Amal Neerad film. It is his best work till date and should be watched on the best screen possible with Dolby fucking Atmos.

Rating: 4.25/5

Ranam (2018)

Director: Nirmal Sahadev
Writer: Nirmal Sahadev
DOP: Jigme Tenzing
Cast: Prithviraj, Rahman, Isha Talwar
Language: Malayalam

Aadhi (Prithviraj) is a transporter for a Srilankan Tamil drug boss, Damodar (Rahman), in Detroit. He is trying to get out but, like in all these mob films, his boss drags him back in.

Film had some very good buzz around it ahead of the release due to a very interesting teaser and a very well cut trailer, both of which gave it an atmospheric action thriller vibe. But the atmosphere around it is that of an emotional drama and the action scenes, which are done very well, happens very intermittently. So if you are buying tickets based on the trailer, adamant that it has to adhere to what they projected, then chances are you will be disappointed. If you are willing to enjoy it for what it is, then it is a satisfying film overall.

A guy doing one last crime job before getting out of it for good is a genre that I very much enjoy. Examples for those would be Driver, Thief, The American, Drive and Carancho. In most of the those films, the protagonists are usually loner sort of characters who don't talk much. Even though the protagonist of this film does have that vibe, there is too much voice over narration explaining things and also conveying what he is thinking. Director must be thinking that it is necessary for the general Malayalee audience, who are not aware of this space in USA or this genre of films, to have some of the things explained to them. But that choice makes the film lose some edginess it could have had by having the protagonist be really mysterious, in terms of being unpredictable about his thinking and the choices he makes. They could have also given more time for the villains to sort out the pacing issues during the middle part of the film.

It is a pretty good watch overall, treading the middle path for the genre fans and the general Malayalee audience who might be interested in seeing an emotional drama set in USA. The dangerous thing with the misleading trailer is that both might get turned off by it, the former for being misled and the latter by reaction to it from the former who turned up on the first weekend. Misleading trailers have invariably proved disastrous, in terms of box office numbers, for Malayalam films and often end up being reassessed post DVD/torrent release and TV run. It deserves to be seen on a big screen with great sound system because it is so fucking well made.

Rating: 3.5/5

Maradona (2018)

Director: Vishnu Narayan
Writer: Krishna Moorthy
DOP: Deepak D. Menon
Cast: Tovino Thomas, Chemban Vinod, Saranya, Tito Wilson

After Mayaanadhi, Tovino Thomas is again on the run as Maradona. He finds refuge in a flat in Bangalore where he stays with a distant relative's family who are unaware of his criminal background. Circumstances conspire to him being locked in the apartment for a week with just a dog for company initially. Over the course of the week he developes some balcony relationships even as antagonists are on the lookout for him.

Maradona's past and the nature of the crime he committed is revealed to us in a piecemeal manner. The narrative style is very interesting and we get a full picture of it only after the interval. First half of the film progresses like a neat crime thriller and second half follows a redemptive arc. I have seen some people complaining about its two and half hour length but it is necessary to do justice to the redemptive arc in the film. It is a very good watch overall with the slightly iffy ending preventing it from being great. They could've done a bit more justice to Chemban Vinod's character's ending arc. He just oozes coolness in the 'one last job' for once retired ruffian role.

Performances wise it is great going from all concerned, especially the leading lady who is a newcomer. Nisthar Ahmad, who got his break in 'Ozhivudivasathe Kali', only needs that intense stare to convey the menace. The director and the writer have been associated with the likes of Aashiq Abu and Lijo Jose Pellissery and they do live up to the expectation that it entails. The film has enough in it to please different kinds of audience but could very well get washed out due to the inconsistency in release pattern of Malayalam films. It is the first Malayalam film that I have watched since 'Ee.Ma.Yau' and that was like theth months ago. Now we will have a deluge of promising films coming out together ahead of Onam with every chance that some of them will underperform at Box Office due to the release rush.

