Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal Reviews from Rediff!

Everything goes wrong in the first 30 minutes of Malayalam film Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal, and the people involved in it try their best to salvage the situation. Finally, everything gets untangled in the last 15 minutes and the audience goes home happy. There are a few guffaws, a couple of heartaches and one or two action sequences punctuating the narrative. This description is suffice to summarise Lal Jose's Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal, with his actor friend Dileep in the lead. Aby (Dileep), a hotshot ad-maker, decides to finally get married. He has a painful history, where the girl he had loved left him just days before their wedding.

After getting intoxicated in his own bachelor’s party, Aby decides to invite his old flame Sini (Rima Kallingal). When he reaches there, she is alone and both boast about their respective life partners. Sini is married to a boxer called Tyson Alex (Murali Gopy) and Aby is engaged to one of his models Ann (Parvathy Nambiar).

Their meeting results in complications that compel them to meet again and again. How they do it dodging their partners and their large circle of common friends before the hell breaks loose, is what the film is all about.So, this is the story of seven beautiful nights from the day of the bachelor’s party to the day of the wedding, penned by James Albert (who had first scripted Classmates for the director). The narrative goes back and forth every now and then.

Tyson Alex is presented as an uncouth person, who seriously is a threat to Sini as she tells Aby once that their relationship exists only because they have a child. The rest of the ensemble cast that includes Harisree Asokan, Tini Tom, Vijayraghavan, Sreejith Ravi and others provide comic relief at a sporadic interval. Parvathy Nambiar, who makes her debut in this film, has an angelic smile that makes up for any deficiencies in her performance.

Rima Kallingal, who has to look distressed in her post marriage scenes, is good as nothing much is demanded of her. Dileep has to have two distinct looks as a young photographer (which he does with a wig of shoulder length hair and stubble) and his age today as a matured ad-maker. Wishing for any other distinction in his character would be asking for too much. Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal may have been an attempt to look at the fickleness of relationships in today’s times in a humourous way but it does not have the desired effect.

Rating:**

http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-ezhu-sundara-rathrikal-falls-flat/20131223.htm

Drishyam Review by Rediff!

Mohanlal steals the show in Drishyam says Paresh C Palicha Mohanlal was endearing in roles where he played the common man. But, as his stature grew, we saw less of the kind of roles that had brought him stardom.

As a big star, he played those ‘larger than life’ roles that had the fans clapping and whistling at the superhuman feats of their idol.

The subtlety that was the hallmark of his earlier films became increasingly rare and the sly sense of humour gave way to a louder variety.

In his new film Drishyam, director Jeethu Joseph focuses on the endearing persona of the actor by casting him as Georgekutty, an orphan who had dropped out of school after the fourth grade.

He has come up in life by tilling his land. Now he is businessman running a cable TV service in a rural area. He is married to Rani (Meena) and they have two beautiful daughters.

Georgekutty is stingy and does not like to spend money on anything beyond the basic necessities. His only interest in life apart from his family is watching films. He spends most of his time in front of the TV in his small office.

He is so obsessed with movies that he takes every major decision in life by subconsciously taking an example from some film he has seen.

These details are revealed in a humorous manner in the first half of the film. There’s an obvious twist just before the interval. Georgekutty’s teenaged daughter gets photographed in the bathroom at a nature camp by a hidden cell phone.

The culprit Varun (Roshan Basheer) is the son of an inspector general of police, Geetha Prabhakar (Asha Sarath). Varun is accidentally killed by Rani and her daughter when he comes to blackmail them. It is up to Georgekutty to protect his family from the long arm of the law.

Jeethu Joseph makes this into an ‘edge of the seat’ thriller in the second half by making Georgekutty stay two steps ahead of the investigators.

Georgekutty prepares his family to face the torturous interrogations. He also makes sure that his family does not psychologically break up in the face of coercive police tactics.

Mohanlal is spellbinding in this film. That is too simple a statement to describe the magic he has created on screen.

He plays a semi-literate man who is nevertheless intelligent. He is conversant in many languages, a skill that he acquired watching all those films on TV.

He was mischievous as a teenager, and when he flirts with his wife, but is incredibly mature when dealing with dire circumstances.

Meena as his wife Rani is a middle-class woman who aspires for a better lifestyle and social standing. She holds her own opposite Mohanlal and is one of the highlights of the film.

Kalabhavan Shajon who usually plays the comic sidekick of the hero, has made a successful transition to a villain in this project. He plays a corrupt police constable who has some animosity against Georgekutty. Drishyam can be credited for bringing Mohanlal back to form and pushing director Jeethu Joseph into the big league as he has made a cracker of a thriller.

Rating:***1/2
http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-drishyam-is-mohanlals-film/20131220.htm

Escape from Uganda review from Rediff!

Malayalam film Escape from Uganda is a film that tries to thrill but fails to do so, writes Paresh C Palicha.

Sometimes title of a film is enough to tell you what it is about and your interest in watching that film is merely to know the approach of the director in tackling the subject.

