Self referencing to past glory days is a tested trope for fan service in big star movies, especially in recent times. But, when a trope is given a too long a rope to span an entire movie, to feel like self reference Pro Max level, the end product is this (இது🤦🏽♂️).
It is, at best, GOOD, if you are a Thala fan(atic) Pro Max, which director Adhik Ravichandran clearly appears to be.
If you are not, as is the case of unlucky majority, this LOUD movie veers wildly between a BAD & UGLY mishmash of a messy drive down memory lane of Thala filmography.
Remix of past hit numbers, presence of not one, but two of evergreen divas of Tamil cinema, Thala seeming to have a ball of a time with a steady stream of super solo-mo shots - nothing seems to come to the aid here as the movie sinks beyond any scope for salvage.
The movie kicks off in the very first minute when a five-month old baby is stolen from a lone and seemingly hapless mother sleeping on a railway platform in the wee hours of the night. Two wealthy brothers who happen to be at the station get embroiled in the search for the missing baby along with the mother as they venture into the wilderness of somewhere in rural India.
What follows is a search that, in its near ninety minute rollercoaster ride, is nerve-racking and deeply unsettling. It is unsettling because we know that such incidents are not uncommon, especially to those who get stuck in the bottom rungs of the socioeconomic pyramid or for the unfortunate few of those from the higher echelons who happen to get caught in such situations. If one happens to inhabit the privileged upper rungs of that pyramid, there is a sanguine hope that one is shielded from such misfortune, especially when one carefully hones the skill of remaining resolutely indifferent to the plight of those unfortunate others. The narrative here smartly short-circuits this false sense of security as the two brothers of privilege are thrown into the thick of things with a desperate mother.
While one of the brothers is eager to lend a helping hand, the other is unwilling to step out of his carefully constructed cocoon and get any grime on his designer-ware in helping a stranger - that too, someone who belongs to a class of expendables who could as well be entirely invisible to his field of vision except for a few moments when they happen to serve some functional utility.
Debutante director Karan Tejpal designs a textured narrative where the surface level layer of being a tense thriller about the search for a missing baby transcends seamlessly into a search to understand one another and in some deeper sense, understand oneself along with the instincts that remain hidden underneath the masks we wear as civilized citizens or the cocooned existence to preserve oneself from those who are not so fortunate.
The lead cast consisting of Abhishek Banerjee, Harish Khanna and Mia Maelzer ace their respective parts with their rich shades of grey, moral ambiguity, vulnerability and transformative arcs.
Karan Tejpal delivers a movie which is a near relentless odyssey that is also several things at the same time - a gripping thriller, crisp drama, redemptive role-reversal, a sharp social commentary on our starkly different worlds inhabited by those on either side of class divide as well as rural-urban divide along with difficult moral dilemmas. That a director could achieve all this in a debut feature without being preachy, judgmental or adding even an ounce of narrative flab while keeping the viewers engrossed with bated breath on what is coming next indicates a rare talent worth cheering.
Inspired by real events, this gritty multi-faceted thriller has won several global accolades before its much delayed debut in India.
A CHILLING, THRILLING & UTTERLY FULFILLING QUEST !
Set in a small town in Punjab, Kohrra (Mist), a six part web series, is, at its surface level, a slow burn investigation into the mysterious murder of a young NRI man shortly before his marriage.
What makes it exceptional is the way it constructs its universe of characters - all flawed in some measure - and succeeds in taking a deep dive into their lives scarred with deep-seated traumatic episodes and struggles set against the wider landscape of today's Punjab with its issues like addiction, feudal and patriarchal society, and much more.
The emotions are affective even as the mystery builds on the viewers - engrossing us like a winter's mist that shrouds an entire city, gradually in the beginning and building steadily to engulf it entirely.
Excellent casting who deliver in aces and fine writing which builds in several layers make this one of the best series in recent times.
A police investigative thriller, set in a small town of Rajasthan, follows the journey of a bunch of cops on the trail of a serial killer who preys on desperate women.
Gripping for the most part, this 8-part series has sincere performances from a stellar cast headlined by a feisty Sonakshi Sinha and chilling Vijay Verma who are supported ably by Gulshan Devaiah, Sohum Shah and others.