Rating: 3.75/5

ഈ.മ.യൗ (Ee.Ma.Yau) (2018)

Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery
Writer: P.F. Matthews
DOP: Shyju Khaled
Cast: Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinayakan, Pauly Valsan, Dileesh Pothan
Language: Malayalam

A day and a night in a fishing village following the death of an old guy, to whom his son promised a funeral worthy of a King's.

The first half of the film moves in a sedate manner and I was kind of underwhelmed by it at halfway point. The pace picks up considerably in the second half and by the end you understand why the former half had to be that way. The entire premise of thet film can be told in about three sentencess but the trick is to it do it in an engaging manner in a different setting. After the film got released, the maker of an indie-film called Shavam accused LJP of plagiarism. Even without watching that film, I can safely say that the accusation is without merit because LJP films are never about storylines but always about their treatment. It is possibly career best performance from Chemban and Vinayakan and Dileesh are cast against type.

Technical excellence is a given in Lijo Jose Pellissery films and let me get it out of the way by reiterating it. Be it the night sequences which has a neon feel in some places or the rainy sequences during the day with the noise from sea being a constant background throughout. Music is used sparingly but very effectively, especially during the closing credits which had an incredible effect on me. The idea is to place the viewer in the same atmosphere as its characters and they manage to do it quite effectively. It is basically a dark comedy but the ending just pulls the rug out from underneath you all of a sudden in a way that cannot be explained. Not sure if all will have the same experience.

I can see quite a lot of people hating it if they go with the expectation that you are going to watch a typical LJP film. The reaction could be similar to what a few people had for Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum after watching it with a Maheshinte Prathikaram hangover. P.F. Matthews is the writer of Doordarshan's 'Mikhaelinte Santhathikal' and the award winning film 'Kuttisranku', which I couldn't watch past thirty minutes of it. In my opinion it is LJP's second best film with Angamaly Diaries of course being the top. There are throwbacks to it as well as Amen in this film. He is getting better and better with each film and Double Barrel clusterfuck seems to have taught him the importance of having correct length for a film with both the films after that clocking just two hours.

Rating: 4.5/5

Uncle (2018)

Director: Girish Damodar
Writer: Joy Mathew
DOP: Azhagappan
Cast: Mammooty, Karthika Muralidharan, Joy Mathew, Muthumani
Language: Malayalam

A college girl is stranded in Ooty following a strike in her college. By chance, a friend of her father in a Mercedes spots her and offers her a ride to Calicut as he is also going that way. When her father learns about this he is uneasy because his friend is bit of a flirt. Film switches between the car drive and the worried father at home.

In contrast with the reaction of the father, the mother is pretty cool about the situation. This is because women usually see these men under domestic settings and don't hear what all things are being said in an all-male environment. There is sufficient grey in Mammooty's head and in his portrayal of the character for us to suspect his intentions.  Some of the reviews have criticized this aspect of the film accusing it of playing the audience for cheap suspense. I don't agree with that since I do think he was playing it straight and that was how he felt towards the girl, not really paternal or platonic. Trailer reminded me of Kuttetan, which is kind of a landmark film in Malayalam for the brave treatment of its protagonist who has a thing for teenage girls. To be honest, it would've been genius if it was Mammooty back as Kuttetan in this film because the ending then would've been totally ambiguous, like the ending in Kuttetan. Missed opportunity there.

Overall the film is a very good watch with some lag in some places. They could've easily shaved off some twenty minutes from it. Karthika Muralidharan is playing a role which could've easily derailed the film if she didn't get it right but she does. There is some unnecessary ass-licking of the present ruling regime of Kerala which could've been avoided. When it comes to moral policing in Kerala, the communists are no different.

