Bodyguard

Movie - Bodyguard (Malayalam)
Director - Siddique
Producer - Johny Sagariga
Cast - Dileep, Nayanthara, Mithra Kurian, Thyagarajan, Harisree Ashokan, Guinness Pakru, Appa Haja, Janardhanan, Cochin Haneefa and others.
Music - Ouseppachan
Cinematography - S Kumar ISC
Choreography - Prabhu Deva
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Siddique
Release Date - 23rd January 2010.






A Siddique film after a gap of almost 7 years, Bodyguard is a decent movie which would classify more as a romantic comedy rather than Siddique's usual brand of comic thrillers. His last movie was Chronic Bachelor starring Mammootty, which released in 2003 and was a moderate success. Bodyguard was in the making for over one and a half years and the release of the movie got delayed several times because of many problems faced by the crew and the producer of the film. And after a lot of struggle, Bodyguard finally released on January 23rd and had a great opening. But has been doing just average business after that. The movie actually deserves more than that as it is quite decent and tells a different story.


The story is about Jayakrishnan (Dileep) who idolizes rowdies because he thinks that strength and the ability to create fear in others is the biggest thing in life. So he works as a bodyguard to big time dadas to learn from them, much to the opposition of his family. While working with a dada called Shanmukhan, he learns that a man called Ashokan is the boss of all the other dadas and he is the most feared and respected person in their community. So Jayakrishnan leaves immediately to get a job as the bodyguard of Ashokan (Thyagarajan). A letter from a family friend who taught Ashokan in school, helped him in bagging that job. Jayakrishnan meets Ammu (Nayanthara) at Ashokan's place and realizes only later on that Ammu is actually the daughter of Ashokan. Soon after getting appointed as the bodyguard, Jayakrishnan saves Ashokan and family from a murder attempt on them. Scared of his daughter's safety, Ashokan sends Jayakrishnan along with Ammu and her friend Sethu (Mithra Kurian) as a bodyguard to her college. And to make sure that he is there with her all the time, he arranges a seat for Jayakrishnan also to study in the same class and continue his studies which he dropped long back. Jayakrishnan's funny attire of a Safari suit and cooling glasses causes lots of embarrassment to Ammu when she goes to college. She thinks that the only way to change him is to trap him in a love affair. So she decides to play a prank on him by calling him in a different voice as a girl who is in love with him. Bodyguard tells the story of the confusions that follow.


Siddique has moved away from his usual style in this movie and has tried to narrate a more youthful story, set in a college. The movie follows the genre of a romantic comedy more than an out and out comedy. The movie starts on a disappointing note and picks up momentum once Dileep and Nayanthara move to the college. The prank, which later turns into a romance has been treated quite decently. But people who go for the movie expecting an out and out comedy from Siddique would be disappointed. The comedy is considerably lesser than his previous movies as the director has decided to give more importance to the romance between the leading pair. But the songs which pop without any reason at all are totally irritating. There are six songs in the movie, when it required only a maximum of 2 songs. His decision to cast Thyagarajan, who has just one expression throughout the movie, in a vital role has certainly lessened the impact of the movie. The much-publicized climax of the movie, is written in order to surprise everyone, but becomes predictable once the movie reaches its final stages. There is an obvious inspiration from the blockbuster Hindi movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai as well. (And ya, the famous train scene from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge also finds its place in the narrative).


Coming to the performances, Dileep shines in a role tailor-made for him. In his first outing with director Siddique, he has made sure that he gives his all to the character Jayakrishnan. Even in the scenes which are written to depict some mushy romance, he adds his own brand of humour in most of those scenes making them more lively. The parts where he goes to college in Safari suits are hilarious. But his dance was much more hilarious in all the songs (unintentionally, of course). If this movie succeeds, it would be a great relief for the actor who hasnt had a solo hit since Vinodayathra in 2007. Nayanthara, in her comeback role, is pretty decent. She gives the much-hyped glam-quotient to the movie and is quite okay in the acting department as well. The actress also hasnt had any hit after Yaaradi Nee Mohini in 2008 and her dates were one of the major reasons for the delay in the shooting of Bodyguard. Mithra Kurian is just passable and in the scenes where she's required to act, she is saved because the director has used only a voice-over by her dubbing artiste. Thyagarajan's stone-faced acting was totally horrible and killed the impact of the character Ashokan, who could've been yet another powerful character like the other villains created by Siddique/Siddique-Lal. Such a role required a much more powerful actor who can be very expressive. Here, Thyagarajan has just one single expression throughout the entire movie. Janardhanan is too loud. Harishree Ashokan is the one who's appointed to provide comic relief, but as seen in recent movies, he has totally lost his old touch and just irritates more and more in the name of comedy. Somebody should seriously tell him that shouting the dialogues will not make it sound funnier. Guinness Pakru provides some good laughs in the college scenes. The late actor Cochin Haneefa, in his last on-screen appearance in Malayalam is very good. His appearance was greeted with a great round of applause even though the theatre had a small crowd. The first 30 minutes of the movie is unbearable due to the loud acting by the cast, which gets all right only when the narrative moves to the college.


Music by Ouseppachan is just okay. Barring 2 songs, all the other 4 songs were totally unnecessary and out of place in the movie. They just pop in randomly when you least expect them and suddenly the entire cast begins to dance to those songs. The only 2 songs which are good are 'Arikathaayaro' and 'Perilla Rajyathe', both having the much-hyped choreography by Prabhu Deva. While the first one has some interesting visualization, the latter one has dance steps which look funny and odd. I didnt find any necessity of having such a big-shot choreographer for the songs of this film. And Prabhu Deva working on those songs, hasnt made much of a difference as well. They look as if they were choreographed by one of the regular people who compose steps for songs.


For the first time, I was not impressed by S Kumar's camerawork in this movie. There is not even a single shot worth remembering in the movie, that too when such a reputed and respected cameraman is behind the camera. First of all, the movie got released in film prints all over Kerala where most of the theatres even in local centres have installed UFO and QUBE digital projection facilities. So that itself kills half the fun. On the whole, the movie doesnt have much visual beauty that one usually expects from a cinematographer like S Kumar.


On the whole, Bodyguard is pretty decent, but not up to the high standards set by the film's director Siddique, who hasnt had a single flop in his career of over 20 years. Lets hope this one also helps him keep his track record intact. The movie is certainly one of the better movies playing in theatres now.


Rating - 3/5