Kurukshetra Review....

Kurukshetra, the Mohanlal-Major Ravi film after Keerthichakra, was under some troubles during these days. May this be created a hype among the fans. After a long wait, the film released in a 113 theatres, which is a record in Malayalam film. The main highlight of the film is that most of the film was shooted in Kargil warfield, which is one of the highest warfield in the world. I reached Shornur at 9.30 pm, but i was really excited to see the crowd and the electrifying atmosphere. However, I got the ticket. The show started earlier, and the fans started enchanting. Oh, this time Laleetan's name displayed in screen just like Rajini style. The film started off dedicating the film to those who had lost their lives during the Kargil war.

About the movie, the first 20 minutes had some lag. The introduction of Mohanlal is super. It was treated by great applause by the audience, which I hadn't seen recent times.After his introduction, the film starts gearing. The first half reveals mainly with the life, hardships and sufferings faced by a soldier. Mohanlal had nothing to do in the first half. However minutes before interval, the film got thrilling, with some punch dialogues from Mohanlal, that really touched our heart.

And saying about second half, Mohanlal at his best. I had seen many films recent times, but I was disappointed with the climax of these films. The climax of the film was great. The war scenes were taken in perfection, hats off to the director and cameraman for this great job. The croud started applauding for each dialogues of Mohanlal. Some scenes were heart touching - Biju Menon's death and Oru Yatra Mozhi song, the death of squadron leader Ajay Singh etc etc. These was received with a pindrop silence. The flag meet with Pakistan soldiers was also good.

Siddique had done his role brilliantly. But some actors / actresses were not up to the mark, especially Manikuttan and the heroines. Kurukshetra gives a lot of message to the viewers, like India-Pakistan friendly relation, and it tried to bring out the causes and consequences of Kargil war. Some dialogues like "I prefer to give my life rather than pointing gun to my 13 dead soldiers sir" was greeted with great applause. The songs and BGM were good.

Here I want to point out a serious error made by the director. Mohanlal is explaining a plan in malayalam to his senior Non-Malayalis, after Mohanlal's speech they congaratulate him. Moreover the script was average. This is the place where he kept his attention in keerthichakra.

This is one of the best war films ever produced in the country, and after seeing this film, it reminded me of the film "Border" which is a great war movie. It raises the patriotic feeling for each and every Indian. Hats off to Major Ravi and his battalion for doing this tedious job in a wonderful manner. Great effort by the crew.

*JAI HIND*

Verdict : This film had got all chances to become another blockbuster. It had got the best ever opening for a Malayalam film. Must watch the film atleast once....

Rating : 4/5

Thirakatha Review...

Thirakatha is directed by Renjith starring Prithviraj, Anoop Menon, Priyamani and Samvrutha Sunil in lead roles. I saw the movie from Jos Theatre, Thrissur. The crowd was not at all pleasing. I got tickets comfortably. Strictly speaking about the film, it can be expressed in one word "EXCELLENT". It is one of the finest movies ever made in Malayalam. This film is a homage to Srividya, the Malayalam actress who passed away recently. Renjith is back with a bang, after a drought for half a decade. He knows how to tell a story, his narrative skills are awesome, and he needs special applause for his attempt. The screenplay of the film is simply awesome.

And about the film, all characters of the film had done their roles beautifully. The performance of Anoop Chandran is excellent and director Renjith get full credit for that. Without a superstar label, Anoop had done his role brilliantly. Prithviraj is excellent in this movie, especially his voice, dialogue delivery and screen presence. Priyamani, woow, what a awesome performance from this young actress. She looks so cute in the first half, and her acting talents were revealed in second half, she deserved National award. She should do more Malayalam films and no words to express her. She is a gift to Malayalam as well as Indian cinema.