Rating: 3.5/5

സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം അർദ്ധരാത്രിയിൽ (Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil) (2018)

Director: Tinu Pappachan
Writer: Dileep Kurian
DOP: Gireesh Gangadharan
Cast: Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod, Vinayakan, Titto Wilson
Language: Malayalam

As was hinted by the trailer and the title of the film, which translates as 'Freedom at Midnight', it is a jail break genre piece which works as an action thriller. You got the typical protagonist who was hard done by the justice system and is a first time prisoner. The usual hard adjustment to jail life is portrayed as well as him making some friends and enemies in the prison which will serve the story down the line. I'm not complaining about the clichés here as it is anyway a genre film and how such films can standout is either due to its making quality or some genre subversions. They are going for the former here and it is indeed technically very sound.

In terms of backstory, we are getting it only for the chief protagonist and it is quite poorly done in the first half with a very rushed half-arsed feel to it. It is done through several flashbacks and couple of cringe inducing green screen scenes. If those green screen scenes were done even more poorly, it could've been interpreted as an artistic choice. Film picks up once he reaches the jail. Both Vinayakan and Chemban Vinod are excellent in their roles with adding some great comedy value. There are several scenes and particularly the ones involving Lijo Jose Pellissery, the director's mentor, which would remind one of Sin City in terms of style and colour/lighting tones. The action scenes, mostly in rain, are very well done and it is another one after Angamaly Diaries for Gireesh Gangadharan to show off in a good way. Many of the people from that film is involved here as well with Chemban and LJP serving as executive producers.

Overall it's a pretty good watch with some of the rawness associated with LJP's earlier works like Nayakan and City of God. Script could've been a lot tighter and the plot relies on too many convenient coincidences. They could have made the backstory a lot less complicated. Still, great to see such efforts coming from Malayalam.

Rating: 3.5/5

Sudani from Nigeria (2018)

Director: Zakariya
Writers: Muhsin Parari, Zakariya
DOP: Shyju Khalid
Cast: Soubin Shahir, Samuel Abiola Robinson, Savithri Sreedharan
Language: Malayalam

Film is set around the sevens football milieu of Malappuram where Majeed (Soubin Shahir) is the 'Manager' of a struggling club. His star player from Africa for the upcoming season is Samuel who injures himself in a freak bathroom accident. The hospital expenses and recovery has to be taken care by Majeed and, to save hospital costs, he decides to take Samuel to his house and the film is basically about the human bonds that form over there.

For some strange reason the people from Malappuram call all the African players Sudu, short form for Sudanis. After a star turn in his first match, a fan asks Samuel if he is from Sudan and Samuel is quite adamant in making it clear that he is from Nigeria. The significance of this is realized later in the film. Majeed is an unemployed bachelor, and a Real Madrid fan, who is taking all the initiatives to get himself married. He has a difficult relationship with his step-father and is quite selfish at home and takes one-sided decisions, probably in an effort to establish himself as the man of the house. His mother still has an apologetic relationship with him and doesn't object when Samuel is brought to her home. It is she and her neighbor friend, Beeyumma, who steals the show in a film where most of the actors are newcomers, all of whom have done an excellent job.

It is a film which defies our expectations throughout. We take it as a given that the climax of the film would involve a final football match with Samuel returning to play after recovering, but it never materializes. The sub inspector of police, the usual bullying kind, is very thin in physique. Even the football is quite sidelined after the initial parts of the film as it focuses more on the human angle. If you lay out the plot of the film as such, it will look like a sappy sentimental film, but it is made in a very nuanced manner taking time to establish all its details. Watch out for the passive-aggressive 'Nair' guy with a cow. The politics is there in the film as a subtext which is usually how it works best in a film. It is a world away from Priyadarshan's depiction of Muslim characters as people with four wives and instant talaqs. Shyju Khalid's camera work will remind you of his work from 'Maheshinte Prathikaram'. Him and Sameer Thahir had actually produced the film with E4E, who have now got a reputation for being associated with good films, have done the distribution. It is a great watch overall.

