Urumi is fantastic.

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Movie - Urumi (Malayalam)

Director - Santosh Sivan

Producers - Santosh Sivan, Shaji Nadeshan, Prithviraj Sukumaran

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Shanker Ramakrishnan

Cast - Prithviraj, Prabhu Deva, Jagathy Sreekumar, Amole Gupte, Genelia, Nithya Menen, Vidya Balan, Arya, Ankur Sharma, Robin Pratt, Alexx O'Neill, Shaji Nadeshan

Director of Photography - Santosh Sivan ISC

Additional Cinematography - Anjali Shukla, Alphonse Roy

Music & Background Score - Deepak Dev

Editing - Sreekar Prasad

Action - Anal Arasu

Art Direction - Sunil Babu

Costumes - Eka Lakhani

Make Up - Ranjith Ambady

Release Date - 31st March 2011

Not so long ago, a maverick filmmaker named Quentin Tarantino made a kickass movie called Ingourious Basterds with his own fantasized version of German History, where historical characters became part of a zany fictional story. Famed cinematographer-director Santosh Sivan & first time writer Shanker Ramakrishnan have attempted something similar in Urumi, where historical characters become part of a fantasy tale about revenge, redemption and freedom, told in the form of a ballad. If QT's Basterds told the story of a bunch of people who set out to kill Adolf Hitler, Urumi tells the story of one man and his best friend who had just one goal - the death of the famed explorer Vasco Da Gama. And as promised, Urumi is a fantastic visual experience mounted on an epic scale with an intriguing screenplay. 

The movie begins with a narration on Vasco Da Gama by Malayalam Cinema's own KPAC Lalitha, lending it the fairy tale nature which Santosh Sivan always tries to capture through his films. We see the young & aimless Krishnadas (Prithviraj) & Tarzan (Prabhu Deva) taken back to Kerala from Goa to negotiate a deal to sell KD's ancestral property to an international mining company. But before they seal the deal, they are captured by tribals who occupy the land and their head (Arya) narrates the story of their land, which spans back a few centuries. Cut to sometime during 1500 AD - Chirakkal Kothuvaal (Arya again) dies a brave death fighting against Vasco Da Gama during his second visit to Kerala. And this ignites a fire for revenge inside his son Kelu Nayanar (Prithviraj again) to kill Vasco Da Gama. He grows up with his Muslim friend Vavvali (Prabhu Deva, again) to become a fierce warrior. In the process of getting towards his goal, he gets into an alliance with Chirakkal Thampuraan (Amole Gupte) despite the presence of the scheming Chenicheri Kurup (Jagathy Sreekumar) and also meets the fiery warrior princess Arackal Ayesha (Genelia) who later joins forces with him. Whether Kelu will get his revenge or not becomes the crux of the film. 

Urumi is perhaps Santosh Sivan's finest film as a director (The Terrorist & Halo being his two other great films) and the film has his stamp all over it. When India's most celebrated cinematographer directs a movie, he is bound to tell his story through some striking images, which is exactly what Mr.Sivan has done in this movie. Unlike his previous work as a cinematographer - Raavanan, which received a lot of flak for being just a showcase for some magical visuals, Urumi unravels almost completely through the mindblowing images that Santosh Sivan has captured in his camera. Shanker's script gives ample space for Mr.Sivan to play around with his visuals which he has clearly enjoyed doing. The movie is told in the form of a ballad where history, mythology and fantasy blend seamlessly with each other. From building a mirror between present day happenings and ancient history to recreating a period seen never before in our cinema with virgin lands almost permanently covered in mist, Santosh Sivan & his writer Shanker have done a mindblowing job. And unlike the usual coconut trees, backwaters and Athirappilli waterfalls, Santosh Sivan has showcased a different kind of greenery, a different kind of Kerala in the film. And there couldnt be a better setting for the movie. 

Prithviraj is restrained as Kelu Nayanar and does remarkably well. But one misses the fire of revenge in his eyes and body language at many instances which makes his character a little weak at times. And when it comes to the initial comic portions as Krishnadas, he overdoes it a little as usual. The actor has a beefed up look (inspired by Salman Khan's Veer) which didnt create the required impact on the posters, but works very well in the film. His dialogue delivery was very good and needs special mention. Prabhu Deva completely overshadows Prithviraj by stealing the show from him in every frame they appear together (there are hardly any scenes where they are not together). Prabhu Deva brings in the comic, fun element of the film and the audience establishes an emotional connect with his character rather than the protagonist played by Prithviraj. Its a delight to see Prabhu Deva acting after a long time and that giving such a fabulous performance. He scores in every department - be it comedy, romance, dance or action.  Jagathy Sreekumar is the other scene-stealer in the movie. The legendary actor plays an effeminate minister Chenichery Kuruppu with utmost perfection. We Malayalis havent had the opportunity to see the actor in such a role earlier and he stuns us with his performance in it. Genelia is in complete contrast to the cute bubbly girl we've seen in so many movies as she plays a fiery warrior princess. She does unbelievably well in the action sequences which deserves a whole lot of appreciation for her effort and dedication. But otherwise, her performance wasnt very great. Her chemistry with Prithviraj was also very cold and didnt create any impact. Her lip sync was completely out of place as well. 