Some scenes from the film are really heart touching. The scene which Priyamani covers her head, when Ajay Chandran (Anoop Menon) came to hospital, is really great. The costume work was good, as I thought Priyamani had shaved off her head. The music by Sharath was also good. The camera work was amazing and excellent. The character Ajay Chandran resembles Mammooty and Mohanlal. He started off his career as a villian (just like Mohanlal in Manjil Virinja Pookal) and the film name too resembles that (Sorry, I forgot that name). Similarly he resembles Mammootty in last scened in which he is a acting in a film named 'Rudhiram' (Sounding similar to 'Roudram' starring Mammooty).

Yeah, this film is really a boost to Malayalam film industry. Though this movie is slow, it cannot be categorised into the list of off-beat films because this film is quite different from others, a different subject and something refreshing to the audiences. The films with good subjects and story should be encouraged by the audiences. If a movie like Thirakatha fails in boxoffice, it is bad for the malayalam industry, then no one has the right to say that they need a different movie. Overall it is a must watch film for those who love good films. Guys, never miss this film.

Verdict : I could not predict the fate of this movie in boxoffice. The movie is excellent and have to wait more to know how the Malayali viewers take this film. This film should be given superhit label, and I hope it will do.

Rating : 4/5

Akashagopuram Review

After a long wait, the most expensive Malayalam film, Akashagopuram released worldwide. It is an adaptation of the Norwegian play, "Master Builder", and is directed by K.P.Kumaran. But, the movie is nothing more than a different but awkward attempt. In an attempt to make an adaptation of the original play, this film ends up making this film a dull drama.

This film is noted much before the release due to international crew and huge budget. Mohanlal did the role of an architect, Albert Samson. Bharath Gopi had also done a remarkable role in the film. After reaching his fame and glory in profession, he had been sacrificing his personal life. But the film fails to impress the audiences, and feels quite sleepy while watching the movie. The movie which is primarily presented like a drama, is somewhat difficult to catch our heart.

But the background score of the film is excellent, and John Altman did full justice from his part. We can see some brilliant acting from Mohanlal, but the direction of the film is far below par. I feels very disappointed on seeing the film rendered in such a hapless manner. But I still wonder why the producer took such a risk by investing huge amount of money for an offbeat movie. Let me tell that this film had got some talented actors, enough investments and is a golden opportunity for the crew to carve this film in the pages of Malayalam film history, but sorry to say that this is nothing special to say about.

Verdict : Average from critics' view and flop in boxoffice.

Rating : 1.5/5

Happy Birthday Mammookka...

I felt this article was to be written 24 hours before. Because yesterday was the birthday of the legendary Indian actor Mammotty. With his career that spans more than three decades, he had acted in more than 300 films and is widely known as one half of the Malayalam film industry. He bagged National Awards for Best Actor three times, the most by anyone in the country, and that in two languages. He also got 6 state awards and 9 filmfare awards in his kitty.

Having started off his career in 1971, his first massive hit was 'Trishna' directed by I.V.Sasi in 1981. But his career witnessed a slump during late 80's, with his movies continuously bombing at boxoffice. But he made a stupendous comeback with a resounding success of 'New Delhi' in 1987. 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha' directed by Hariharan is considered as a milestone in his career, and he was awarded Best Actor Award. Mammooty played the role of a CBI officer Sethuramiyer in CBI series, which again was a massive hit.

He is known as the crowd puller in Malayalam cinema, and his latest films like Rajamanikyam and Annan Thampi groosed well in boxoffice, and broken all existing collection records. He had given equal importance to art and commercial films. He acted in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's 'Anantharam', 'Mathilikal' and 'Vidheyan'. His latest film 'Ore Kadal' directed by Shyam Prasad was greeted with great enthusiasm by critics as well as viewers. It got many awards in national and international venues.

Mammootty is known for his innovative mind, great personality and he made Kerala known internationally. He is now regarded as a promoter of newcomers. Blessy, Amal Neerad, Anwar Rasheed etc are only some of them. But he is widely criticized that he cannot handle comedy roles and is poor in dancing. But his recent comedy films like 'Mayavi', 'Thommanum Makalum', 'Rajamanikayam' and 'Annan Thampi' roared great success in boxoffice.

