Drishyam Review From NowRunning!

With 'Drishyam', Jeethu Joseph emerges as a proficient film maker who skillfully blends words with visuals to craft a chillingly thrilling portrait of a man's struggle to prevent his much adored family from falling apart. Jeethu attempts a stunning mix of the real with the imaginary, and the result is an unpredictable cinematic artichoke that takes you by surprise at every turn. 

Georgekutty (Mohanlal) runs a cable TV business in a sleepy village called Rajakkad, that lies a few miles away from Thodupuzha. His dreams are minimal, and he is all content with the blissful family that he has been blessed with. His wife Rani (Meena) and his daughters Anju (Ansiba) and Anu (Esther), make fun of his tight fisted ways, and Georgekutty often willingly relents to their modest demands. When Varun (Roshan) walks in abruptly into their lives, the four of them and their togetherness are put to extreme test, in terrifying ways they have experienced never before.

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Jeethu Joseph lets the tale stay on a steady, slow simmer, before raising the flame and letting it on to a high boil. For one, the core thought is terrific, and there is something riveting about the purposeful recreation of a life scene. Questions as to how much believable things that we see and hear around us are, arise, and all on a sudden they seem as incredible as the scenes that you watch on screen. 

The psychological cat-and-mouse game that ensues between Georgekutty and the lady IPS officer Geetha Prabhakaran (Asha Sarath) has several moments that thriller buffs will dig into with delight. What is appreciable however is the adversary's acceptance of defeat, and the eventual respect that the two develop for each other.

The film's single most resonant image of a terrified Anu in the interrogation room, her eyes all aghast at the sheer horror that she is witness to, will remain with us for long. A few scenes later, as she rushes into Georgekutty's open arms, she asks if she had let them down. Hugging her close to his chest, Georgekutty assures the child that she never did.

There are these jolts that are delivered now and then, and in no time you realize that the movie has stealthily slipped under your skin. Ah, and then the final scene sashays in, and it's a whopper without doubt; perhaps the very best climax that I have seen this year!

'Dirshyam' could very well boast of Mohanlal's best performance in recent times, and the actor seems to be at remarkable ease playing the affable man, who would stop at nothing until he sees that his family is safe. Meena is back, and how, and she delivers a bravura performance, along with the two young girls Ansiba and Esther who are sheer bundles of talent. A very special word of appreciation is due to Kalabhavan Shajon as well, who breaks away from the conventional comic mould that we had got used to seeing him in. 

Sujith Vasudev makes sure that the visuals are indeed deceiving and the camera moves in, out and around stuffy rooms, liberally hurling revelations at us, one after the other. The musical score by Anil Johnson and Vinu Thomas have a refreshingly delightful tenor to them that deserve an applause for certain. 

'Drishyam' is a stellar spectacle that prompts an animated watch, without even as much as a blinking of an eye. I wouldn't be surprised if you eat away your nails while watching this highly unsettling and yet gripping film, that is a celebration of the power of exceptional storytelling.

Rating:***
http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/13828/malayalam/drishyam/4502/review.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