Series creators Reema Kagti and Zoya Akthar who had earlier collaborated on Talaash have delivered a solid thriller that is firmly grounded in the small-town landscape. They have layered the narrative with seamlessly woven strands of a searing commentary on the oppressions based on caste and gender into the narrative. My major grouse was on their failure to amp up the final act.
Michael Jordan plays twins (Smoke & Stack) returning to their rural Mississippi home after making a minor fortune in Chicago. They purchase an abandoned factory and convert it into a juke club for their fellow coloured folks. What begins as night of revelry with mind-blowing music and more soon descends into madness as few bloodthirsty vampires come calling to the party as uninsured guests.
Director Ryan Coogler (Creed & Black Panther movies) creates a layered narrative blending visual splendour, delicious groovy blues music, stellar cast, themes of blacks-ploitation, crime and vampire action in this blockbuster entertainer.
A Sri Lankan Tamil family of four flee the financial crisis of the island nation's failing economy looking for greener pastures across the Palk Strait. They manage to slip through the border patrols and reach a Chennai colony to make a living while covering their tracks of being identified as illegal immigrants.
Can they find a safe abode and survive in a colony filled with families who appear strangers to one another despite living in close quarters for several years..?
Movies about refugees generally fall into a tired and often torturous template of heightened melodrama that magnifies the suffering of the lot - both in the homeland that they escape and the new-found homes in the alien shores where they try to fit into.
Debutant director Abhishan Jeevinth steers clear of this traditional narrative structure and presents the plight of this family with a rare and refreshing light touch that radiates a feel-good vibe in almost every frame.
He strikes a brilliant balance between effusive comedy that keeps the flow light and sharply written drama that avoids the pitfalls of being preachy or pandering to popular notions on this emotional issue.
Sasikumar and Simran along with the two debutant actors playing their sons as well as an ensemble cast of noted character artists provide a lived-in feel while composer Sean Roldan peppers the narrative with some warm heartfelt numbers that sound just apt.
Set in the 70s in a quaint and remote village, the story kicks off with Vasudev, the village postman getting abducted by masked men to an unknown location. He is interrogated about his past using a machine that has hypnotizing powers. Apparently, Vasudev has been secretly reading letters addressed to others which has unexpected consequences.
Who are these masked men who seem to have no connection to the village ..? What is their interest in Vasudev..?
Debutant director duo - brothers Sujith and Sandeep - have crafted a unique thriller that builds gradually on its simple setting to culminate in an ending that is unexpected and exceptional.
Not saying much else, lest I might tread into spoiler territory.
As a sequel to a blockbuster, this is definitely grander - perhaps, twice as larger in scale - spanning several locations across multiple continents much like a Bond or Bourne movie, even as it builds on the basic narrative arc set in the politics of God's own country.
One can decipher multiple influences from home and abroad, as in the action set pieces - inspired from the universe of Prashant Neel or Telugu / Tamil flicks with generous dose of blood as well as Hollywood-esque heavy duty armaments with mighty explosions. All these elements are assembled to serve a reasonably coherent narrative arc with occasional goosebumps moments for the fans.
Mohanlal shines through as the titular dark angel as he looms over the entire film casting an oversized shadow on every frame. The rest of the ensemble cast including Manju Warrier, Tovino and others put in their best despite their limited character arcs.
Prithviraj continues to make his mark as a director as he handles the scale hitherto unseen in Malayalam movies. He delivers a pretty good masala flick which does not bore you despite its three hour long runtime.
Alas, bigger is not synonymous to better and the grander scale does not deliver the emotional beats of the first installment. Nevertheless, this is a commendable sequel that sets the tone for a fitting finale to cap the trilogy.
A SPECTACLE MOVIE (best enjoyed on a BIG screen) !
Three estranged brothers reunite with their families after decades in their ancestral home as their mother is drawing her final breaths. Beneath the courteous efforts to forge forgotten connections, unforgotten and unforgiven tensions from the past simmer. Could the siblings succeed in overcoming their differences..? How does the gen-next of the family, in their impressionable years and meeting for the first time connect..?
