Go visit this City of God.

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Movie - City of God (Malayalam)

Director - Lijo Jose Pellissery

Producer - Anil Matthew

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Babu Janardhanan

Cast - Prithviraj, Indrajith, Rima Kallingal, Shwetha Menon, Rohini, Parvathy, Rajeev Govinda Pillai, Anil Murali, Jagadish and others.

Cinematography - Sujith Vasudev

Music & Background Score - Prashant Pillai

Editor - Manoj

Art Director - Salu K George

Soung - Renganaath Ravee

Stunts - Different Dany

Release Date - 23rd April 2011

Lijo Jose Pellissery made an impressive debut last year through the technically captivating Nayakan, starring Indrajith and people hoping for at least 'some' kind of a change in Malayalam Cinema, noticed a lot of promise in him. His second movie got a bigger budget and bigger stars, but he still stayed away from the mainstream Malayalam cinema cliche and made a film that showed his substance as a director and a good storyteller. Like this year's pathbreaking movie Traffic, this one also has multiple narrative which overlaps each other and goes back and forth through events unfolding in each narrative. The name of the Brazilian crime classic by Fernando Meirelles has been used for this movie, and I must say that they havent done much damage to name of the classic. And they might have kept it as a tribute to Brazilian Cinema, which has influenced the kind of storytelling adapted in this movie - especially the style of Alejandro Innaritu in his cult film Amores Perros where a road accident kicks off three different stories of different people meeting at the same point during an accident. (For those who havent seen Amores Perros, refer Aayitha Ezhuthu/Yuva which also adapted this screenplay technique)

The movie has three parallel storylines - A business tycoon (Rajeev Govinda Pillai) who wants to get back with his once girlfriend, filmstar Suryaprabha (Rima Kallingal) much to her displeasure and his friend Jyothilal (Prithviraj), a henchman who will do anything for his boss. A construction site worker Swarnavelu (Indrajith) and his world in a slum occupied by Tamil immigrants in Kochi and his love for Marathagam (Parvathi), a fellow worker. The third track features a shrewd widow Viji (Shwetha Menon) who would go to any lengths to avenge her husband's murder. The stories and characters cris-cross each other in Kochi, which is referred to as the City of God by the movie's title. 

Nayakan showed that Lijo Jose Pellissery had promise and that he'll deliver much better stuff if given a good screenplay. And Babu Janardhanan, who already gave us the very interesting non-linear screenplay of Thalappavu 3 years back, has done just that. Lijo has treated the engaging screenplay with precision and finesse making it into a completley riveting and gripping experience for most parts. There is not one scene where you lose interest in the movie. The characterizations are nothing like what we see in usual Malayalam films. Nobody in this movie is fully black or white. Each and every character has a fair share of grey to him/her. And one interesting thing is that the ladies are given as much or even more screen space and situations to perform than the lead actors, which is quite unusual. Lijo has dared to move away from the much-abused path of regular commercial cinema and has made a product that deserves an intelligent audience to appreciate. The cyclical narrative keeps the audience hooked on to the film and it is interesting how each narrative ties up to each other and culminate together in the climax. Out of the three, it is Prithviraj & Rima Kallingal's track which is the most interesting. Indrajith's Tamil track provides the entertainment quotient in the movie and Shwetha Menon's revenge plot, which is in a way related to Prithviraj's plot also works well. The constant shifting of perspectives in the narrative requires close attention to be fathomed correctly. The film presents Kochi as the city of dreams, the city of crime and the city of hope and maybe thats why the title - City of God. 

As for the performances, the ladies walk away with the top honours. Rima Kallingal is brilliant as the actress who is going through a turmoil in her personal life. This young actress shows a different side to her and proves that she has immense potential and can deliver amazing performances if challenged. Her dialogue delivery was criticized in some of the other reviews, but I felt it was just right for her character. She emotes naturally and gives a mature performance which would put many of those so-called top heroines in Malayalam to shame. Rima is matched in every way by Parvathy Menon, the VJ turned Filmfare award winning actress (Notebook, Flash, Poo) playing the Tamil girl Marathagam. She brings in a certain raw appeal which makes her vulnerable as well as aggressive at the same time. Watch out for her awesome chemistry with Indrajith. We need to see more of this actress in Malayalam. Shwetha Menon is also great as the scheming femme fatale out to get revenge for her husband's death. Rohini does away with all her poise and plays a slum-dweller with utmost conviction. But the scene at the bar where after she gets drunk, could have been better. 