Escape from Uganda is one such venture by director Rajesh Nair with Rima Kallingal and Vijay Babu in the lead. The story is said to be inspired by real incidents, but we can see influences from Indian and foreign films especially from the genre called prison movies.

Shikha Samuel (Rima Killingal) and Jayakrishnan (Vijay Babu) have eloped and made Uganda their home with the help of Advocate Firoz (Mukesh), who is practising law there. The couple is leading a happy life with a girl child of their own. Jayakrishnan is employed as a manager in a coffee shop and Shikha runs a designer boutique of her own. The tranquillity of their life is shattered when Shikha is arrested on the charges of committing two murders, one of the victim is the daughter of the local Mayor, who has pledged to keep her in jail for the rest of her life.

The situation is grim and the atrocities against our lady in jail increase. To add to this, Firoz is shot dead in his office, making Jayakrishnan sure that it will be impossible for him to free his wife by the book, so he calls Antony (Parthiban), who had offered to help him for money claiming that he was the only one who had successfully escaped from that high security prison.

The major part of the second half is devoted to the planning of the escape with characters moving from one place to next as if taking us on a guided tour of the African country. All this compels us to wonder how Antony, who has supposedly broken free from a jail, is moving around without a worry in the world. This is just one of the many questions that occupy our minds much after the movie is over and we are back in the comfort of our homes.

There are a few twists in the tale with the good guys and the bad guys turning tables on each other a couple of times before heading towards a very predictable end.

22 Female Kottayam as far as suffering in the jail is concerned. Thankfully the similarity ends there, here the lanky lady has to indulge in physical action like kicking and boxing policemen double her size. And, as if this was not enough, she is made to sprint with her leading man at a speed that would put Usain Bolt to shame!

Vijay Babu has to be consistent in keeping his face sombre throughout, except for the time he is shown taking care of his daughter virtually as a single parent.

Parthiban has to double up as the action man and the comedian, which he tries to do uttering the lines that would make the front benchers happy.

Escape from Uganda is a film that tries to thrill but fails to do so as desired.

Rating:**

http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-escape-from-uganda-is-not-up-to-the-mark-south/20131202.htm

Bicycle Thieves reviews from Rediff!

Paresh C Palicha says debutante director Jimson Joy tries to combine an old-style narrative with so-called ‘new gen’ cinema in Bicycle Thieves, but fails to get it right.

Two steps forward one step backward is what you feel after watchingBicycle Thieves directed by newcomer Jis Joy.

It begins with an orphaned child Chacko narrating his Dickensian life story of debt-ridden parents committing suicide and being raised by his evil uncle and aunt, who treat him worse than a servant.

One night, after watching the 1990 film Kalikkalam, Chacko runs away with his cousin’s new cycle and joins the gang of Bose Prakash (Salim Kumar).

The gang specialises in robbing cycles. There are two other kids with him, Ramesh and Rahim.

The grown up versions of the kids are played by Asif Ali (Chacko), Saiju Kurup (Ramesh) and Bineesh Kodiyeri (Rahim). They become more ambitious and plan to loot a rich businessman on the highway.

After the theft, Ramesh runs away with the bounty. The others accuse Chacko of being an accomplice of Ramesh. The gang splits due to this misunderstanding.

From here on it becomes Chacko’s story; the other three just vanish into thin air.

Chacko continues his thieving activities. Enter Meera (Aparna Gopinath), who eventually becomes his love interest.

Kashi (Vijay Babu), an alcoholic criminal lawyer employs Chacko as part-time chauffeur. KPAC Lalitha plays the owner of the house where Meera is a paying guest, and is the mother figure. We wonder where all this is headed as there is no connection between the initial build up and where the proceedings stand at the end of the first half. By the end of the film, your head is reeling connecting all the plot points.

Asif Ali does his best as the melancholic orphan who opens up when he finds love in people around him. But he needed a stronger storyline to make his efforts pay.

Another actor we feel sorry for is Vijay Babu, who gets out of his comfort zone to play a loud mouthed lawyer.

The rest of the cast, including seasoned campaigners KPAC Lalitha and Siddique, look clueless in a film that seems to have gone haywire from the first scene itself.

The director tries to combine an old-style narrative with so-called ‘new gen’ cinema, and falls somewhere in between. The film is neither here nor there.

Rating:**

http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-bicycle-thieves-fails-to-impress-south/20131203.htm

VediVazhupaddu Review From Rediff!

Paresh C Palicha says that Vedivazhipadu tries too hard to ‘new gen’ formula and fails miserably.

Young and upcoming directors in Malayalam use ‘shock and awe’ tactics to get the audience’s attention. They also believe in creating controversy if the content is weak.

Young director Shambhu Purushothaman does both, intentionally or unintentionally, in his first film Vedivazhipadu, a word that means something really gross. The censor board refused to issue it a certificate the first time round, which helped create the controversy.

The film follows the ‘a day in the lives of’ format and that day happens to be Attukal Pongala, the world famous ladies-only festival.

After establishing the festive atmosphere of the capital city in documentary style camera work by Shehnad Jalal, the focus shifts to the plot.