Amole Gupte is brilliant as the flamboyant king and the actor never lets us know that its a non-Malayali actor playing the role. The dubbing artiste Hareendranath also requires a special mention for doing an awesome job. The irresistible Nithya Menen plays the romantic interest of Prabhu Deva (or  should it be the other way round) and even though she is not that important in the main plot, she does extremely well in the flirtatious scenes with Prabhu Deva and the wonderful song. Arya in an extended cameo is great. Prithviraj's dubbing for him was a little unsettling initially, but then we get used to it. Vidya Balan plays the mystic character Maakkam who clears a dilemma in the mind of Kelu and features in a raunchy song as well. She does fine, but the costumes she wore in the song looked totally out of place in a film like this. She has dubbed by herself and her Malayalam was actually quite good. Ankur Sharma as the good for nothing prince Bhanu Vikraman was partly good, partly bad. That he is completely unfamiliar with the language, reflects in his acting and affects it too. Alexx O'Neil (earlier seen in Madhrasappattinam) is very good as Estavio Da Gama and Robin Pratt is equally effective as the explorer Vasco Da Gama. The co-producer of the movie Shaji Nadeshan plays the part of a dedicated soldier and has a good screen presence. The rest of the supporting cast is also very effective. Tabu's appearance in a song doesnt work all that much. 

Shanker Ramakrishnan's highly researched screenplay where history blends seamlessly with fantasy is definitely brilliant for a first time writer. He lives up to the promise he gave through his short film Island Express in the Kerala Cafe anthology. He creates a perfect mirror to what happened centuries ago through the present day events, although the good and evil have taken different forms now. He slightly loses his grip during the few romantic interludes between Prithviraj & Genelia which slows down the pace of the movie. But otherwise he grabs the audience by their throat and holds their attention till the last frame of the movie. Each character has a distinct and unique characterization and many of them have different sides to their personalities which we havent seen quite often with characters in our Malayalam Cinema. The story goes a full circle and builds up to an effective, satisfying closure with a ray of hope. The mirroring of characters from the past and the present was a great touch too. The language spoken in the movie is slightly difficult to follow, especially the significant historical details and terminologies used during that period. (I actually got a complete picture only on the second viewing, which I enjoyed even better than my first one). The dialogues are kickass to say the least. Coming from Ranjith's school of filmmaking, it is no surprise that Shanker can write really kickass dialogues. Its also a reminder that punch dialogues need not be high voltage lines which rhyme. And without resorting to that, Shanker has packed a powerful punch in so many of his dialogue. A slight MT influence creeps in here and there in the dialogue (maybe because only he has written good dialogues in this genre of films so far in Malayalam), but thats not a bad thing at all. All in all, a tremendous effort from Ranjith's protege Shanker Ramakrishnan which deserves an ovation. 

The cinematography of the film is lyrical to say the least. Each image is poetry in motion and contributes so much to the telling of the story, rather than staying just awesome visuals arranged to make a story. In addition to the director & DOP Santosh Sivan, last year's National Award winner Anjali Shukla (Kutty Srank) and Alphonse Roy (Aamir) have also worked for the film.  The virgin locations and perpetually misty atmosphere creates a completely new world different from anything we've seen on screen so far. Be it the use of different animals to enhance the frames or the slow motions shots or the extreme close ups, everything looks so bloody good. The CGI and DI are also done very effectively, especially during the fight sequence in the second half shot in a dawn effect. The only place where the visuals are jarring was the 'Aaro Nee Aaro' song which looked totally out of context in a movie like this. And the way it was shot, with extreme slow motion, looked more like it was an Amal Neerad song rather than a Santosh Sivan song. The climactic battle also could've gone easy on the slow motion, but it works even otherwise. 

Deepak Dev's music is nothing short of epic. He has realized the scale of the movie and delivered what it exactly needs. A grand score with some great songs ranging in different genres. 'Aarane Aarane' and 'Chimmi Chimmi' are the hot favourites of the season. The tribal songs 'Appa Nammude' and 'Thelu Thele' are sublimely beautiful. The beautiful 'Aaro Nee Aaro' and the sensuous 'Chalanam Chalanam' have disappointing visualizations. The theme music score is out of this world and is one of the best compositions Deepak Dev has come up with. The background score, despite the slight AR Rahman influence is brilliant, to say the least. It completely enhances the feel of the scenes and takes them to another level. One can surely say Urumi is Deepak Dev's career best work. Sreekar Prasad's editing is perfect as the movie has a seamless flow throughout. Sunil Babu's tremendous efforts at recreating the atmosphere of the bygone era has paid off richly. Ranjith Ambady's make up and Eka Lakhani's costumes are authentic as well as imaginative. Anal Arasu's action choreography is stunning. Sound Design by Rajakrishnan is pure brilliance. 

On the whole, Urumi is a complete audio visual experience which is definitely something new and rare for the Malayali audience. And all this is done within a completely entertaining format, making it one of the finest entertainers in recent times as well. Fabulous performances, stunning cinematography, great music and sound design, spectacular action and a fine screenplay transport you completely into a different world, and by the end of it all, gives us a reality check that the situations are not that different even now. Though there are a few glitches, they are not as big to hamper the great experience the movie provides on the whole. Urumi is also the kind of film which grows on you slowly and with each re-watch. Had it been a little tighter, it could've featured amongst our all time classics. Shanker Ramakrishnan proves to us that there's still some hope left in this industry. Kudos to Prithviraj, Shaji Nadeshan and Santosh Sivan for venturing into this mammoth production and coming out trumps and thereby bringing cheer to our industry. Here's wishing all the very best to August Cinema for their future endeavours. Watch, if you havent already. 