Among the men, its Prithviraj who shines. The actor gives a kickass performance after a really long time in a role that fits him to the T. His dialogue delivery, looks and brooding personality makes a huge impact in his role of a henchman which he does with ease, without going overboard at any point. He goes on to prove that he is always good in roles with negative shades. And its appreciable that he took out time to act in an experimental movie like this during his busy schedule. Watch out for him in the stunt sequences and the scenes involving him and Rima Kallingal. And of course, there is Prithvi's elder brother Indrajith playing a Tamilian with as much authenticity as we can imagine. He is a delight to watch on screen. Though he reminds us of Surya in Pithamagan or Madhavan in Aayitha Ezhuthu at some instances, thats not a bad thing at all. Lijo has made sure that his first hero gets to shine in scenes tailor made for him, in their second movie together as well. Model-turned-actor Rajeev Govinda Pillai, making his debut as the business tycoon Sony Vadayattil, looks great and has a good screen presence. But when it comes to portraying villainy towards the end of the movie, his face turns wooden and cannot bring out the needed emotions, hence lessening the impact of those scenes.. Anil Murali was very good as a real estate-cum-quotation agent. This would perhaps be Jagadish's best performance in the past 10 or 12 years. He has underplayed so well compared to the overacting he has been doing in every single movie for the past 10 years. Kishore Sathya who played Mehboob, Rima's husband was excellent. And the other bald guy (a Sathyan Anthikkad regular, forgot his name) who plays Sony's partner Babychan was also very good. The rest of the supporting cast also did a great job, except for Nandu who went overboard in every single scene that featured him. 

One major irritating factor in the movie was the hand-held camerawork. Sujith Vasudev has taken some great shots which help a great deal in moving the story forward. But him and Lijo, along with fight choreographer Different Dany has shot some really irritating shots for the innovatively choreographed stunt sequences. The camera is never still and keeps moving here and there, zooming in and out and with lots of action happening within the shot. This gives almost 90% of the audience an eyesore. And it happens with every single action sequence in the movie and there are quite a lot of them. Even the innovatively conceived single-shot fight sequence featuring Prithviraj at a movie set doesnt make the required impact because of such irritating camerawork. But other than the fight sequences and few other instances, the cinematography works very well. Manoj's editing is perfect and he does not go for editing gimmicks unlike many of our famed editors who cut action films. The narrative flows seamlessly keeping you engaged throughout. Renganath Ravee's sound design was also excellent. 

And then we come to the next most interesting aspect of the movie - the music, by Prashant Pillai. The film has a great soundtrack which offers a wide variety of songs, that too in 3 different languages - Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil. While the haunting duet 'Nee Akaleyano' is the best among the lot, the lovely Tamil song 'Kaalangal' is beautiful as well. There's dappankoothu in the form of the racy 'Annan' and a melancholic Hindi song 'Betaabi'. The film shoot song 'Prayam' is also a good number. (Unfortunately, parts of the 2 Tamil songs were chopped off in the print I watched). The background score sets the right mood for the entire film, right from the titles to the end credits. (I loved the use of Kamal Haasan's 'Kaadhal Vandiduchu' in a certain comic portion involving Indrajith). 

On the whole, City of God is a gripping thriller told amusingly through a multiple narrative format, with great performances, great music and fab technical support. Lijo Jose Pellissery proves that he surely is a man of promise. Watch out for Rima Kallingal, Prithviraj, Indrajith & Parvathy. The film got released after a lot of financial issues and has not been marketed properly. So as lovers of good Malayalam Cinema, it is our duty to go watch such films in theaters, and encourage them, so that more makers dare to make such movies. Otherwise, we would just keep getting those mundane masala movies or multistarrers which make no sense, but still make a lot of money. 

Bottomline - A visit to this City of God is worth every penny spent. Go watch!! 

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. 

The Best Multistarrers in Malayalam

This month and the coming months will see the release of a slew of multistarrers in Malayalam - Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Sarathkumar, Kavya Madhavan & Kanihaa in Joshiy's Christian Brothers; Prithviraj, Arya, Prabhu Deva, Genelia, Amole Gupte, Vidya Balan & Tabu in Santosh Sivan's Urumi; Mohanlal, Dileep, Jayaram & Kavya Madhavan in Rafi-Mecartin's China Town; Prithviraj, Indrajith, Shwetha Menon, Parvathi & Rima Kallingal in Lijo Jose's City of God and many more in the pipeline. Malayalam Cinema has had much more multistarrers compared to any other industry in the country and most of our actors/stars are also very close friends and generally the industry is quite closely knit, with few exceptions of course. So here's looking at some of the best multistarrers we've had. I'm not touching upon movies before the 90s in the Sathyan-Naseer-Madhu era or the Jayan-Soman-Sukumaran era and not even the IV Sasi multistarrers. This is a list based on multistarrer films I've seen and enjoyed the most from 1990 onwards. :) 


Important - The ranking is not based on the quality of the movies. Its based more or less on how the dynamics between the stars have been utilized in the movie by the writers and directors. 

15. Thommanum Makkalum (2005)

Cast - Mammootty, Lal, Rajan P Dev, Salimkumar, Anand, Laya, Sindhu Menon

Director - Shafi

Writer - Benny P Nayarambalam

A cracker of a comedy from the super-successful Shafi - Benny P Nayarambalam team, this movie had the late Rajan P Dev playing a super-awesome father to the awesome Mammootty & Lal. A family of thiefs and the problems they get into formed the story of the movie. The chemistry between the three lead actors were crackling. Lal showed us a great new comic side of him and 'Smart Boys' became an epic dialogue. Mammootty was growing more and more comfortable in the comedy genre through such movies and he was a treat to watch. But the star of the show was Rajan P Dev who made Thomman immortal with his amazing act. Salimkumar provided comic relief, Anand was a good villain, Laya and Sindhu Menon played the female leads. The movie turned out to be a record breaking hit. 

