Malayalam Movie Review: Gulumal-The Escape

Keralites think that even a 20-year old Malayalam film can inspire filmmakers to copy or remake it in other languages. But these days, every other Malayalam film seems to be a mishmash of stories sourced from other languages.

Until now, we have not seen films that are copied entirely from a single source, without any tweaking of the original story. Director V K Prakash may get the distinction of being the first to do so in recent times. His latest venture Gulumal-The Escape, scripted by Rajesh Y V, is a remake of the Hindi film Bluffmaster .

The story is about a youth Jerry (Jayasurya), who makes a living by swindling money. One day, another youngster Ravi (Kunchako Boban), who is in dire need of money, seeks Jerry's tutelage and becomes his partner. From here on, it becomes a game for them to cheat people and outsmart the other in their pursuits.

The narrative in the first half does not give the viewer a chance to ruminate about the proceedings on the screen. It may be because of the jokes cracked by the leading men or gags performed by the omnipresent Suraj Venjaramood and Bijukuttan, who play a team of cops connected to the anti-terrorist wing. But the fun wears the audience down by the beginning of the second half.

The easygoing story turns heavy when the duo gets a chance to cheat a rich NRI Aamir (Devan) by selling him a fake Raja Ravi Varma painting for millions of rupees.

Director V K Prakash uses his skills honed in the advertising field to make this film visually rich. But the hackneyed content lets him down.

The cake in the histrionics department is shared equally by Jayasurya and Kunchako Boban. In the last few films, Jayasurya has been taking up characters with negative traits, so it feels repetitive. Otherwise, his performance is decent.

Kunchako Boban tries to look younger by sporting a stubble and succeeds, to an extent. The performance of Suraj Venjaramood (it seems he is not bored of spoofing Mammootty, which has become his trademark) and Bijukuttan in a supposedly separate comedy track works well in the beginning but crumbles after a while.

This comic caper would have been an ideal escape as mentioned in the tagline of title but the lazy approach by the makers makes it fall short of expectations.

Source: Rediff Movies

Malayalam Movie: Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha - Movie Review

Very rarely does a film satisfy our expectations. But director Ranjith's latest Malayalam film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha does.

The film is near perfect with minor ignorable blemishes. It is based on T P Rajeevan's novel of the same name. It tells the story of a private detective, who returns to his birthplace to solve a murder mystery that occurred on the same night he was born.

Dectective Haridas (Mammootty) takes up a case just to satisfy his curiosity, not to find or punish the culprit, as all the suspects in the case are dead. His purpose, which seems vague in the beginning, achieves clarity only halfway through the story.

He brings along a criminologist Sarayu (Gowri Munjal ) to assist him, and they have an extra-marital affair. So even his motive is suspect in the beginning; it seems as if he is only interested in having a good time with his mistress in the verdant locales of Paleri. But he peals the mystery layer by layer, fighting roadblocks at every turn.

A plethora of characters make their entries and exits without giving the viewer any inkling as to where the story is headed. But every loose end is perfectly tied up in the end.

Even if the story does not incite you, the bewitching visuals will -- the faded look of the flashbacks and bright greenery of the present. Cinematographer Manoj Pillai proves that he is one of best young talents of the country.

Mammootty's performance in multiple getups may seem to be ego massaging for the star. But by the climax, we understand that it's an absolute necessity.

Among the other cast, Sreenivasan -- in a small role -- leaves a strong impact on the minds of the viewers. Siddique is his usual self, who does not have anything to experiment with.

Shweta Menon is oomphy while newcomer Mythili does not have enough screen time but she leaves an impression.

On the whole, Ranjith's take on the first recorded case of sexual harassment in the state is rich visually as well as in content.

Source: Rediff Movies

Malayalam Movie :Neelathamara : Review

That Nostalgia is the surest way to win the audience's heart is a fact well understood by director Lal Jose.

Now combine that fact with the promise that this is a step towards the imminent revival of Malayalam cinema with the pumping of fresh blood into its veins. The director had used this formula successfully a couple of years back with classmates telling the story of campus life of the early nineties.

Now, he has gotten more ambitious by remaking a three decades old film Neelathamara scripted by Jnanpith award winner M T Vasudevan Nair. He almost succeeds.

Neelathamara tells the story of a teenaged housemaid Kunjimalu (Archana) who is besotted by the young progeny of her employers. It all starts with a flash back when Kunjimalu returns to the house of her former employer to enquire about the wellbeing of her former mistress Maalukuttiamma (Sreedevi Unni), an octogenarian who had short trip to the hospital. Here she meets Ratnam, the wife of her former lover Haridas (Kailash), and they start talking about their past.

