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Reviews
Malayalee from India (2024)
Trying to offer too much. Trying. Too much.
Malayali from India became India vs Pakistan in a short while. It seemed to tell us so many stories and tranfer so many morals but ends up making the audience so much confused about where they were getting with all this. Be it political riots (Shine Tom Chacko brought some excitement), the reach of cricket, slavery in Arab countries, desert farming, educating girls, IS, COVID in remote areas. Not one theme could milk substantial emotions although each one has potential when explored properly, with depth and dedication.
Nivin Pauly acting in some areas were good and the bromance between him and Dhyan brought about few but fleeting moments of laughter. However, the audience couldn't escape from the lag. After some exceptional movies from mollywood in the past few months, this one certainly falls flat, in all areas. None of the songs nor the visuals seemed to have lasting, especially in contrast to aadujeevitham which had a similar setting, although it is an unfair comparison. In some areas, the background score, especially chenda melam use seemed to hit the right chords. Otherwise the movie had very less going for itself.
Pon Ondru Kanden (2024)
Kaathuvaakula rendu kaadhal?
Pon ondru kanden was a light hearted feel good movie not costing you much, in terms of cognitive efforts or money.
It deals with topics like divorce in a natural way, without hue and cry. And, organically portrays a male gynecologist, not a big show. A successful, young female sous chef, no shoutout. A young man who gave 4+ years in the care of his mother, which is not a big deal, though we don't know what job does end up in. Three sisters supporting a younger brother, playing his parents, so commonplace. A woman complaining about her husband's lack of contraceptive usage, that's everyday gynec OT. Showing doctor's limitation, a gynec can check vitals, do CPR, but not attend accident and emergency even if heroine is panicking about her wounded colleague, because doctors aren't Gods.
Casually normalising complex portrayals. That's commendable.
It did have some quirky elements, the overlay of childhood rivalry among mature adults, the intact remote memory of someone with dementia, the banter and jealousy-filled love triangle duets.
A breezy one time watch.
Kaathal - The Core (2023)
The freedom of choice, to love.
Kaathal was a beautiful rendition of what the others around a homosexual person go through, whose lives may have been derailed as they are forced into heteronormative setups, because: Marriage can set everything right.
Really bold choices by Jyotika and Mammootty as films of such sensitivity gain more traction while the celebrity bandwagon is used. Their voices, silences are the loudest.
Not just gay homosexual couples, the film seemed to respect and dignify all kind of genuine relationships,
1. Affection between Omana and Mathews, even after they mutually consent for divorce
2. The open conversations, to be presumed by the audience, between Omana and Femi
3. The second marriage of Thankan's sister
4. The intercaste marriage at the beginning
5. Devassi sr. And Omana
There was more optimism in that the villagers were shown to have enough ability to perceive the candidate's personal affair as different from the candidature.
The music was a tad bit overpowering and the pace was slower than required. But the movie had subtlety as it went ahead with fewer words than would have been preferred by the masses, including the rainbow at the end of the movie.
If the movie started even the smallest conversation in the living room, it's a win.
Siren (2024)
Siren: loud but underwhelming.
We wait for the Kannana Kanne magic to happen again, where an estranged father unites with his daughter but the moment never arrives.
The takeaway seemed to be that criminals don't always get punished for the crimes they did, but sometimes, they are punished and then commit the crime...
Thilagan, an ambulance driver with unexplained, amazing talent for close combat, who falls in love at first sight with a hearing and speech impaired nurse. His high regard for lives in emergency pits him against casteist folk who ruthlessly kill the wife and frame Thilagan. How he comes back and avenges the death and his life sentence forms the rest of the movie.
In spite of some moments of brilliance, the punches never land in this movie. Keerthy Suresh as Inspector Nandhini seems a bit of a misfit for the role, maybe fleshing out her own character, drawing parallels between her and Thilagan, on what being wrongly framed for murder does to one, may have helped. The music in most parts of the story doesn't blend with the movie, and serves only to maintain the cliche. The daughter, Yuvina, shines within her limited screen time.