14. Friends (1999)

Cast - Jayaram, Mukesh, Sreenivasan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Meena. Divya Unni

Writer, Director - Siddique

Siddique's second independent directorial venture had Jayaram & Sreenivasan working with him for the first time and had his favourite Mukesh in a very important role as well. And when another favourite Innocent backed out, one of the best comic characters in Malayalam, Lasar Elayappan came to life through Jagathy Sreekumar. Jayaram played the flirt effortlessly, Mukesh played the sorted, level headed guy who'd die for his friends and Sreenivasan, the funny guy who keeps getting into trouble. Add them to Jagathy's band of painters, and we get some hilarious sequences inside a palace under renovation. Even though Friends is nowhere near Siddique's best works, it was still an enjoyable watch because of the dynamics between the three leads. 

13. Thenkasippattanam (2000)

Cast - Suresh Gopi, Lal, Dileep, Samyuktha Varma, Geethu Mohandas, Kavya Madhavan, Spadikam George, Salimkumar

Writers/Directors - Rafi & Mecartin

A blockbuster, Thenkashippattanam showed us for the first time, the comic side of Suresh Gopi and Lal in a full length film. (Even though Suresh Gopi had done the super-awesome Minnal Prathapan way back in Manu Uncle). But it was Dileep who was the star of the show. Thenkashippattanam made him a darling of the family audiences. His fantastic comic timing and lovable act floored each and every one who saw this movie. Salimkumar joined in and provided much more fun. Lal's friend-turned-villain act was great as well. And Suresh Gopi was rock solid. The ladies Samyuktha, Geethu and Kavya also played their parts very well. This movie sky-rocketed Rafi-Mecartin into the big league of directors. 

12. Harikrishnans (1998)

Cast - Mohanlal, Mammootty, Juhi Chawla, Kunchacko Boban, Innocent, Rajiv Menon, Nedumudi Venu, Cochin Haneefa, Venu Nagavalli

Writers - Fazil, Madhu Muttom

Director - Fazil

Dont go by the photo, Shah Rukh Khan was not in the movie. This was just a photoshoot done before an actual shoot of another climax for the movie where SRK comes for Juhi Chawla, but the shoot for that never happened. Harikrishnans saw Mohanlal and Mammootty, Malayalam Cinema's two pillars reuniting as main leads of a film after 8 long years, under the direction of long time friend Fazil. Mohanlal produced the movie which went on to become a rom-com where the 2 heroes were busy chasing the gorgeous Juhi Chawla instead of solving the case they were appearing for. The movie pitted the two superstars against each other in many comic scenes and the audience had some good laughs over them fighting with each other for the funny girl. A one film old Kunchacko Boban also had an important role to play in the movie. The movie starts with the murder of Guptan, played by ace cinematographer-director Rajiv Menon. The movie went on to become a big hit even though people werent fully satisfied seeing Mammootty and Mohanlal running behind a girl for an entire movie. And the movie ran into a whole lot of controversies for having two different climaxes as well. 

11. Chotta Mumbai (2007)

Cast - Mohanlal, Indrajith, Siddique, Manikkuttan, Bijukkuttan, Kalabhavan Mani, Bhavana, Saikumar, Rajan P Dev, Jagathy Sreekumar, Bheeman Raghu

Writer - Benny P Nayarambalam

Director - Anwar Rasheed

Set in Fort Kochi, this was one helluva roller coaster ride. Probably the most zany comedy to have come out in recent times, this film had superstar Mohanlal having loads of fun by giving space to each other member of the cast as much as himself. He played Thala so adorably. Then there was Bijukkuttan in his only good role as the sidekick Suseelan. Even Manikkuttan was quite okay in this film. Indrajith looked awesome and had a great role too. Saikumar effortlessly transformed into Mohanlal's father Michael Aashaan despite being much younger than him. Benny P Nayarambalam always reserves his best roles to Rajan P Dev and Paambu Chackochan was nothing short of epic. But it was Siddique as Mullan Chandrappan who stole the thunder from everyone else. Playing a comic role after so many years, Siddique just had some great fun playing this hilarious character and its hard not to love him in that role. Bhavana was cast perfectly as Parakkum Latha and Kalabhavan Mani's villain act would send a chill down your spine, one of his best acts ever. And to add to the fun, there was Jagathy Sreekumar playing Padakkam Basheer as well. Anwar Rasheed's kickass directorial skills made this into one of the most watched movies in recent times. 