P.S. - Watch at a very good screen with extremely good projection and sound systems to enjoy the movie completely. Sridhar's poor screen and sound did impact my first viewing and I could enjoy the movie in all its glory only on a second viewing at Q Cinemas.

Bottomline - A fantastic experience which Malayalis shouldnt be missing at any cost. 

Traffic is an absolute triumph for Malayalam Cinema!!

Movie - Traffic (Malayalam)

Director - Rajesh Pillai

Producer - Listin Stephen

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Bobby & Sanjay

Cast - Sreenivasan, Anoop Menon, Rahman, Kunchacko Boban, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Asif Ali, Sayikumar, Vijayakumar, Krishna, Lena, Sandhya, Roma, Remya Nambeeshan, Reena Basheer, Prem Prakash & Jose Prakash

Music - Mejo Joseph, Samson Kottoor

Cinematography - Shyju Khalid

Background Score - Mejo Joseph

Art Director - Saburam

Editor - Mahesh Narayanan

Release Date - 7th January 2011

Warning - This is going to be a fairly long post. So kindly bear with me. :) 

Well, I have no words. After a long time, I've had an overwhelming experience watching a Malayalam film and I'm proud of that. After being through endless criticisms, some people finally woke up and showed us what Malayalam Cinema is actually capable of. Traffic is a path-breaking cinematic experience with one of the most flawless screenplays ever written in Malayalam Cinema. Perhaps the first movie with an ensemble cast and no conventional hero/heroine, the script and direction are the heroes of this film. This movie took me through a complete emotional roller coaster. I experienced sorrow, tension, adrenalin rushes, anxiety and elation in those two hours I spent inside the hall watching this movie. I didnt even want the interval to happen, something which I've felt while watching only one other movie - Inception. 

Traffic follows a multiple narrative structure. It tells the tale of many people affected by a road accident at a traffic signal. Inspired by a true event, the entire narrative of Traffic is set in one day, 16th of September where fate plays a game in which the lives of many people become interconnected. A heart transplant surgery is to be performed and the live heart is to be transported from Kochi to Palakkad within a limited time of 2 hours. How this is done, essentially forms the core of this movie. It is a road movie, an action thriller and an emotional drama, all rolled into one. 

The screenplay by the brothers Bobby & Sanjay is flawless to say the least and it is certainly the backbone of this feature film. Traffic is just their third film after the very impressive and effective Ente Veedu Appontem and Notebook, and they've shown such maturity and innovation in their writing that many of our most experienced writers cant even imagine matching up to. There 2 young gentlemen are the future of the Malayalam film industry which was dying without good writers. Rajesh Pillai, who made a forgettable debut through Hridayathil Sookshikkan some years back, makes a thunderous impact with his second directorial venture. He has been able to do full justice to the excellent script by the writers and one can say without a tinge of doubt that no other director, however experienced he might be cannot do a better job than what Rajesh has done for this film. So Rajesh, Bobby & Sanjay, here's a bow from a film lover who feels proud seeing a masterpiece in his language after such a long time. 

Each and every member of the cast has his/her moment of glory in the film. The film does not have a hero or heroine and each character is as important as the other. Remya Nambeeshan who has evolved into a beautiful young lady makes a mark. Roma, acting after a brief gap, does quite well and does not overact. Sandhya also gives a decent performance. But among the ladies, it is Lena who plays the superstar Siddharth's wife who makes a solid impact. She shows that she has immense potential and no one had really bothered to tap into that until now. Her break-down over the phone in the second half leaves you stunned and disturbed at the same time. That scene alone can make all our top-line actresses put their head down in shame. The lady who played Vineeth's mother and the other new girls who made their debut through the film were also effective. 

Among the men, there is the veteran actor and uncle of the writers, Jose Prakash making a film appearance after a really long time and his role essentially becomes the starting point and the inspiration for the main plot of the movie. The writers' father Prem Prakash also has a good role of that of a surgeon who makes the proposition of this heart transplant. Vineeth Sreenivasan's Reyhaan stays with us till the end of the movie as a sorrow. Vineeth gives a fine, natural performance in the very little screen time that he's got. Asif, who plays his dedicated best friend, is excellent and matches up to the amazing talent around him in every scene, thereby showing great promise. Anoop Menon plays the Kochi City Commissioner who takes up this extremely risky operation under his responsibility and I must say, that it is his second best performance till date after his award winning act in Thirakkatha. He represents the audience and their tension and anxiety throughout the movie and when his mission succeeds, we feel as happy and proud as he feels. Watch out for his performance in the single shot in the interval scene and the one towards the end where he stands there with tears in his eyes after his mission turns into a success. Rahman plays the arrogant superstar with elan and reminds us of one of our favourite superstars at many instances. He is super-effective in the scenes towards the end of the movie. Sreenivasan as the cop who takes up the responsibility of the mission to get back his lost pride and honour, is as bankable as he always is. He is someone whom Malayalis blindly trust, and that is exactly why his casting as the key character in this movie works big time. I've said this before and I'm saying it again - Kunchacko Boban is not the chocolate boy we saw in Aniyathipravu and Niram anymore. He has matured into an absolutely wonderful actor who can play any role with consummate ease. He proved that in Elsamma and with his performance as a doctor guilty of his own conscience  in Traffic, he has just reinstated that fact. This actor must be given due recognition and much more such opportunities to showcase his talent. He is just too good. And the best among the lot is none other than Sayikumar, who plays Vineeth's father. Each scene he appeared, he managed to make my eyes moist as I could feel the exact pain that his character was going through. An absolute triumph by the veteran actor in such a short role. Vijayakumar and Krishna were also good in their respective supporting roles. 