Aavesham (2024)
Psychology of a lonely gangster
Aavesham is an action comedy that is on full gear especially post interval. There is almost not a dull moment.
From the build up to the Fa-Fa introduction scene, in a very undermining urinal, Fa-Fa takes the film ahead seamlessly as he bonds with the young trio of, Eda Mones, Bibi, Aju and Shanthan and the devout Amban!
The film starts off with the engineering college scenes and ragging that Malayalam cinema is all too familiar with and can relate to even if there was no first hand experience. The twist is in sweet revenge and the aavesham to weild in local support to stand up for them. There follows 2 hours of Rangan and gang's escapade as truth blends into the exaggerated exploits explained by Rangan's loyal protege, leading to the reveal of the emotional, aching heart of Rangan, bleeding behind the bloodshed.
The music and the visuals added to the electric energy the movie brought forth. It's a truly mass movie to be watched with a bunch of friends in a packed theatre hall.
The Goat Life (2024)
A survival drama that reminds you of your own privileges.
The film portrayed desert life and a man whose fate, Naseeb, dropped him among the goat. The desert, its hostility and life forms were truly, breathtakingly captured. However, Nature itself didn't cause his suffering but the social makeup of enslavement. Nature was just nature. The scenes where Kerala's blue waters were juxtaposed to the dry dunes strongly registered the sudden contrast Najib was facing, the flashbacks were not just about the love of the lady but love of the land too that was robbed from him overnight.
Every shot in the second half had me shuddering to see the amount of pain people in such conditions, caught in the shackles of slavery are subject to as they fight until their last breath, "We Walk, Till Die", to attain liberation.
The film also reminded me how the toughest journeys are not travelled alone, you need someone, someone to lean on, to trust, to love, to make it till the end. Your own resolve may not be enough while you walk across such blazing hot and biting cold.
Aadujeevitham was a masterclass at makeup, filmography, costume, background score, and performances and deserves global recognition.
The end of the movie had me conscious of every sip of water I was taking, knowing people somewhere might be denied of such a basic need.
Helen (2019)
Spine chilling survival drama, with unforgettable moments.
Anna Ben, the promising actor who debuted in Kumbalangi Nights which is another big hit of last year, continues to charm us with her brilliant smile through the first half an hour of the movie and shocks us with her mature expressions for the rest of the movie.
Helen Paul, 25, is the single daughter of her single father, who lost her mother to prolonged sickness. Perhaps, with that loss as the driving force, Helen is a graduate of nursing. She is eager to shift to Canada so she can relieve her father of their financial burden, trying hard to clear her IELTS. She also works part-time at Chicken Hub outlet in a mall.
She is dedicated as a daughter and as a student, friendly and cheerful and just loves the idea of living, a reason of joy to everyone she knows.
Azhar, played by Noble Babu, is Helen's love interest, unknown to her father. He is on the job hunt and lands one in Chennai. Just then...
The couple get caught by policemen on their drive back home. What could have been sorted with petty fine becomes a humiliating enquiry of Helen and her father as a result of officer Ratheesh Kumar's ( Aju Varghese) twisted sense. The clean shaven Aju Varghese pulls of the role, unlike previous comical ones, of a villain with menacing accuracy that in a later scene, you will find yourself cursing for his apathy, just as his senior does.
The next night, she is reluctant to go home and face her dad, who has been giving her the cold shoulder. She stays beyond her shift timings and finally when she prepares to leave, in a moment of confusion and lack of communication, her manager locks her inside the freezer of the eatery where she works.
She doesn't get home that night.
Due to recent events and preconceived notions of corrupt policemen, her father and Azhar lose precious minutes before finding her whereabouts.