10. Summer In Betlehem

Cast - Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Manju Warrier, Kalabhavan Mani, Mayoori, Sangeetha, Janardhanan, Sukumari & Mohanlal

Writer - Ranjith

Director - Sibi Malayil

A beautiful rom-com, this one had Suresh Gopi, Jayaram and Manju Warrier playing lead roles with Mohanlal pitching in probably Malayalam Cinema's greatest guest appearance. A vacation at a farmhouse turns out to be much more than that with lots of comedy, romance and suspense unfolding through the plot. Jayaram and Kalabhavan Mani handled the humour department giving us some unforgettable comic sequences. Suresh Gopi played the silent lover with elan. Manju Warrier as the prankster with a sad secret was mindblowing. And then Mohanlal comes in those last ten minutes and just steals the show. He was just too good, for loss of better words!! Ranjith attempted a different genre and it worked fabulously along with Sibi Malayil's able direction. 

9. In Harihar Nagar (1990)

Cast - Mukesh, Jagadish, Siddique, Ashokan, Riza Bava, Geetha Vijayan, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Philomina, Paravoor Bharathan, Saikumar & Suresh Gopi

Writers/Directors - Siddique & Lal

A gem. A classic. One of those Malayalis would never get tired watching. It has insance humour weaved into a supremely thrilling plot. Siddique and Lal used to be such good writers back then and this was indeed one of their best works. The first half doesnt even give time for the audience to breather making them laugh every single split second with the antics of these 4 idiots - Mahadevan, Govindan Kutty, Thomas Kutty and Appukkuttan, played effortlessly by Mukesh, Siddique, Ashokan and Jagadish respectively. Jagadish's Appukkuttan was the epitome of dumbness and hilarity. The others were no less either. There was another story going parallel with theirs, which introduced a great villain John Honai through Riza Bava. Suresh Gopi had a great extended cameo along with Saikumar. Geetha Vijayan was very impressive in her debut. Philomina & Paravoor Bharathan were hilarious and Kaviyoor Ponnamma was very good too. Lal made two sequels to this movie. While the first one managed to capture some spirit of the original, the second sequel was pure torture, ruining these characters terribly and making Appukkuttan a Tintumon like figure. 

8. Keralavarma Pazhassiraja (2009)

Cast - Mammootty, Sarathkumar, Manoj K Jayan, Suresh Krishna, Suman, Kanihaa, Padmapriya, Jagathy Sreekumar, Thilakan

Writer - MT Vasudevan Nair

Director - Hariharan

An epic in all proportions, Keralavarma Pazhassiraja had a huge cast as well. Mammootty played the rebel king who started a revolt against the British, Sarathkumar played his ferocious lieutenant making his debut in Malayalam, Manoj K Jayan, a fearless tribal warrior, Suresh Krishna, a trusted accomplice to the king and even Padmapriya who played a fiery tribal warrior lady. Kanihaa played the beautiful queen and Suman was the treacherous landlord plotting against Pazhassi and his men along with the British. While Mammootty's character was more subtle and underplayed till the climax, it was Sarathkumar who shined throughout the movie ending in a brilliant fight sequence and a brave death scene. Manoj K Jayan was equally good as well. Padmapriya's act in this movie won her a special mention from the National Award jury. Sarathkumar's role was initially offered to Suresh Gopi, and it was only when Suresh Gopi declined the role, Sarath came into the picture. The rest as they say, is history, quite literally. Its not often that you get to see a movie of such epic proportions in Malayalam, with such a huge cast, MT Vasudevan Nair writing the script and Hariharan directing the film. 

7. Kalapani (1996)

Cast - Mohanlal, Prabhu, Amrish Puri, Tabu, Annu Kapoor, Delhi Ganesh, Sreenivasan, Vineeth, Alex Draper, Cochin Haneefa, Tinnu Anand, Nedumudi Venu, Shankaradi

Writers - Priyadarshan, T Damodaran

Director - Priyadarshan

Perhaps the best period movie to be made in Malayalam, Priyadarshan's Kalapani had a huge cast as well. Mohanlal led the cast with his effortless portrayal of Dr. Govardhan who's falsely accused of terrorist activity and sent to the Kalapani jails. He changed his look drastically and portrayed his part with such passion, making it unforgettable. Prabhu played the fiery rebel Mukund Iyengar spectacularly making it one of his most memorable roles ever. Tabu was lovely as Govardhan's lover waiting endlessly for him back home. She was sublimely beautiful in her first outing in Malayalam. Amrish Puri played the terror Mirza Khan so well that you hate him completely. Alex Draper was also brilliant as the British jailer. Annu Kapoor had a great role as Veer Savarkar. Others in the cast like Sreenivasan, Cochin Haneefa, Delhi Ganesh, Vineeth, Tinnu Anand and Nedumudi Venu were brilliant as well. Mohanlal produced this epic movie in association with Shogun films. 