Mammootty has also been involved in several other projects that range from being the brand ambassador of Akshaya, the Information Technology project undertaken by the Government of Kerala, to being the Chairman of Malayalam Communications.

Belated Happy Birthday wishes Mammokka....Long live Ikka.....

Mohanlal to do Priyan's Hindi film

Malayalam superster Mohanlal is ready to act in Priyadarshan's new Hindi film. Priyadarshan is one of the hit directors in Bollywood and is a close friend of Mohanlal. This combo had produced a series of hit films in Malayalam, like Chitram, Kilukkam, Thenmavin Kombathu, Boeing Boeing, Akkare Akkare Akkare etc. Now Priyan is planning to work with Mohanlal in a Hindi film. Mohanlal had acted in Hindi films earlier in RGV's Aag and Company.

"But I'll do Priyan's film. It's a 12-13 day film. It isn't a conventional Hindi film. It has a message on AIDS. Priyan is returning to his roots. He recently did a fantastic Malayalam film called 'Kanjeevaram'. I was supposed to do it. But I couldn't. Now I'm looking forward to working with him and to doing a Hindi film."-said Mohanlal.

Boxoffice performance of offbeat films

Hey guys, offbeat films like Ore Kadal, Paradeshi, Karutha Pakshikal, Kayyoppu, Mizhikal Sakshi are good films and are critically acclaimed too. But they were not well appreciated in boxoffice. It is miserable to see such films removing from theatres two or three days after release. What is the main reason for that? Even some crap films swap the boxoffice but why can't such good films do magic in boxoffice? Inorder to save Malayalam film industry we must have to promote offbeat films.

The main problem I felt is that the people spreading negative rumours without even seeing the film. People say that 'the movie is good but not watchable, it is too slow and dragging'. Such comments would definitely discourage people from watching the film. If you are saying that the film is slow then there will be some people who feel reluctant to watch such movies. The fans must be waiting for entertainers, but the value of these offbeat films is much about these mass entertainers.

The marketing of those films should be encouraged. Further the authorities must promote art films, by reserving certain theatres for such films (like Sree Theatre). I am sure that if the above mentioned films was released some 10 years before, these must be sure hits. However, there are some people who never cares of negative labelling, until and unless they watch the movie, are real lovers of Malayalam cinema. We can see some excellent performance of the actors in these films, rather than mere entertainment.

Mohanlal's Thanmatra and Mammootty's Kazcha are exception to the above. These films can be called offbeat films, but they did well in boxoffice. This is a great encouraging factor. So let us do something to encourage such movies.

MAADAMBI - A Late Review

Maadambi is a B.Unnikrishnan film starring Bharath Mohanlal and Kavya Madhavan in lead roles. Other actors include Ajmal, Mallika, Innocent, Jagathy, Suraj, KPSC Lalitha, Saikumar etc. This was the second film of B.Unnikrishnan after Smart City which failed to click in boxoffice. Mohanlal is appearing as a moneylender Gopalakrishna Pilla in Maadambi. It was the first time that Kavya is pairing with Mohanlal.

As depicted in the caption 'a late review', I saw the film the very next day of release, from Jose Theatre, Thrissur (Later I saw the film from Melam, Shornur along with my old friends). A great crowd was in front of theatre, the queue extending to Swaraj Round. Eventhough I reached 1 hour before the show, I made sure that I would not get tickets. Fortunately, I saw my seniors of my college in front of the queue, and they arranged tickets for me.

Then about the movie, I liked the way the movie was presented. B.Unnikrishnan gets all the credit for that. He utilised the star value of Mohanlal to the core. The dialogues in the movie is another catching point. The songs are excellent especially the final song featuring his mother. The comedy sequences are also good, Suraj at his best. Innocent and Jagathy had done their roles nicely.