Rating: 3.75/5

പൂമരം (Poomaram) (2018)

Director: Abrid Shine
Writer: Abrid Shine
DOP: Gnaanam
Cast: Kalidas Jayaram, Neeta Pillai
Language: Malayalam

Poomaram happens over the eve and five days of MG University youth festival where Maharajas college is trying to usurp five times running champion St. Theresa's college. Kalidas plays the chairman of the former and Neeta Pillai is chairperson of the latter.

Abrid Shine's brief two film old body of work is characterized by unconventional storytelling. His first film '1983' was the more cinematic of the two and I had quite enjoyed that film. His second feature, 'Action Hero Biju' followed the happenings in a police station and it was a film I detested because of its middle class pandering and sensibilities. I was not too sure whether to go for Poomaram on back of that but finally went for it due to the not so bad reviews and its supposed treatment. Also, I didn't want to encourage nepotism in Malayalam cinema by going for it blind.

The film begins on a very bad note through a very cringe worthy opening credits where Kalidas' family is introduced with very artificial and polite interactions. That plagues Kalidas' performance throughout and director has to share the blame for that. In contrast, it is Neeta Pillai who steals the show as the leader of rival college. It works like a docudrama and is at its best when it is in this mode. Casting of other supporting characters is really good but film is still rife with cheap laughs and sympathy generated out of unconventional characters due to their appearances and disabilities. It even got a reload of AHB with all its problems. The ending is also problematic where, like in AHB, director compromises the aesthetics of it up to that point with a cinematic ending. Thondimuthal Driksakshiyum was a revelation in getting performances out of non-actors and you can see the other side here with some extremely unnatural and overly polite sequences in it, which sticks out like a sore thumb, especially during the beginning parts of the film.

It is not to say that I didn't enjoy the film. It could've been easy for the director to play up the class and caste difference between the colleges by giving it a good bad binary portrayal but he opts to do it in a realistic and subtle manner with the casting choices and mannerisms. The good and bad of arts festival culture in Kerala is portrayed well, especially its extreme competitiveness. Overall, it is a good watch with a very unique treatment but with some of the same problems carried over from AHB.

Rating: 3/5

റോസാപ്പൂ (Rosapoo) (2018)

Director: Vinu Joseph
Writers: Vinu Joseph, Santhosh Echikkanam
DOP: Jebin Jacob
Cast: Biju Menon, Neeraj Madhav, Anjali, Dileesh Pothen, Soubin Shahir
Language: Malayalam

Shajahan (Biju Menon) is a failed entrepreneur from Fort Kochi and he gets the idea of producing a soft porn film from an MBA friend of his (Basil Joseph). He sources money from a few people and takes off to Madras with his amateur director friend to get the film made. Film is about the struggles that they face while making the film in what the director intends to be told in a comedic manner.

I had recently read an article, probably a Facebook post, which contrasts the treatment of village prostitutes by Mohanlal's characters in Spadikam and Naran. Kerala society is getting more and more conservative these days and this is reflected in these two films which came a decade apart. In Spadikam, Aadu Thoma sleeps with Silk Smitha's character and is not ashamed to flaunt this relationship of his, especially when it serves the purpose of riling up his father. In Naran, Mullankolli Velayudhan acts as the moral police of his village by sleeping outside the home of Sona Nair's character and thus stopping her from doing business and negatively 'affect' families.

Rosapoo ends up in the 'Naran' camp as it goes all preachy towards the end. Even during the course of the film there are large tonal inconsistencies throughout when it comes to Neeraj Madhav's character. He worships Bharathan and Padmarajan and is reluctant about directing the soft-core film. He makes changes in script to make it more politically correct at the same time falling in love with the actress. She is at first flirting with him but as soon as he expresses his love, she is heart-broken to see that he is also seeing her as an object. Tone of the film is all over the place. Characters in it are very exaggerated and it doesn't work always. The first act of the film in Fort Kochi (Drones, drones and more drones) is plain boring and things do pick up in Chennai only to fall off a cliff little bit later. You get the stereotyped Muslim characters and their practices. The age difference between marrying couple among Muslims was shown in a very mature manner recently in 'Parava' and in this film you get a totally fucked up version of it just done for comedic effect. The film within the film derails while they are making it and I guess the same thing happened tothe film as well without anything meta about it.