Three friends, Sanjay (Saiju Kurup), Pradeep (Sreejith Ravi) and Rahul (Murali Gopy), have made secret plans for the day when their wives will be away attending the festival.

Sanjay, who is a cashier in a bank, is married to Rashmi (Anusree), a bold and outgoing TV journalist who is a star in her own right. She has been covering the Pongala live for her channel. It does not take us long to guess who is the boss here.

Pradeep is an investor in stocks and does his business with the help of stockbroker Joseph (Indrajith). Pradeep is married to Vidya (Mythili), a French teacher. They are mismatched, as he looks rustic and she is sophisticated.

Rahul is a geeky video games tester working from home. He is married to Radhika (Anjana), a docile housewife.

On the said day, the friends gather in Rahul’s apartment. They have booze and a woman (Anumol) and plans to enjoy themselves.

The film swings from being a crude sex comedy (with many dialogues beeped) to being a philosophical exploration of the man-woman relationship, and ends up being nothing.

A couple of subplots--like the one where Rashmi handles sexual advances by her foreign-returned boss--try to make a point. Likewise, the conversation between Vidya and Joseph about long distance relationships and being physically faithful in such a relationship, tries to add some depth to the proceedings.

The ensemble cast is not utilised to its full capacity as every male actor except Indrajith seems to act in a uniformly loud manner in an effort to be funny. If you are interested in knowing who is the loudest of them all, Saiju Kurup will win hands down. The women fare a little better.

Vedivazhipadu makes an effort to add sparkle to the so-called ‘new gen’ formula, but ends up being a damp squib.

Rating:*1/2

http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-vedivazhipadu-is-a-damp-squib-south/20131213.htm

Thira Review from Rediff!

Malayalam film Thira fails to live up to Shibhana's standard, says Paresh C Palicha.

Shobana is both an actor and a star. She can pull crowds to the theatre, give depth to the characters she plays and make viewers root for her. 

Director Vineeth Sreenivasan tries to cash in on this quality of hers in Thira. 

She plays Rohini Pranab, a reputed cardiologist who also runs a shelter for young women she has rescued from trafficking rackets. 

Her journalist husband, Pranab (Ray) has died in police custody a fortnight ago under suspicious circumstances. He had been charged with paedophilia. 

It’s up to Rohini to clear his name and crack the conspiracy behind the killing. To make matters more interesting, she has the company of Naveen (Dhyaan Sreenivasan) whose sister is kidnapped in front of his eyes. 

The screenplay by Rakesh Mantodi takes a heavy subject like human trafficking and the conspiracies behind it involving the high and mighty. 

But it fails to involve the viewer and make him/her feel strongly about the subject, and banks heavily on Shobhana’s charisma. 

Shobana as the self-confident Rohini holds our attention. Dhyaan Sreenivasan is a foil for Rohini. He is a vulnerable boy, afflicted with asthma, but has the additional responsibility of doing the action 
sequences that the sari-clad Rohini cannot do. 

There are a few supporting characters but they don't get much attention in the story. The villain of the film does not have a human face as it is the system that the heroine is fighting against. 

Thira was marketed as Shobana’s comeback film. She has a central role, but the film fails to do adequate justice to a performer of her calibre.

Rediff Rating: **1/2

http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-watch-thira-for-shobana-south/20131115.htm

Geethanjali Review from Paresh C Palicha

Geethanjali is a lacklustre effort, writes Paresh C Palicha

The character of Dr Sunny Joseph from Manichitrathazhu is still remembered by Kerala audiences. Now, veteran director Priyadarshan has refurbished the character after nearly two decades in his new film Geethanjali.

Geethanjali is a psycho-horror thriller that has copied from many sources including the recent Kannada film Charulata that was inspired by a Korean film. .

Debutant Keerthy Suresh plays identical twins that are jealous of each other. Geetha and Anjali fall in love with the same guy, Anup (Nishan). The bad one, Geetha, supposedly commits suicide after losing the battle of love. But her spirit continues to trouble Anjali and others around the house. .

Anup calls in Dr Sunny Joseph to do something about this situation, as recommended by Nakul (Suresh Gopi in a guest appearance). .

It does not take much effort to guess where the story is headed. Among the many sources from which the film borrows ideas, the most striking is the K Madhu directed Nadiya Kollapetta Rathri (2007) with Suresh Gopi and Kavya Madhavan in the lead. .

Keerthy Suresh who makes her debut in this film has got a plum role but whether she impresses with her acting prowess is another matter. There is not much for her to do except look grumpy or innocent in the two roles she has throughout the film. .

The makers of the film insist that it is not a sequel to Manichitrathazhu, but Mohanlal is made to go through similar situations in this film, so the connection to the original Sunny Joseph is inevitable. .

Innocent enacts a comic role similar to the one in the original. But, his efforts go in vain as this film lacks the substance of the original. .

Geethanjali is disappointing. It is a lacklustre effort that is not a patch on the original. .

Rediff Rating: **

http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-geethanjali-disappoints/20131115.htm