A lot of movies claim to be edge of the seat thrillers with nail biting action, but there would be nothing like that when we watch those films. But Traffic, despite being heavily loaded with emotions, is an action packed thriller which you can watch only with bated breath. My eyes were glued to the screen and many a times, I couldnt handle the tension and I remember clutching on to the seat, literally sitting on its edge. Inception did that to me last, and I dont have a memory of a Malayalam film doing that to me, ever. Apart from Rajesh Pillai's deft direction, this is also a result of the excellent work by the technical crew of the film. The movie is so engrossing and engaging that it is difficult to pay attention to the technical aspects of the film in detail. Camerawork by Shyju Khalid is the best this movie could have asked for. He takes us in between the action with his shots and editor Mahesh Narayanan confirms that the audience feels right in the middle of the entire action of the plot. The movie is so tightly scripted and edited that even a minute lesser or extra would have done a lot of damage. After going through all these emotions, action, tension and anxiety and reaching a finale, Mejo Joseph plays the soul-stirring theme music of the film and we cant help but feel elated just like the characters feel at that point. The song right at the beginning of the film was also very good and gave a peek into the lives of all the characters. 

Traffic shows how a disaster can be turned into a noble deed when good people come together and work towards it putting all their heart into it. It starts with specific characters and by the end of it, the entire society becomes involved and concerned about the situation and tries to do whatever little they can towards making this mission a success. A rock solid screenplay with no loose ends, impeccable work by the director and his technical crew and awe-inspiring performances by the actors make this one of the best movies ever made in Malayalam Cinema. The screenplay of this movie should be studied academically by people who are interested in making innovative cinema. People who've been complaining of the deterioration of Malayalam Cinema can feel relieved now, our cinema is in safe hands with the likes of Bobby, Sanjay and Rajesh Pillai. Traffic is perhaps the only movie in the last 5 years to be unanimously liked by people across the state, after Udayanaanu Thaaram & Classmates, and I can proudly say that this movie is even better than those two also. So once again, Hats off to Rajesh Pillai, Bobby, Sanjay and the entire team of Traffic. You've done us proud and given us reason to believe that there's still a future for Malayalam Cinema. I'm proud to say that I know many people who were associated with this film. Thank you for this movie!! 

Rating - 4.75/5

TD Dasan Std VI B is a tiny little gem that deserves to be seen.

Movie – TD Dasan Std VI B (Malayalam)

Director – Mohan Raghavan

Producers – Paul Vadakumchery, Paul Valikodath

Cast – Alexander, Tina Rose, Biju Menon, Shwetha Menon, Shruti Menon, Jagadish, Suresh Krishna, Valsala Menon, etc

Music & Background Score – Sreevalsan J Menon

Cinematography – Arun Varma

Editing – Vinod Sukumaran

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues – Mohan Raghavan

Now Available On – Moser Baer DVDs & VCDs.

Malayalis constantly complain that there is no quality cinema being made here and when quality films come up, they turn their backs towards them and go watch the mundane formula films instead, turning them into huge hits. One victim of this sheer hypocrisy of Malayalis is TD Dasan Std VI B. A small gem of a film, which didn’t get the success or attention it deserved. Such films need to be seen and promoted so that more and more such films are made, rather than spending money for the banal formula flicks. I was away from Kerala during the week when this movie released, and when I came back and wanted to watch it, I was surprised to see the hopeless Vijay movie Suraa playing at almost all theaters in Erankulam while this movie was long gone. And I had to wait for the DVD to watch it finally.

TD Dasan (Alexander), a 6^th standard student at a small village school in Palakkad, finds his estranged father’s address in his mother’s (Shwetha Menon) trunk. He secretly sends a letter to the address because he wants to silence his class bully who constantly calls him a bastard. The letter reaches Ammu (Tina Rose) who lives with her father Nandan (Biju Menon), an ad-film maker at the address where Dasan’s father Divakaran lived earlier. Ammu feels a certain affection for Dasan through his letters and responds to him as his father and in the meanwhile the ad filmmaker Nandan finds Dasan’s situation as a great material for a film script. What happens next forms the story of TD Dasan Std VI B.

The movie takes us back to the era of good Malayalam films which were simple, sweet, short, had a Malayali nativity and a wonderful story to tell. TD Dasan is just 1.5 hours long and yet it tells so many things in that short span of time which many long films cannot. Newcomer Mohan Raghavan has taken a concept which has almost become extinct in this age of social networking – pen pals. While Ammu considers Dasan something like her pen pal and understands his world through his letters, Dasan discovers about his father whom he has never seen through the letters that Ammu sends him. At the same time, Nandan considers Dasan’s story as a potential story for a film, unaware of what Ammu is doing. This leads him to several interesting discussions with his writer friends on what could have happened to Dasan’s father Divakaran.