Rating: 1.5/5  

Carbon (2018)

Director: Venu
Writer: Venu
DOP: K.U. Mohanan
Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Mamta Mohandas, Manikandan Aachari
Language: Malayalam

Sibi (Fahadh Faasil) is an unemployed 'dealer' of exotic items like precious stones (Marathakam), precious birds (vellimoonga), precious animals (elephants) etc and he can't catch a break. It is not clear whether he is a total fraud or if he can actually make these deals happen. He doesn't have much concern about his family and when the loan sharks start raiding his house, he flees from there to an estate bungalow deep inside the forest as an acting manager to renovate the place. His fascination for precious items are further piqued there when he hears a mythological piece of history.

Venu's previous outing as a director was with the excellent 'Munnariyappu' which ended up going pretty dark places. That film gives us a fair warning that the director does not guarantee a feel good ending and it helps in setting up the atmosphere for Carbon, which is marketed as a forest thriller. The actual forest adventure begins only after the interval and the spookiest scenes come even before the interval, which is not really good for a thriller. There is this scene where Sibi is visiting a house to checkout an elephant that is for sale and that sequence is the most effective scene in the movie. To begin with, Praveena as the lady of the house with one eye bloodshot is creepily unhinged and Soubin Shahir as the elephant guy and the elephant itself are quite unnerving. That scene establishes the rules for the film in terms of what is real and what is 'fantasy'. Life flashing before your eyes and a fantasy from that point is a quite common theme in David Lynch films and it seems that the director is going for it in an half-baked manner. To be fair,  it is quite hard to pull off and there haven't been that many attempts in Malayalam. Have seen some interpretations on those lines for Maayanadhi which I don't concur with.

Another letdown is the existential aspects of the film which end up as quite lame. You know things are gonna go downhill as soon as they reference 'The Alchemist', which is like Harry Potter equivalent of the existential fiction. With the people behind and infront of the camera for this film, you expect the best in terms of technical perfection and performances and you do get that. They could've easily shaved off some twenty minutes from its considerable 150 minutes running time and Vishal Bharadwaj's frankly forgettable songs can be prime candidates. One thing I liked about the film is that they don't romanticise tribal characters or their interactions. Sibi is quite an unlikable character throughout the film, which sort of hinders the film towards the end. My feeling towards the film is like 'Solo'- worthy effort, couldn't pull off what all they intended, a fantastic theatrical experience nevertheless, will probably catch it again at the theatres to check whether that elephant had any fucking chain.

Rating: 3.5/5

ഈട (Eeda) (2018)

Director: B. Ajithkumar
Writer: B. Ajithkumar
DOP: Pappu
Cast: Shane Nigam, Nimisha Sajayan, Alancier Ley Lopez, Sujith Shankar
Language: Malayalam

An excerpt from the Newslaundry article series on political violence and killings in Kannur:

“This place doesn’t believe in odd numbers. If one CPM guy is murdered, revenge killing of an RSS worker is not far away. It is the same the other way, as well. Peace prevails here only when the death toll is even.”

This is the backdrop to which the film is set and it is another one of those loose adaptations of Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet' put in a different setting. The would be lovers meet for the first time on a hartal day, which was called after the killing of a left worker which is set to begin a cycle of violence in the form of retaliations and all that. The guy belongs to a family associated with the right (RSS, BJP) and the girl is from a family whose ideology is aligned to the left (CPIM). They don't know it till they fall in love as it more or less blooms in Mysore where they are respectively working and studying. First half of the 150 minutes long film is dedicated to that and second half is the aftermath. Everything is very realistically portrayed without taking any sides and without being preachy.