Ajmal was not at all impressive. He might have to learn much more to survive in this field. Mallika was ok but not great. Kavya had a short role, but Lal-Kavya combination lacks chemistry. First half was nice, but second half was little irritating (dont mean that it was too bad, i made a comparison with first half). The climax was not upto mark, as I expected something more. The story line of the film was good, but it shows some repetition of previous films like Balettan, Valsalyam etc. Speaking of story, it was an old wine in new bottle. I felt this film as a combination of Devasuram and Balettan.

Since all other releases during that season turned to be flops, Maadambi managed to have descent run in theatres, still running successfully. Maadambi can be considered as a clean family entertainer and it revived the career of Mohanlal after a series of flops. Yes, Maadambi was a real winner in boxoffice and it is expected to complete 100 days in boxoffice.

Verdict : Super Hit

Rating : 3/5

Veruthe Oru Bharya - A watchable movie

‘Veruthe Oru Bharya’ is a typical family movie directed by Akku Akbar starring Jayaram ang Gopika in lead roles. This film add to the list of few preachy films on matrimonial harmony. It also refered to as a comeback film of veteran actor Jayaram. The film seems to say that a wife is not an indentured labourer.

I saw the film from Ramdas Theatre, Thrissur. I got the tickets comfortably even though I reached there just before 5 minutes. I did not get tickets at balcony, so secured front seats at first class. There was pretty good crowd within the theatre, family audiences dominating. Perhaps this is a good sign for a good film.

The film focuses on lives of very few characters – Sugunan (Jayaram), an employee of electricity board, his wife Bindu (Gopika), and their teenage daughter Anjana (Nivedita). Innocent did the role of Bindu’s father. Saying about Sugunan’s character, he has conventional notions of what a wife is meant for and where her place is in the scheme of things. Bindu does not have time to visit her ailing mother, as she have to do her household works and also to deal with her daughter. Sugunan does not allow Bindu to visit her mother as he wanted his wife to stand one step behind the husband. The way it was picturised on Jayaram who imitates the singing and dancing style of all Malayalam stars right from Prem Nazir days, has contributed largely to its success.

After seeing women characters being reduced to the role of a mere extra in our superstar films, Gopika is a welcome relief as Bindu the long suffering wife.This struck a chord among the lady audiences, especially as there are lot of Sugunan's around in our day to day life.Jayaram was sporting enough to give equal screen space and dialogues to Gopika, which worked magic for the film.This film also reveals how the youth misuses mobile phones and internet.

The bottom line is that it was a refreshingly good entertainer that clicked with its target audiences. Veruthe Oru Bhariya proves that there is still hope for Malayalam films and the script is supreme.

Verdict : Super Hit

Rating : 3.5/5

Onam - No major releases

Traditionally, Onam is considered as one of the best season to release a Malayalam film. We can expect a lot of releases during onam and a great rush is seen in theatres due to holidays.For all top stars, an Onam release is not only prestigious but also a must for their survival in commercial cinema. However, 2008 made some difference. There is not even a single superstar film during onam holidays, which is really a disappointing news for Malayalees. Two or three films are set for release during Onam.

The main reason is that the Ramzan fast coincides with Onam, which may cause a parallel drop in collection figures, especially in Malabar. This made filmmakers to shift their release date to Ramzan, without taking a risk. Another fact is that record breaking films like Rajamanikyam, Classmates etc were released during Ramzan season. The astrologers too felt that Ramzan is the best time for the film relelases.

Jayaram's long delayed Paarthen Kanda Paralokam is now scheduled to come on September 5. Prithviraj starring Thirakatha which was primarily scheduled to release during onam was now shifted to October 9.However Mohanlal's offbeat film Akashagopuran, which released much before onam may continue in theatres during Onam.Jayaram's Veruthe Oru Bharya which is doing a descent run in boxoffice may be in contest during Onam. Mohanlal's superhit Madambi may still run in few release theatres during Onam which is looking ahead for a 100 day run. AMMA's multi starrer Twenty 20 will hit screen during October. Mohanlal-Major Ravi's high budget film Kurukshetra, Mammootty's Maya Bazzar and Suresh Gopi's Boss will hit the screens during Ramzan.