Alexander, the young lad who plays the protagonist TD Dasan is very good and has brought out all the emotions that the character goes through very well. Tina Rose who plays Ammu also does her part effectively. Biju Menon gives an impressive performance after a long time in a role that suits him perfectly. Jagadish was a little over-the-top, but that is not even 1/100^th of the overacting he has been doing in his recent films. He was pretty decent in this one compared to those films. Suresh Krishna plays his part subtly and that works very well. Shwetha Menon is evolving into a fine actress and you can actually see the difference in each film. The award winning actress has done a great job in this film too. Shruti Menon is decent in her short role. Valsala Menon is excellent as usual. The kid who played the bully Thomas Kutty was very good as well.

The director takes on several topics – the boy’s loneliness and the insult that he goes through each time when he is called a bastard by his classmate; the mother’s struggle to run the family and the tag of a slut that she has to face; and Ammu, who is separated from her mother and not getting enough attention from her busy father (even though she is portrayed as a happy child), finds joy in building a relationship with Dasan; Nandan who feels Dasan’s story would be able to connect to a wide audience. And while all this happens, there is a struggle against a multi-national Cola company going on in the background as well. There are no unnecessary songs, except for a lovely song which syncs well with the film when Dasan is overjoyed getting a response from his father. There are no sub-plots which convolute the main plot and the ones which are present in the movie contribute towards it in some way or the other. It was very nice to see the creative process (popularly known as discussions) in formulating a screenplay, being depicted in a film, that too with visual detail. Those scenes are proof that the director Mohan Raghavan is a very talented writer-director.

Music and background score by the talented Sreevalsan J Menon is very effective. The one delightful song takes us through the sweet little world of Dasan. Cinematographer Arun Varma has done a neat job. Editor Vinod Sukumaran has made the film crisp and to the point without even a single sequence that can be termed boring.

On the whole, TD Dasan is one of the finest films to have come out in Malayalam in a long time. It deserved a better fate. There were even reports in newspapers saying that the theatre owners themselves dissuaded people from watching this movie saying its no good. The makers are also to be blamed partially since there was absolutely no publicity and marketing for this film and many people were not even aware that such a film had released. And by the time people realised that such a film was out, it was gone from theaters. And it looks like that the talented writer-director Mohan Raghavan will have a bright future ahead, provided his work gets more visibility. Get hold of this movie at least on DVDs and watch it soon.

Rating – 4/5

Cocktail - A compelling watch. Recommended!!

Movie - Cocktail (Malayalam)

Director - Arun Kumar

Producer - Milan Jaleel

Cast - Jayasurya, Anoop Menon, Samvritha Sunil, Fahadh Fazil, Innocent, Aparna Nair.

Music - Alphonse, Ratheesh Vega

Background Score - Ratheesh Vega

Cinematography - Pradeep Nair

Story, Screenplay - Shyam Menon

Dialogues - Anoop Menon

Editing - Arun Kumar

Art - Prashanth Madhav

Costumes - Velayudhan Keezhillam

Release Date - 22nd October 2010

Cocktail was announced as Jayasurya's and Anoop Menon's foray into film production and Priyadarshan's trusted editor Arun Kumar's foray into direction. But then, the credit list of the movie says that Milan Jaleel is its producer. Whoever the producer may be, the team has come up with a more than decent movie which is probably the best bet among the movies released after Ramzan. Arun Kumar, following his guru's footsteps, has taken a Hollywood movie as an inspiration for his first directorial venture. Cocktail is a faithful rip-off of Butterfly on a Wheel (Pierce Brosnan, Gerard Butler - 2007). [I havent seen the original. Have just heard bits and pieces of the story]. The movie is adapted well into Malayalam, but what it lacks is the energy and raciness required for a movie of this genre. Nevertheless, it is quite an effective movie which would go down well with a niche audience. 

Ravi (Anoop Menon) and Parvathi (Samvritha Sunil) are happily married and are leading a wonderful life with their 6 year old daughter Ammu. Ravi is rapidly climbing up the stairs of success in both real estate and construction business, thanks to him being in the good books of his young boss Naveen (Fahadh Fazil). And one day, Ravi and Parvathy leave their daughter at home under the care of a new babysitter Beatrice and leave - Ravi for an official meeting and Parvathy for a kitty party. On the way, they offer a lift to a stranger (Jayasurya) and within minutes, their lives go topsy-turvy. Cocktail tells the story of how this stranger plays with the lives of the couple. 

Cocktail has a pretty compelling storyline. It does not deviate from the main plot except during a totally unwanted item song. But still, the movie is not racy enough for a thriller like this. It could have been much much better if it had some more energy in it. Having said that, it tackles a theme which is very relevant in city life today (which if mentioned here would spoil the suspense) and portrays it effectively as well. Shyam Menon has adapted the storyline from the Hollywood original into Malayalam impressively. The movie's best part is its climax after a not-so-good pre-climax portion. The dialogues by Anoop Menon are brilliant. It is very tough to write natural dialogues in Malayalam (with a liberal dose of English) and Anoop Menon is a master at it. The dialogues are one of the best aspects in the movie. The F word is used rather liberally and thankfully it sounds authentic since most characters in the movie speak good English. 