The rest of the movie portrays Anna's effortless acting, the emotional upheavals in the dear ones- bringing them closer despite differences. Excellent cinematography by Anend Chandran captures the terror and cold of the freezer sending chills and shivers in the audience.
Helen's skills as a nurse and her staunch determination to live are key factors that keep her from dozing off in the cold. A lay rat, her mate during the struggle, though a cliché in survival stories ( Rajkumar Rao starrer Trapped, 2016 ) comes as a ray of living hope for Helen. Watch out! Another dose of excitement comes as Vineeth Sreenivasan pops up as a surprise cameo at a critical part in the movie.
The music is a strong point in the movie, conveying the essence of the story through Shaan Rahman's chords.The last scene will bring happy tears to your eyes, for sure. ( Wait! The whole movie was inspired by a much forwarded WhatsApp Message? )
This one is a must-watch for all those who want your hearts to be touched by the gentle yet strong girl, Helen.
Helen is a "chilly" survival thriller woven with the intense dad-daughter relationship. It is a common theme in Hollywood but Desi audience can feel a freshness about the movie.
Kappela (2020)
A thriller to remember, sans the Gore.
Whatever is there in Anna Ben's full, wide smile that makes people remember her?! Be it the security guard in Helen or the conductor of a bus in Kappela...
This film starts like a regular romcom with the bonding of two innocent souls over the first half, setting stage for a travail of trust and treachery that's too far gone for rescue.
One that no one even saw coming...
But something right from the title scene warns the audience of an unknown yet definite danger in the near future. And the darkness that shrouds the interior of the bus, in one of the first few scenes, as Jessi closes the window, is crafted to create a deep sense of foreboding.
Then, without explicitly stating, the film moves into a flashback of how Jessi and Vishnu(Roshan Mathew), a young auto rickshaw driver with a sleek smartphone, fall slowly in love, in the all too familiar way.
The world turns upside down for them as Jessi decides to meet (finally) Vishnu in Kozhikode, but instead makes a run into Roy (Sreenath Bhasin), a rustic fellow waiting for a chance to make quick money.
The big reveal happens suddenly, yet seamlessly, making the audience doubt if their interpretation is right, even as they hope that the village girl gets to keep her trust in humanity intact at the end of it all.
The movie finishes on a beautiful, positive note and becomes a memorable experience that reiterates that not all heroes demand a show off.
A thriller to remember by the debutante director Musthafa, that is spirited with the edge-of-seat-suspense, without being armed with sharp tools;
one that captured the immaculate beauty of the countryside.
Gulabo Sitabo (2020)
A Haveli that stands its theiving landlord and grudging tenants.
Some buildings just rise higher than the standard bricks and cement... They have a life of their own.
One such (Haveli) is at the centre of Gulabo Sitabo. Fatima Mahal is the protagonist of this film and greed its villain.
Mirza (Amitabh Bachchan), loves the mansion more than its owner, his Begum, and barely tolerates Baankey ( Ayushmann Khurrana) among other irksome tenants.
He has to live out of allowances from the Begum which forces him to make money through mischievous ways (including theft), often finding himself at loggerheads with Baankey.
The entry of scheming "archaeologist" and lawyer twist the plot further as each fill the owner and tenants with the desire for money and end up just short of bringing the roof down, literally...
So, do the Haveli-wasis get the jackpot or do they make their painful exits?
The crazy plot twist, that's the climax, is sure to come unexpected and have you splitting your sides.
The film reminds us that, buildings may not last but the memories we make in them, do. It also reaffirms the fate of disputed property, especially if it lacks proper documentation, as different stakeholders wait to set siege.
The background score is a great support, along with the backdrop of Lucknow.
It's a pleasure to watch Ayushmann and Amitabh, with his unmatched dedication, gradually bond over the two hours of the movie. The best of dialogues turn out to be the same ones as in the trailer. One suited for the family room especially during lockdown times.
The only regret may be that there's no Romantic Gaana you can croon to with the Khurrana...