Now they both are well settled. Kunjimalu has two daughters -- one a doctor and the other a teacher. Ratnam remarried after her first husband died of a brain tumour so there is no bitterness or animosity between them. Then the story leaps goes thirty years back -- this is where the actual tale begins. Kunjimalu takes a job in Maalukuttiamma's home as domestic help. Maalukuttiamma, a widow, is staying alone in her big ancestral home. Her son Haridas is a student of law in the nearby town, and visits her mother only occasionally.

The significance of the title is that that a blue lotus will bloom in the temple pond of the village if the deity in the temple is pleased by someone's prayer. The flower means that the prayer is granted.

Haridas returns home after the final exams and a game of seduction of sorts begins between him and Kunjimalu. Ultimately she falls for his charms and relents. She had prayed for his love and was blessed with a flower. Next she prayed for his success in exams and career; again she is blessed with a flower. He passes with distinction and gets a good job in the city. Then there is talk of his marriage to his cousin Ratnam (Samvrutha). It does not take Kunjimalu long to realise that she has been cheated as he avoids her.

The performance of newcomers Archana and Kailash comes very close to be called enchanting. Archana shows the class of a veteran displaying requisite vulnerability spontaneously. Her expressions and body language convey more than her dialogues. We just hope that this is just the beginning of a long innings. Kailash displays the haughtiness of the male of yesteryears who believes that he is a superior being. He may initially miss being a chocolate boy hero. But, he will surely come on his own as time goes by. Rima's role as Ammini -- Kunjimalu's sounding board -- is insignificant and not well chiselled as one would expect. Or was it truncated on the editor's table?

All in all, Neelathamara, is lush film without a solid core.

Source: Rediff Movies

Pazhassi Raja - Movie Review

We have seen many historical movies accurately portraying historical events or biographies of famous personalities. Troy, The Passion of Christ, Alexander, Gladiator, 300, Gandhi, Titanic, Pearl Harbour and Ambedkar were all attempts to show history available to professional historians on celluloid. Veteran director Hariharan's Pazhassi Raja, starring Mammootty in the lead, is one such attempt, depicting the history of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, a king in the 18th century.
Making a historical film is not something everyone can do! However, after Oru Vadakkan Veera Gadha, director Hariharan and writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair have proved their brilliance once again and their Pazhassi Raja is truly a masterpiece containing the manner, matter and mood of a monumental epic in the finest sense of the word.
The film begins during the time when the British had decided to levy heavy taxes on various kingdoms. Pazhassi Raja (Mammootty), who belonged to the Kottayam Royal family in Thalassery of Malabar region in Kerala, opposed these taxes. After being forced to flee with his queen Kaitheri Makkom (Kanihaa), lieutenant Edachena Kunkan (Sarathkumar) and Kaitheri Ambu (Suresh Krishna) to the forests, Pazhassi Raja started guerrilla warfare against the British from the Wayanad forests. He had the support of tribal warriors like Thalackal Chanthu (Manoj K. Jayan) and Neeli (Padmapriya).
After some initial successes, Pazhassi's army soon started facing setbacks as they found the going tough against the guns and modern machinery of the English soldiers. The brave Raja and his faithful gang of warriors were defeated by the army led by the young British sub-collector Thomas Baber, who were assisted by some traitors like Pazhayamveedan Chanthu (Suman).
Mammootty does not portray a larger-than-life character but handles the character soberly, with finesse and perfection. It is amazing to see Mammootty, who is in his mid-fifties, playing the main role and looking just like the warrior prince of our imagination, as if coming straight out of a painting in almost every scene. More than Mammootty, it is Tamil actor Sarathkumar who grabs the whole attention of the show. He is truly apt for the role of an army commander Edachena Kungan, his physique and histrionic skills show him merging with his role. The guerrilla war scenes involving Neeli (Padmapriya) and Thalakkal Chanthu (Manoj K. Jayan) are splendidly executed.
M.T. Vasudevan Nair's script has lots of cinematic moments; critics might carp that the film has taken some cinematic liberties. In fact, it does but on the whole, it is engaging and entertaining. The technical aspects like Ramanath Shetty's cinematography, Ravi Dewan's action, Resul Pookkutty's sound and Sreekar Prasad's editing have also succeeded in taking it to a different level. All in all, Pazhassi Raja, a classic in Malayalam cinema made at a gigantic budget by Gokulam Gopalan, is truly worth watching on the large screen.

Source: Galatta.com