It is refreshing to see the life of a rich upper class family in Malayalam Cinema, which normally keeps telling stories of poverty, the mandatory japthi and all that. Cocktail tells the story of the elite families in the state (especially in Kochi) and how their lives are. People speaking great English without an accent, a wife who goes for kitty parties, a corporate office environment, and many such things associated with the elite are portrayed in this movie, which is a first in Malayalam Cinema. And will go down very well with the upper middle class and elite crowd in the audience. 

Samvritha Sunil comes up with the best performance in the movie, which is also her career best. She looks gorgeous, acts brilliantly and wears some lovely costumes. Most importantly, she's very comfortable playing mother to a six year old. Jayasurya also gives a deadly performance in the movie. His role, with grey shades is sure to receive applause from the audience. He proves again that he's probably the best among the present young crop of actors. He does not have any airs about that and still plays all the different characters he gets, be it a hero or a villain or a comedian or a supporting actor, and shines in all of them. Anoop Menon is inconsistent. He's brilliant at portions and very ordinary in some others. He reminds one of Mohanlal, Mammootty and Suresh Gopi all at the same time and there's a heavy Mohanlal hangover in many of the emotional scenes. (He put that to good use in Thirakkatha and Pakal Nakshatrangal earlier). Otherwise, his performance is good. The credibility of the movie lies upon the performances of its 3 main leads and they pull it off quite well. Fahadh Fazil is highly impressive in a cameo. Innocent is not convincing as a Palakkad Iyer. Aparna Nair is okay. Kani Kusruti is good. The junior artiste who played a very important character Beatrice, was unintentionally funny.  And thankfully they did away with Suraaj Venjarammoodu who was also supposed to be a part of the movie. 

Director Arun Kumar is heavily influenced by his mentor Priyadarshan, in a positive way. Almost every frame in the movie is beautiful and the movie has some great visuals. And the beautifully shot 'Neeyam Thanalinu' stands testimony to the director's eye for great visuals. He could have made the movie racier, especially since he is the editor of the movie as well. The desperate situation of the couple doesnt come across that effectively in some key scenes. Otherwise, his handling of the subject is very good and the effective climax more than makes up for the not-so great portions before that. And as we have forgiven his guru for lifting plots from other movies, we should forgive him too, since he has done a good job at that. 

Music of the film is very good. 'Neeyam Thanalinu' is one of the best songs in recent Malayalam film music. Ratheesh Vega is a great find, and he excels in that song as well as the background score. Alphonse's 'Vennilavumivide' is a brilliant situational song, which also plays out during the end credits. The item was song was bad and totally uncalled for. Cinematography by Ravi K Chandran's erstwhile assistant Pradeep Nair is brilliant. The film looks great, thanks to him. Art direction by Prashant Madhav is very good. And the costumes by Velayudhan Keezhillam are amazing. Its such a relief to see actors wearing such nice clothes on screen other than the loud and colourful costumes we are used to in Malayalam films. 

Cocktail is a drastically different film from the same kind of movies offered to us friday after friday at the movie halls. A very good attempt by the whole team, it should be appreciated and promoted well to get the success it deserves. It could have been much much better, but still it impresses in its present form. A strong social message about families and values are also given out through the film. Watch it, you wouldnt be disappointed. 

Rating - 3.5/5

P.S. - I liked the fact that Jayasurya has christened his fans association as Jayasurya Friends association. Makes him more closer to them. Good move. :) 

Kutty Srank

Movie – Kutty Srank (Malayalam)

Director – Shaji N Karun

Producer – Reliance Big Pictures

Cast – Mammootty, Padmapriya, Siddique, Suresh Krishna, Kamalinee Mukherjee, Meena Kumari, Sayikumar and others.

Music – Issac Thomas Kottukappally

Cinematography – Anjali Shukla

Editing – Sreekar Prasad

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Harikrishnan, PF Mathews

Release Date – 23rd July 2010

The National Award winner for best feature film - Kutty Srank, was re-released this weekend for viewers who had missed out on the film in its very short theatrical run earlier. The movie which was completely ignored at the Kerala State Film Awards, won more than 5 awards in the National Film Awards announced last week including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and special jury mentions for the editor Sreekar Prasad and actress Padmapriya. Set in post-independence Kerala, the movie tells the story of the character of Kutty Srank, through the three ladies in his life.

A dead body which is assumed to be that of Kutty Srank (Mammootty) is found off the Cochin shores. Kutty Srank was an aimless, nomadic person who wanders from shore to shore . He did not have a family, a caste or a religion. Revamma (Padmapriya) is summoned to identify the body and to be questioned about her relationship with the boat driver. Revamma narrates her story, of her turbulent relationship with her evil father, the murder of her lover, and how Kutty Srank helped her in her life. Next is the turn of Pemmena (Kamalinee Mukherjee) who was the second woman in his life. Kutty Srank had joined a ballet troupe specializing in the art form ‘Chavittunaadakam’, led by Loni Aashan (Suresh Krishna). Pemmana was his sister and she was in love with Kutty Srank even though he did not reciprocate the feelings. The vicar of the village chruch goes up in arms against Kutty Srank since Srank does not have a religion or a caste. Pemmena narrates the incidents that followed. Then the third woman, Kali (Meena Kumari) comes to the station to identify the body. The mute woman claims to be Kutty Srank’s wife and narrates her story of how Kutty Srank saved her from an entire village which considered her as an ill omen and the sole reason for all the misfortunes in their land. Kutty Srank’s character comes across to us through these three stories by three different women.