6. Classmates (2006)

Cast - Prithviraj, Indrajith, Jayasurya, Naren, Vijeesh, Balachandra Menon, Kavya Madhavan, Radhika, Shoba Mohan, Anoop Chandran, Jagathy Sreekumar

Writer - James Albert

Director - Lal Jose

Lal Jose's contemporary classic must be one of the best movies to have used an ensemble cast in the most effective way. Told in flashbacks, this movie took us back to college campuses of the early 90s. Prithviraj, in his career best role, played the youth socialist leader Sukumaran with the exact intensity it required. Indrajith turned over a new leaf playing a wonderfully charming comic character Pious, who was also the hero's best friend. Jayasurya in a comic-turned-scheming villain role was excellent too. Naren as the talented soft-spoken singer who remains as a sorrow in his friends' hearts was adorable. Vijeesh played Jayasurya's sidekick to perfection. Kavya Madhavan in one of her best roles, was remarkable. Radhika rose to fame with her portrayal of Penguin Razia, the mysterious character in the movie. Balachandra Menon's professor was the pillar around which most of the story revolved. Jagathy Sreekumar as the hostel warden was hilarious. Lal Jose turned James Albert's brilliant script into one of the best movies to have come out in Malayalam. 

5. Manichitrathaazhu (1993)

Cast - Shobana, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Vinaya Prasad, Nedumudi Venu, Innocent, KPAC Lalitha, Sudheesh, Ganesh, Kuthiravattam Pappu & Thilakan

Writer - Madhu Muttom

Director - Fazil, 

with the help of Priyadarshan, Siddique-Lal & Sibi Malayil

The best Malayalam movie ever!! Period. This was a super-effective multistarrer as well. Mohanlal and Shobana were at their prime and Suresh Gopi was already on his way to becoming a superstar. The movie clearly belonged to Shobana, but Mohanlal also managed to make it as much into his movie as it was Shobana's, with his unforgettably portrayal of the slightly eccentric but brilliant psychiatrist Dr.Sunny. Shobana's Ganga/Nagavalli is perhaps the most iconic female character in modern day Malayalam Cinema. Suresh Gopi pitched in one of his career-best performances as Shobana's loving and affectionate husband. The rest of the cast were no less either - be it the patriarch Nedumudi Venu, the hilarious Innocent and KPAC Lalitha, the senior priest Thilakan, 'kindi' Sudheesh and the prime suspect Vinaya Prasad. It was magic unfolding on screen. :) :) 

4. Traffic (2011)

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

Writers - Bobby & Sanjay

Director - Rajesh R Pillai

The movie Malayalis cant stop raving about this year, also had one of the best ensemble casts ever. With no actual stars in the picture, the movie had a bunch of talented actors transforming completely into characters they were playing. Saikumar emerged as the best playing father to Vineeth Sreenivasan who loses his life in an accident. Kunchacko Boban proved that he has matured into a fantastic actor in his role with shades of grey. Anoop Menon was wonderful as the Commissioner who plans and executes the entire operation. Sreenivasan showed us yet again why we all love him so much. Asif Ali showed us that if used well, he could very well be the future of Malayalam Cinema. Rahman got his career best role as a Superstar who has no time for his family. Among the ladies, Lena surprised everyone with a mindblowing performance as the mother of a dying child. The rest of the ladies did a good job too. Jose Prakash pitched in a cameo and it is his words that inspires the entire plot of the movie. 

3. Dhruvam (1993)

Cast - Mammootty, Jayaram, Suresh Gopi, Vikram, Prabhakar, Gauthami, Janardhanan, Vijayaraghavan, Shammi Thilakan, TG Ravi, Rudra

Writers - SN Swamy, Sajan Babu

Director - Joshiy

A kickass movie in all respects. This was perhaps the biggest multistarrer of it times and if we look at the star value of its actors now, it looks much bigger now. Mammootty played Narasimha Mannadiyaar. He looked so bloody good in this movie and he was awesomeness personified in that role. Jayaram played his brother who gets murdered by Haider Maraykkar, played by Prabhakar. Suresh Gopi played Joseph Nariman, a pasteur turned cop and a young Vikram played Bhadran, Mammootty's trusted left hand. Jayaram was wonderful in his short role. Suresh Gopi was brilliant as the devoted cop. Vikram steps into Jayaram's shoes after his death and gives a brotherly support to Mammootty. Perhaps his best role in his entire Malayalam career during his struggling days. Tamil actor Prabhakar played the menacing Haider Maraykkar brilliantly. The beautiful Gauthami played Mammootty's lovely wife. Only Joshiy could have made this bloody brilliant movie. 

2. Twenty 20 (2008)

Cast - Mohanlal, Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Jayaram, Mukesh, Indrajith, Kalabhavan Mani, Siddique, Manoj K Jayan, Shammi Thilakan, Bhavana, Kavya Madhavan, Gopika, Madhu, Innocent, Jagathy Sreekumar, Lalu Alex, Salimkumar and almost the entire industry. 