Since the current left government has come to power in Kerala, there has been a bunch of films that have came out which have largely romanticised the left. This film is not one. At the same time it doesn't vilify them the same way like 'Left, Right, Left' did in an over the top cartoonish way. It just kind of show the reality like the lack of individual and political freedom in the party gramams (villages) and the support system that the party provides for its 'Martyrs' and murderers. This is there from both sides but left being the much larger force has the responsibility to look at the root cause and address it. My limited point about the situation is that, if you promote shit like party villages where you try to have absolute power and control over, and thus eliminate the possibility of a legitimate democratic opposition, then the loony bunch from the right will naturally emerge as your only opposition. This is the course that communist left have taken wherever they have come to power and Kerala remains an exception because there is a balancing force, which is sadly quite communal in its underpinning, from rest of Kerala.

Coming back to the film, it is overall a very good watch where things are said in a subtle manner, be it love or politics. Both the lovers are given equal space and they have performed really well along with all the support characters. Manikandan is being a bit typecast quite lately though. The actor who played the non-uniformed police officer from Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum is also there as a character without any dialogue. I also liked the fact that they didn't feel the need to explicitly state who is being the snidy informer for all the attacks shown in the film even though it is quite evident. Revenge of the one-armed lottery seller, I guess. Length of the film can be problematic for some but I found it necessary. There won't be much of a re-watch element to it though. The team behind the film is Collective Phase One in which Rajeev Ravi is also a member.

Rating: 3.5/5

മായാനദി (Maayanadhi) (2017)

Director: Aashiq Abu
Writers: Syam Pushkaran, Dileesh Nair, Amal Neerad (Story)
DOP: Jayesh Mohan
Cast: Tovino Thomas, Aishwarya Lekshmi
Language: Malayalam

Mathews (Tovino Thomas) is involved with the Tamil underworld and he kills a Police Officer inadvertently while making an escape from a hotel in Kodaikanal. He flees to Kochi where he is trying to hook up back with his girlfriend from college days, Aparna (Aishwarya), a struggling actor. Tamil Nadu Police has not backed down on his case and there is a sense of doom throughout the film which adds to the whole atmosphere, which also reminded me of Wong Kar Wai films. Post-metro Kochi is indeed a beauty and it has never been this magnificent on screen. Here it certainly can compete with the Hong Kong as captured by Christopher Doyle. Driving under the pillars of Kochi metro does  remind me kindly of that famous sequence from Tarkovsky's Solaris.

Aashiq Abu is someone who has been talking a lot of the right stuff but it has never translated that well into his films. His idea of feminism so far can be summed up as the equivalent of the dick-cutting  Tessa from 22FK, which is a film everyone overrates. Except for Gangster, all his other films (haven't seen Daddy Cool) have been watchable stuff without any of them threatening to be more than just good. He has had far better success as a producer. With Maayanadhi, he has finally arrived as a filmmaker. What I found to be extremely atmospheric can be a bit slow on the pacing side for some. It is paced like a foreign film and the extremely natural sounding scripting is also similar vein (so far removed from the Eda-Poda talk from the Niram times). The politics of the film comes just right without feeling any bit tacked on. They even managed to insert 'OMKV' so seamlessly into it.

It is largely a film in which both the leads are on equal footing and both male and female gaze are employed, which is such a refreshing change. Aishwarya Lekshmi, who didn't have much to do in her debut feature, is a revelation in this role and the chemistry between the two is just spot on. Film doesn't take the easy way out at the end even though it does open up the option of it to do in a convincing manner (Stoker like). There is a significant sequence in Tamil towards the end without any subtitles and I just don't understand why they make the assumption that every Malayalee understands Tamil. I just about managed to figure out enough to knowwhat was going on. It is indeed sad that they chose to release it during the festive season where it may well get washed out. Please do catch it at the best screen possible near you because it is technically so sound and sumptuously shot.