The episodic format which has been used in this film is a very tried and tested format including the latest release Pranchiyettan & The Saint which connects different incidents that occur during different time periods in its protagonist’s life. But here, the director has opted to use the same episodic format in a slightly different way. Here the protagonist’s story is revealed through the eyes of the three different women in his life, which is a very interesting way to tell a story, as different facets of the character are revealed through the different incidents that the women narrate.

The atmosphere, in which the story is told, is beautiful. The post-independence setting, the characterizations, the music and the locations are all part of creating this great atmosphere in which the story is told. The movie starts on a slow note, with Padmapriya’s story, moves forward and then picks up momentum with Kamalinee’s story which is simply a treat to watch and then again slows down during Meena Kumari’s story. The ending leaves much to the imagination of the viewer making one think about what happened to Srank much after he/she leaves the movie hall. Along with three women, it also tells the tale of the three shores/villages that Kutty Srank goes to - one in Malabar, one in Kochi and one in Travancore. It deals with three religions - Buddhism (Revamma), Christianity (Pemmena) and Hinduism (Kali) also. And also symbolises three different seasons - summer for Revamma's portion, monsoons for Pemmena's portion and winter for Kali's portion. The film’s most entertaining parts are during Srank’s stay in Cochin along with Pemmana and Loni Aashan. There are some brilliantly written scenes and sequences in this portion of the film which stands apart from the rest of the film. There is a lot of dark humour in those portions, which makes them entertaining as well. Srank appears as different persons to these different women, He is a ruthless animal-like servant at first for Revamma, but then he undergoes a miraculous transformation out of guilt. Pemmena looks upto him with utmost admiration and love and she cannot resist revealing her strong and raw sexual nature to Srank. For Kali, Srank becomes a saviour. There is the signature of the masterful direction of Shaji N Karun throughout the movie. 

Coming to performances, Mammootty is, as expected, brilliant as the protagonist Kutty Srank. He underplays his part beautifully and is able to bring out the growth and decline of the character quite well on screen through the three interpretations, even though there is little change in his physical appearances. He plays the same character, but he comes across as three different persons to each woman. And it was pleasantly surprising to see him making some great moves during the Chavittunaadakam portions. But the movie’s best performance comes from the under-rated Suresh Krishna who is usually typecast in villain roles. He gives a spectacular performance as Loni Aashan. Suresh’s only negative is his voice, and in this movie, somebody better has dubbed for him with a voice that perfectly suits the character. Siddique is brilliance personified and he has been proving that time and again with each and every character he gets. The Palliyil Achan in this movie was no different. Padmapriya does exceptionally well as Revamma. Kamalinee Mukherjee is very good and has done a scene which comes across as quite a shocker to the audience as well. Meena Kumari as the mute woman who is considered a bad omen to an entire village is excellent. In fact, she gives the best performance among the female leads. Sayikumar plays his part with considerable ease. The actor who played the drama artist Joppan deserves special mention. P Sreekumar and Nandu are also part of the cast. The actor who played Padmapriya’s father did some terribly bad acting.

This review wouldn't be complete without a mention of the magical cinematography in this film by first-timer Anjali Shukla. One of the very very few female cinematographers we have in the country. Her National Award was indeed well deserved as the movie has some absolutely amazing visuals. Shaji N Karun’s films always have brilliant cinematography, since he is a cinematographer himself. Sound design is another brilliant aspect in the movie. And the movie has a wonderfully charming musical score by Isaac Thomas Kottukappally. The songs during the Chavittunaadakam portions are delightful to listen to. Mammootty himself has sung a drinking song in the film. Sreekar Prasad's fine editing also adds much more value to the film. The National Award winning Costume designer Jayakumar deserves a special mention, especially for the wonderful costumes he created for the drama portions. The technical team has done a marvellous job in the film. 

Overall, Kutty Srank is definitely a great piece of cinema. It was not my kind of cinema, but it still kept me hooked throughout, except for very few scenes that didnt rise up to the level of the rest of the movie. The movie stands on a slightly lower position, when compared to Shajji N Karun's previous movie Vaanaprastham (released 10 years ago). It has great performances, innovative storytelling, fantastic cinematography, beautiful music, and a great atmosphere. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but connoisseurs of offbeat cinema, this is indeed a treat. 

Rating - 4/5

Elsamma Enna Aankutty

Movie - Elsamma Enna Aankutty (Malayalam)

Director - Lal Jose

Producer - M Ranjith

Cast - Kunchacko Boban, Indrajith, Ann Augustine, Nedumudi Venu, Jagathy Sreekumar, Vijayaraghavan, KPAC Lalitha, Suraaj Venjaarammoodu, Manikkuttan.