Writers - Udayakrishna & Sibi K Thomas

Director - Joshiy

The mother of all multistarrers, this was a joint production by actor Dileep and the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists. The biggest blockbuster in the history of Malayalam Cinema had each and every actor (well, almost) joining hands to create a solid commerical entertainer. The writers managed to pull off the tough task of giving each superstar the right space tapping the best in each one of them. Mohanlal pwned the movie with his super cool role as Deva Raja Prathapa Varma. Mammoottty looked dapper and played the advocate Ramesh Nambiar with elan. Suresh Gopi breathed fire into his supercop Antony Punnekkadan's role making it the most interesting character among the stars. Dileep played Mohanlal's younger brother Karthik in a short role but charmed the audiences with his humour and wit. Jayaram didnt get a very substantial role, but he did his comic scenes with Mohanlal and Dileep really well. The ladies had nothing to do except for Bhavana who got a duet in some foreign country with Dileep. Nayanthara came in an item number along  with the young bunch including Prithviraj, Kunchacko Boban and Jayasurya. Indrajith, Manoj K Jayan, Shammi Thilakan and Siddique perfected their villain acts. The best parts of the movie where the scenes where the superstars were pitted against each other. The court scene where Mohanlal makes a fool out of Mammootty, the fight sequence between Mammootty and Mohanlal, the bitter cold war between Suresh Gopi & Mammootty and the comic scenes involving Dileep, Jayaram & Mohanlal. Again, none other than Joshiy could have directed this mammoth movie. 

1. Number 20 Madras Mail (1990)

Cast - Mohanlal, Mammootty, MG Soman, Jagadish, Manian Pillai Raju, Ashokan, Sumithra, Janardhanan, Sreeraman, Jayabharati, Innocent, Jagathy Sreekumar

Writer - Dennis Joseph

Director - Joshiy

It may not have a number of stars like Dhruvam or Twenty 20 did, but when it comes to sheer awesomeness, that too, using our two superstars, No. 20 Madras Mail ranks first. Again, directed by none other than the master of multistarrers, Joshiy, this movie had Mohanlal playing the legendary Tony Kurishinkal, a demi-God for all the alcoholics in the state and Mammootty playing himself. Now, isnt that awesome or what!! Mohanlal's acting in this movie as a cheap, but lovable drunkard was so extraordinary that even Mammootty sat there admiring his colleague. Mammootty got a rare opportunity to play himself in a full length thriller film. Not many superstars have had such an opportunity. And of course, he made full use of it as well. Manian Pillai Raju, Jagadish and Ashokan had very important roles and they were brilliant as well. Nobody can forget Hitchcock Kanjikkuzhi!! MG Soman was the perfect villain for this perfect thriller which spanned across a speeding express train, film studios in Chennai, the Kottayam town, a church in Kollam and again, back to the same express train. The chemistry between Mammootty and Mohanlal was brilliant and we could actually feel a brotherly bond between the two great actors in this film. A film one never gets tired watching, this is, according to me, the best multistarrer Malayalam Cinema ever produced. 

There might have been many others which I may have missed out on. But these movies came to my mind immediately when I thought of such a post. If you can remember more such movies after 1990, please suggest them so that I can expand the list. And in the meanwhile, lets wish all the best to the new multistarrer Christian Brothers, by the master of multistarrers Joshiy, releasing this weekend all over the country. 

Worst Movies of 2010 - Malayalam

This is an attempt to compile 10 of the worst movies of  2010, from among the ones I had to subject myself to. There have been umpteen number of terrible films which got released this year, but thankfully I managed to stay away from them. So these are the 10 which I felt were the worst among what I've seen. And this is my personal opinion and need not coincide with any one of yours. 

10. In Ghost House Inn

Director - Lal

Producers - Lal, PN Venugopal

Cast - Mukesh, Siddique, Jagadish, Ashokan, Nedumudi Venu, Radhika, Harisree Ashokan

Writer - Lal

Lal made 4 of Malayalam Cinema's favourite characters come back on screen in 2009 with 2 Harihar Nagar and even though it was nowhere close to the original, people enjoyed the antics of the 4 in their middle age. And seeing the success of that one, Lal decided to stretch it into another sequel, which turned out to be In Ghosthouse Inn. Advertised as a horror comedy, this movie killed the spirit of Mahadevan, Govindan Kutty, Appukkuttan and Thomas Kutty. It was full of lewd, lame jokes and absurd sequences and the character of Appukkuttan was made like he was the dumbest person on earth. Harisree Ashokan's toilet scene was a disgrace to anything and everything director Lal had made before this. The twist at the end was the only redeeming factor, but even that was expected considering Lal's fascination for unexpected twists. (Which apparently he continued creating in his next flick Tournament, which I havent seen yet). We hope that the foursome are left alone now in our memories of the 1990 classic - In Harihar Nagar. 

