Oru Indian Pranayakatha Review from TOI.

Story: The film is about the life of a young political leader and his association with a woman who comes unexpectedly into his life.

Oru Indian Pranayakatha oozes with fond recollections from some of the earlier accomplishments of Sathyan Anthikad. It narrates the tale of a youth who chooses politics as his career. His acts and motives - all driven by ambition - are drenched in sarcasm, something highly redolent of Sandesham.
 
The transformation of Sidharthan (Fahadh), the young political leader is then triggered by his association with a woman, who is smarter and more sensible than the lead male characters in Anthikad's films. Amala Paul plays a Canadian citizen of Malayali origin named Irene Gardiner. 

In a film that treads at a studied pace with hardly any eventful situations, the good-natured moments belong to Fahadh. His insouciant charm blends with an earthy humour. Fahad is unabashed while bringing out the inflated ego of an aspiring young politician and his associated cockiness. His indulgence in self-debasement is hearty and his open exposition of ignorance is ridiculously funny.

Amala Paul is more mature while dealing with emotional outbursts. She unassumingly lets Fahadh devour the fun whenever they share comic situations, something that works well for her as she seems perfectly in control. The plot is more or less confined to him, his foiled ambitions as a politician, his romance, his feelings for a woman who brings about a slow shift in his life. It is this apparent simplicity that makes the film at once engaging and more often banal. 

The joviality happens naturally, the mush is forced and jarring. There is not even a faint attempt at doing away with stereotypes although there are glimpses of promise at certain moments which never really crystallize into a heart-warmer of a film.

Rating:***
 
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/movie-reviews/Oru-Indian-Pranayakatha/movie-review/27751337.cms

Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal Review from Times of India!!

Story: The film moves around relationships of four individuals that get intertwined resulting in complexities that affect their lives.

Lal Jose dabbles in a maze of relationships in Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal. It's about people who are waiting to get married and those who are already married. The film leaves links inter-connecting all those involved in it. The result is a narrative that goes slightly out of control after the initial good-natured humour which Dileep brings to the table.

Aby (Dileep) is an ad-maker waiting to get married to Ann (Parvathy). His old flame Rima Kallingal returns to the city where he lives and their encounter sets off a series of events bordering on confusions, misunderstandings, sense of guilt and the pain of loss.

Lal Jose intently tries to hold the complexities with a sense of triviality. He does away with tears and piano at times of grave emotional crises and would instead squeeze in cartoonish sequences. The light-hearted treatment works to an extent, but not for long as the narrative is crippled by a sluggishness that results from a poorly conceived script.

There is a mad rush towards the end assembling a jumble of events to materialize a set of twists just to put things in order. In spite of all its earnestness, the attempt fails pushing the movie to levels of mediocrity. Dileep holds on to his casual, ticklish humour which salvages the film to a certain extent.

Rating:***

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/movie-reviews/Ezhu-Sundara-Rathrikal/movie-review/27751741.cms

Vishudhan Movie Reviews from Times of India!

Story: The film showcases the life of a vicar who gets enmeshed in a series of events due to which he is forced to sacrifice all dear to him.

Working with a narrative that links psalms from the Bible to the deeds of characters, Vysakh dabbles in profound issues of morality, chastity and sin in his new film Vishudhan. A vicar and a nun are defrocked after there are allegations of a blasphemous relationship. A young girl trades her body for money and when questioned, she rebukes the purpose of reading out pastoral letters to the needy. A benign soul is scarred by personal losses and seeks bloody revenge, which then gets washed off in his remorseful tears.

A mist-drenched hamlet receives a new vicar played by Kunchako Boban and he initiates noble endeavours, ably assisted by a nun (Mia). Vavachan (Harish Peradi), the wily, pompous landlord is seldom enthused by the acts of the vicar that hinder his personal motives.

Vysakh makes ample use of biblical subtexts to portray an otherwise direct, simple conflict between the bad and the good. While doing so, his actions are marked by a lack of overemphasis, something that holds good for the whole purpose. Nandu who plays a drunken gravedigger pulls off painful, disturbing moments even as it may be jeered at for their cliched nature.

Vishudhan does throw up stereotypes and slight subtlety would have immensely helped the cause. Still the film has an unpretentious, lasting effect that comes out of certain sequences crafted with genuine moments so familiar to mankind. Shahnad Jalal lends fluidity to his frames, gently tracking the characters and capturing their close-ups in an unhurried, casual ease. 
Rating:***
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/malayalam/movie-reviews/Visudhan/movie-review/26301726.cms

Punyalan Agarbaties from Times of India!

A Thrissur based man named Joy Thakkolkaran conceives the idea of making agarbathis from elephant dung and the film tracks down the challenges that await him in his venture. 
Punyalan Agarbathis derives much of its warm humour from the apparently ludicrous concept of the lead character Joy Thakkolkaran. He paints colourful dreams of entrepreneurship with his notion of using elephant dung for making agarbathis. Ranjith Sankar makes sure that he takes off from this cardinal idea and maintains a good flight, notching up light-hearted sequences and at the same time absorbing the dreams, despair and frustration of a man who wants to do something different.
The narrative is nourished with characters sketched with a fancy for the real and for satire. A bald-headed judge would chatter cheerfully with those in the dock and would lour at them in the same breath. A driver with his simpleton looks is invested with loads of childish naivete that he would weep for his mom when caught in police station.

Jayasurya infuses an easeful, sparkling wit into Thakkolkaran and he is enriched with a script that goes for slightly silly, but abundantly playful humor. This is one film where the dim-witted servants need not have to mouth obscenities to amuse themselves. They would rather seriously indulge in playing 'angry-birds', religiously treasuring each point they garner.

Even the woman characters, though a few, command a good-natured authority and presence on screen. Be it Anu, the wife of Joy or the advocate, the script treats them with respect, making them share the shine and glow of the lead character. Perhaps it's this genuine warmth about this film which helps it override certain scenes conjured up solely for the purpose of a meaningful conclusion. The lapses are easily forgotten for the rich presence of moments that make Punyalan Agarbathis a lovable film. Rating:*** http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/malayalam/movie-reviews/Punyalan-Agarbathis/articleshow/26677940.cms  

Bicycle Thieves Review from Times of India

Bicycle Thieves narrates the tale of three youths who steal bicycles for a living. They later take up a contract for theft which changes the course of their lives.

Bicycle Thieves has quite a few scenes that are heavily redolent of some of the most popular hits. In spite of this resemblance, Bicycle Thieves works to a pretty good effect, mostly owing to its cast who remain true to the narrative.

The film tracks the lives of three boys from their childhood when they take the first steps towards turning themselves into bicycle thieves. The boys grow up, their bond thickens and they chance upon a contract to steal a fairly good amount of money. Betrayal, breach of trust and misunderstanding ensue and the trio split.

Jis Joy in his debut film does show promise with his ability to craft seemingly natural sequences even while bringing in complexities which sometimes fit and most often don't. There is a conscious attempt on the part of Asif Ali to add economy and measure to his acting. He doesn't strain himself playing a good-hearted thief with smart cunning. There is restraint to the way he portrays Chacko, something that adds to the appeal of the film.

The narrative appears a bit hurried towards the end with a sudden flow of twists. They are tailored with a fair sense of conviction, still they leave a jarring effect because of their rush. Vijay Babu pulls off a studied, neatly rendered act carrying different shades in an affecting manner. Rating:***  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/malayalam/movie-reviews/Punyalan-Agarbathis/articleshow/26677940.cms