Music & Background Score - Rajamani

Cinematography - Vijay Ulaganath

Editing - Ranjan Abraham

Art - Gokuldas

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Sindhuraj

Release Date - 10th September 2010

A Lal Jose movie always comes with a lot of expectations since he's one of the few sensible filmmakers remaining in Malayalam now. And this time around, he has opted to the story of a village belle and some other interesting characters in a village called Balan Pilla City. Lal Jose has teamed up with screenwriter Sindhuraj with whom he gave the mediocre Mulla 2 years back. But this time, they have come up with a much better movie which is immensely likable for its old world charm and simplicity. 

Elsamma (Ann Augustine), a petite girl of around 19-20 years is the most popular figure in Balan Pilla City, a town named after the owner of the only tea shop there, Balan Pilla. She works as an agent of a popular newspaper and also distributes newspapers to every house in the locality each morning. And her character is such that she is referred to as an 'aankutty' by the entire village. Her family of 3 sisters and mother (KPAC Lalitha) live under the care of their father's friend Paappan (Nedumudi Venu) who is like a father figure for her. Palunni (Kunchacko Boban) is a milk vendor and a close friend of Elsamma who secretly loves her, but does not have it in him to propose to her. Elsamma is at constant loggerheads with Member Ramanan (Jagathy Sreekumar), a corrupt Panchayat Member and Karippalli Sugunan (Vijayaraghavan), the notorious abkari in town. In between all this, Paappan's grandson Ebimon (Indrajith) lands in town for an extended stay at Paappan's house and starts flirting with Elsamma. Sugunan joins hands with Ebimon and hatches a plan as well. The events that follow make up the story of the film. 

Elsamma's characterization is strikingly similar to that of Manju Warrier's character in Lohithadas' Kanmadam. But the similarity does not come across in your face very often because this movie is a very light-hearted one, compared to the heavy-duty Kanmadam. There are lot of scenes and events created to glorify Elsamma, just like any hero would be glorified. But apart from such small glitches, it is a very good movie with some very well written scenes and characters. Each character in the movie has a distinct role to play and it is very rare to find such good characterizations in Malayalam films these days. Kudos to Sindhuraj and Lal Jose for that. Elsamma is perhaps Sindhuraj's career best work so far. The first half of the movie takes its own sweet time to introduce each one of the characters and their relationship with Elsamma. The second half is more of Sugunan's plans to get Elsamma out of his way and Palunni's unrequited love. All these events are told laced in a lot of humour so that the audience is not bored at all. 

Ann Augustine, even though too young for such a bold role, makes a good debut. Even though her performance isnt mind-boggling, she still manages to impress in her first outing as an actress. Her lip movements were not in sync with the dubbed voice (Dont know who's at blame for that - Ann or the dubbing artiste).  Kunchacko Boban is the surprise package in the movie. The once-upon a time chocolate boy has evolved into a fine actor and it is very evident through his performance as the lovable Palunni in this movie. He shines in both comic and emotional scenes. His body language,expressions, dialogue delivery and everything else about his performance were exceptional. This movie would certainly open more doors to him to be cast in more such mature characters and not just mushy romantic hero roles. Indrajith is a riot as the flirt Ebimon. After slightly overdoing it in Happy Husbands earlier this year, he is back in his Pious (of Classmates) mode yet again under the sharp direction of Lal Jose. He is extremely natural and has great comic timing which makes his performance stand out. It is a delight to watch him in this movie. Vijayaraghavan - 'Jorayirunnu' (to quote his own words from the movie :P). The very underrated and under-utilized actor gives a fabulous performance as the comic-villain. Jagathy Sreekumar is top-notch as the shrewd politician. Suraaj Venjarammood for once didnt crack cringe-inducing jokes and was quite okay most of the time. Nedumudi Venu and KPAC Lalitha, are as usual, brilliant. The 3 sisters did their parts well. Janardhanan was good and Manikkuttan was decent. 

There are some scenes which deserve special mention for the way they've been written and performed. Indrajith's introduction scene, the scenes in Elsamma's house and most particularly, the scene where an emotionally charged Kunchacko Boban talks to Nedumudi Venu in the second half. The dialogues and Chackochan's performance in that particular scene are nothing short of brilliant. 

Vijay Ulaganath has captured the beautiful visuals of the lush green locales of Thodupuzha and surroundings with a monsoon feel. Lal Jose is very particular about getting great visuals and frames in all his movies and he ends up extracting some great work from his cinematographers in each film of his. It is no different in this movie as well. Vijay Ulaganath follows up his brilliant work from Neelathamara with an equally good work in this movie. Veteran background music composer Rajamani who has composed some killer theme tracks for movies like Commissioner, King, Narasimham, Ravanaprabhu, etc. returns as a music composer through this movie. All the tracks in the movie are enjoyable and suit the theme of the movie. The duet song is shot beautifully and the 'Kannadi Chirakulla' song is shot in an imaginative way with fun visuals, props and costumes. Gokuldas' art direction is brilliant, especially in the song sequences. He has been able to give the entire movie a completely real look where we cannot make out which is a set and which is an actual location. 

On the whole, Elsamma is a simple, lovable family movie which stands out due to its simplicity, light-hearted humor, beautiful visuals, good songs and brilliant performances. If the few melodramatic and cliched scenes from the second half were done away with, the movie would have been much better. But still, Lal Jose has converted an okay script by Sindhuraj with some lovable characters into a movie which is difficult not to like. It leaves you with a smile when exiting the movie hall. Not many movies are able to do that these days. 

Rating - 4/5