9. Pokkiri Raja

Director - Vysakh

Producer - Tomichan Mulakuppadam

Cast - Mammootty, Prithviraj, Shriya Saran, Siddique, Riaz Khan, Nedumudi Venu, Suraaj Venjarammoodu, Salimkumar

Writers - Udayakrishna & Sibi K Thomas

Pokkiri Raja was a Tamil movie disguised as a Malayalam movie. Following every formula that had been successful in Tamil Cinema in the 80s and early 90s, this film starred the superstar Mammootty with the next generation star Prithviraj for the first time together in a full length feature. The first half of the movie was entirely reserved for Prithviraj to shine and the second half for Mammootty, but Prithviraj played a glorified action hero while Mammootty's character looked like it was created for comic relief with some bad jokes involving bad English and some punch dialogues that even T Rajendar would feel ashamed of delivering. And to top it all, there was a comedy track involving Suraaj Venjarammoodu and Salimkumar which made me cry more than laugh. Except for one scene where Mammootty and Prithviraj tease their real selfs, this movie was a bloody pain to watch. But despite all this, the movie turned out to be Malayalam Cinema's biggest hit in 2010. Such an embarrassment for an industry that was known to produce only quality cinema. Tamilians would be having the last laugh. We used to call them and their cinema 'pandi padams' but now we make more 'pandi padams' than they have ever made. 

8. Alexander The Great

Director - Murali Nagavally

Producer - VBK Menon

Cast - Mohanlal, Bala, Sudha Chandran, Ganesh, Jagadish, Sayikumar

Writer - C Balachandran

A bad copy of the Oscar winning Rain Man, this movie was in the making for a long long time and finally when it got released, even Mohanlal fans had lost interest in it. A film with a caption saying 'He is humorously intelligent' is definitely not attractive. Usually, Mohanlal gives good performances even in bad films. But in this movie, even his performance was pathetic (compared to what he is capable of). And to add more damage, there was Jagadish repeating his Appukkuttan act, and a whole lot of ridiculous scenes and dialogues. And an end which suggests that Mohanlal's character was not autistic at all. Wah Wah!! The audience outrightly rejected this film and it became one of the biggest flops of the year.

The 7th position had a tie, because the two films were equally bad despite having some potential in them to be good movies. 

7. Apoorvaragam

Director - Sibi Malayil

Producer - Siyad Koker

Cast - Nishan, Asif Ali, Nithya Menen, Vinay, Santosh Jogi, Shruti Menon

Writers - GS Anand, Najeem Koya

Apoorvaragam was the classic case of an interesting plot going horribly wrong. Everything from the direction, acting, music and screenplay went haywire, despite having an interesting story to tell. It also tries very hard to be a 'youth' film despite being told from the perspective of a middle-aged filmmaker. Nishan couldnt handle his complex character and made a mess out of the role. Asif Ali and Nithya Menen were mostly in control, but even they went overboard in many scenes. The fourth guy, Vinay was also a major disappointment. And the man who played Nithya's father was the most entertaining thing in the movie with his horrible acting. Vidyasagar's music was also very bad. The only redeeming factor was Ajayan Vincent's great cinematography.  

(Click here for review)

7. The Thriller

Director - B Unnikrishnan

Producer - Sabu Cherian

Cast - Prithviraj, Sampath, Siddique, Lalu Alex, Kathrine, Riaz Khan

Writer - B Unnikrishnan

B Unnikrishnan had already made a bad movie in 2010 called Pramani, which was a rehash of his own Madambi, with Mammootty in it instead of Mohanlal. And 'The Thriller' was again another version of the umpteen number of Suresh Gopi cop flicks, with Prithviraj in it instead of Suresh Gopi. A film which calls itself a thriller should at least be able to cause some sort of thrills in the audience, but this movie was way too bad to do that. A take on the Paul Muthoot murder, this movie had Prithviraj trying very hard to be Suresh Gopi. It had a bad item song, an ugly heroine and a villain whom you can spot during his introduction scene itself (even though its supposed to be a suspense). A terrible experience.

(Click here for review)

6. Karyasthan

Director - Thomson

Producer - Anto Joseph

Cast - Suraaj Venjarammoodu, Dileep, Akhila, Madhu and a host of other actors.

Writers - Udayakrishna & Sibi K Thomas

Karyasthan was again supposed to be a mass masala entertainer written by Udayakrishna & Sibi K Thomas, again a 90s Tamil movie disguised as a Malayalam film. Suraaj Venjarammoodu (with the screen name Vadivelu) had more prominence than the film's hero Dileep, who incidentally completed 100 films with this one. He deserved a much better film for that feat. Crude, unfunny jokes, done to death storyline and some unwanted action and songs. The cast was huge when there was absolutely no necessity, out of which only Madhu left a mark, mostly because the respect he has among the audience. Dileep didnt get to do anything other than beating up goons or dancing uncomfortably in ridiculous songs (with an exception of a great song like Malayalippenne). The success of Karyasthan showed the terrible deterioration of an average Malayali's taste in comedy. 

(Click here for review) 

5. Best of Luck 

Director - MA Nishad

Cast - Kailash, Asif Ali, Rima Kallingal, Archana Kavi, Urvashi, Prabhu, Suraaj, Jagathy, Bheeman Raghu & Mammootty

Writers - MA Nishad, Vinu Kiriyath

Calling this film bad, would be an understatement. The entire cast came up with horrifying performances, except for Asif Ali and Bheeman Raghu who were mildly funny. It was a shame to see such talented artists like Urvashi and Prabhu doing such atrocious stuff on screen. And yea, there was Suraaj Venjarammoodu and his own set of lewd jokes too. A very bad rip off of the Hindi blockbuster All The Best, this film had Mammootty making an extended special appearance and even that didnt help the movie in any way. A big flop from day one. 