Rating: 4.75/5

ആട് 2 (Aadu 2) (2017)

Director: Midhun Manuel Thomas
Writer: Midhun Manuel Thomas
DOP: Vishnu Narayanan
Cast: Jayasuriya, Vinayakan, Sunny Wayne, Saiju Kurup
Language: Malayalam

Aadu 2 is the much awaited sequel to 2015 commercial flop, but torrent superhit, Aadu Oru Bheekarajeeviyanu. It has such a cult following that they relented to the demands of a sequel to give us, fans of Shaji Pappan, a chance to make history right. The plethora of sequels that came out in the last decade or so in Malayalam have been with the pure intent of cashing in on the original's popularity and have been mostly duds. When the song came out of Aadu 2, I feared the worst but it turned out to be misplaced. Film works well without reaching the heights of first one and is a laugh riot throughout.

Most of the characters and their awesome BGM intros are retained in the film with addition of few other characters. Film is largely focused on Shaji Pappan, DUDE and their respective gangs. A recurring feature in the first one was the hero to zero transformation of all of its characters after their mass introductions and that is something they cannot rely entirely on this time round. So the nature of jokes is slightly different with it being much more straight forward. That should help its box office but there was more charm to the first one which kept on getting better and better on rewatches. There was also this languidly enjoyable pacing for the first one while for this one, you feel too many things are being crammed. I guess the difference is the episodic nature of first one while there is more jumping to and fro between the various characters in the sequel. Midhun had once cited that this episodic nature might have been putting off the audience.

Another major difference is the nature of main villains. First one really didn't have any while there are some in this one and it didn't work that well for me along with the mass climax fight scene, which the audience lapped up anyway. At two and half hours, it is around 20 minutes longer than it should be and they could've easily shaved off that god-awful item song from it. All said, it is still a very good watch with some great clean comedy. It helps that the people who are watching it already have seen Aadu and know what is coming. Limited release of just 100 screens is adding to the atmosphere with heavy rush everywhere. I did miss many dialogues due to the hysteria and didn't hear any of the Shaji Pappan intro BGM due to crowd noise. Will certainly be catching it again.

Rating: 3.5/5

Sexy Durga (2017)

Director: Sanal Kumar Sasidharan
Writer: No screenplay
DOP: Prathap Joseph
Cast: Rajshri Deshpande, Kannan Nayar, Sujeesh KS, Baiju Netto
Language: Malayalam

Two smalltime gangsters pick up a couple on the run, leading to a long, claustrophobic road trip in Malayalam cinema's perennial vehicle villain, an Omni van.

The lady in the couple is a North Indian who doesn't speak or understand Malayalam. This language barrier gives a license to the gangsters to say whatever they want. The film had no screenplay and I suspect the instruction from the director was to be really lewd. Film was made in the context of increasing reportage of gruesome rape cases from India. Still, Kerala is not a place that you normally associate with it. So my default expectation was that nothing terrible would happen. The language that they use is very crude and I'm pretty sure that subtitles wouldn't have conveyed the tone quite correctly in the festivals that they showed it and won many awards. They would've perceived it as an extremely dark film while I found plenty of humour in it, albeit being pretty dark and cringy.

Kerala is a place whose streets go to sleep pretty early and film can be seen as a portrayal of how behaviour changes with it. Night belongs to the nanny state police, moral policing dickwads and other people who you normally associate with it. For the couple alone at night the first two are a threat and it is only natural that they ended up with the third kind, repeatedly so in a surreal fashion. One solution is to change the law so that shops can operate any time of the day. That will help to bring more people to the night streets and thereby make it safer. Apparently, the gulf streets are very vibrant during the Ramadan month.

Film is pretty ambiguous and surreal towards the end and I found it to be a great watch. The screening that I went to was its Kerala premiere which was organized to protest against its exclusion from IFFK competitive section. This week also saw it being excluded from IFFI by the I&B ministry after getting selected by the jury. The main storyline of the film is juxtaposed with scenes of male Bhakts enduring 'Ichi the Killer' kind of body horrors in worship of Goddess Durga. Director is kind of contrasting, in a non-subtle way, the day and night behaviour of a typical Indian male.

Rating: 4.25/5