(Click here for review)

4. Kandahar

Director - Major Ravi

Producers - Mohanlal, Sunil Nair

Cast - Mohanlal, Amitabh Bachchan, Ganesh Venkatraman, Major Ravi, KPAC Lalitha

Writer - Major Ravi

Kandahar was a massive, massive disappointment. The movie, which was hyped as a take on the Kandahar hijack, and brought together Mohanlal and Amitabh Bachchan in Malayalam Cinema for the first time, was anything but a commando movie. Director Major Ravi lost the plot and told the story of a wayward youth Ganesh Venkatraman and the entire hijack sequence (which was shot in an extremely funny way) lasted only about 15 minutes. Mohanlal didnt even have a substantial role to play and Amitabh Bachchan's role could have been played by any of those stock character actors we have in Malayalam. The only good things about the movie were the performances by KPAC Lalitha and Anil Murali in the little screen time they got. Major Ravi tried to give a patriotic movie which had lame jokes, item dances and silly commando operations. The audiences are not dumb, major!!

(Click here for review)

3. Vande Mataram

Director - T Aravind

Producer - Henry

Cast - Mammootty, Arjun, Sneha, Nasser, Jagadish

Writer - Henry

Another patriotic movie which had more than 2 item numbers, Vande Mataram was a non-starter from the day it released. It had this absurd plot of a criminal being convinced that some 25 years had passed since he was arrested, when actually it had just been a few days. The film's producer Henry, who was also the writer came up in arms against the film's hero Mammootty creating a controversy when he said Mammootty didnt perform the stunts he was supposed to do. But the controversy died down soon. But yea, it was very weird seeing Arjun doing all the stunts in air, and Mammootty beating up the people who fall down from the air. A terrible movie in all respects, this movie also had a simultaneous release in Tamil which nobody saw. 

2. Drona 2010

Director - Shaji Kailas

Producer - M Mani

Cast - Mammootty, Manoj K Jayan, Kaniha, Navya Nair, Thilakan, Dhanya Mary Varghese, Suraaj Venjarammoodu, Bala, Devan, Lakshmi Sharma

Writer - AK Sajan

Drona 2010 was the heights of absurdity. I havent found a single person who understood what happened in this entire movie. Mammootty in a pointless double role, Manoj K Jayan as an effeminate villain (he was the villain right?) and all were totally crazy. AK Sajan made the audience furious with his illogical writing and Shaji Kailas topped it up with his fascination for weird camera angles, shots and edits. Mammootty's introduction is a zoom out from his mouth when he is eating chicken. Eww!! Why do people do this to the great actor that he is!! And they added 2010 to the name of the movie because they heard that all films in all languages named Drona became flops. Ha Ha!! And did that 2010 stop it from being one of the biggest flops of 2010? NO!!

1. Thanthonni

Director - George Varghese

Producer - Shahul Hameed Marikar

Cast - Prithviraj, Sheela Kaul, Suresh Krishna, Saikumar, Aditya, Suraaj Venjarammoodu & many others without even a single dialogue

Writer - TA Shahid

Epic fail of the year 2010, Thanthonni was a bloody pain to sit through. I was pulling my hair out in frustration initially, but as the movie progressed me and my friends had a good time laughing at the movie and the silliness of it all. Prithviraj so desperately trying to be Mohanlal, Mammootty, Vijay and Rajnikanth all at once, was sad as well as funny at the same time. And so much money was wasted for nothing. The climax had so many different luxury cars and they werent even shot well by the cinematographer. The film looked like it was not directed at all and TA Shahid happily continued writing his favourite story of 'avihitha bandham' and 'jaara santhathi'. And if all this was not enough, there was Suraaj Venjarammoodu also. Prithviraj kept repeating throughout the movie that he was a Thanthonni, as if the audience didnt know that already! And then there was this hilarious scene where Sudheesh says that he will go to jail instead of his boss Prithviraj, which got the maximum response from the audience in the form of hysterical laughter and constant boos. This was an experience I would like to forget.

(Click here for review)

There were apparently many more epic bad movies which got released in 2010, like Black Stallion, Theen Char Sau Bees, Oru Small Family, Senior Mandrake, Valiyangadi, Ringtone, Nallavan, Yakshiyum Njaanum, Nirakkazhcha, Four Friends, Holidays, Kanyakumari Express, Again Kasarkod Kadarbhai and Tournament, and I didnt have the bad fortune to see any of these. Movies like Pramani and Anwar missed being on this list by a whisker since there were even more terrible films than them. And let me tell you all again that this list is not for any kind of controversy and strictly my opinion on these films alone, and not the actors or any of the crew members, except for some of the directors who think they can take the audience for granted.