This is a movie that manages to achieve a difficult balancing act of being subtle and sensitive to the subjects being depicted without being judgmental on any of the characters who are all flawed at some level, as humans tend to be.
Director Sharan Venugopal displays remarkable restraint throughout as he skillfully steers his narrative away from the usual desi pitfalls of getting lewd (exploitative or exposing to titillate) or loud (melodramatic or emotionally manipulative). This is no small achievement in itself and to achieve all this within a crisp running time of less than two hours is a mark of his brilliance.
While the two young leads playing next generation of the family (especially, Garggi Ananthan, playing Athira) are perfectly cast for their respective roles, the seniors - Joju, Suraj & Lopez - are excellent too, carrying all their shades without hitting a wrong note.
The music by Rahul Raj - songs as well as the score - is another highlight.
Overall, it is yet another lovely addition to the ever-growing pantheon of Malayalam cinema that continues to excel in exploring the oft-overlooked dimensions of our collective human coexistence.
A sort of return to form for Director Shankar who stumbled badly and delivered a disaster in Indian sequel which was his previous outing. The story from director Karthik Subbaraj pits an upright and dynamic bureaucrat against a power hungry politician buttressed by a corrupt system.
The writing and execution follows Shankar's familiar template with some contemporary updates. Yet, it largely works and delivers the wares for a commercial potboiler, thanks largely to Ram Charan firing on all cylinders and powering it through a double role. He gets able support from an ensemble cast including SJ Suryah as a menacing antagonist, a goofy Jayaram, Srikanth, Samuthirakani, Anjali, and Kiara Advani besides several others who appear in a blink-n-miss minor roles like Achyuth Kumar, Vennela Kishore, and Brahmanandam.
Shankar has continued to splurge on the making including songs mounted on grandiose scale with eye popping colours that saturate the large screen from edge to edge. Ditto for his mandatory emotional flashback stretch which is at best average and is utterly predictable despite dramatic gravitas of Ram Charan and Anjali trying their best. Nevertheless, the cat and mouse game between the leads has enough drama and punchy twists to sustain momentum and interest.
While Shankar has upped his game from his previous debacle, this is still a far cry from his yesteryear blockbusters which find several echoes through the movie. If you keep your expectations limited, this is a fairly engaging game.
Ajay (Asif Ali), a forest officer, lives with his father Appu Pillai (Vijayaraghavan), a retired army officer, in their family villa deep in the verdant jungles of Wayanad. The movie begins with hints of a missing pistol belonging to Appu Pillai that is required to be surrendered in the police station due to the forthcoming elections. This is intercut with the scene of Ajay getting married to Aparna (Aparna Balamurali) in a simple court marriage where the couple appear to be going through the motions unemotionally.
As the search for the missing gun intensifies, Aparna and us - the viewers - are hooked to the the gently unpeeling layers of this household including details about Ajay's earlier marriage, his deceased wife who succumbed to cancer, their 10-year old son who has been missing for 3 years, as well as the apparent eccentricities of Appu Pillai. What happens to the missing gun and the missing son ? The narrative adopts a gentle and measured pace that nevertheless, keeps us engaged till its culmination in an emotional and gripping finale. Even the dramatic reveals of the climax are delivered with a measured tone which ironically land like a sucker punch.
Director Dinjith Ayyathan along with the cinematographer Bahul Ramesh who has also written the story, screenplay and dialogues have crafted a narrative that builds gradually to a crescendo without resorting to any gimmickry or loud melodrama. It is like watching a blank canvas coming alive at the hands of a brilliant artist who transforms into a masterpiece - one assured brushstroke after another - all the while keeping us guessing till the very end.
The narrative expertly focusses on the nature of memories which are central to our survival and existence as they are the basic building blocks of our life. Our memories are the filter through which we see and understand the world. We perceive and live our everyday experience of reality through what we have remembered thus far. Yet, our memories remain fallible as they are seldom an accurate record of events and also continue to diminish as we age. Nevertheless, we continue our valiant, albeit vain, efforts to clutch at the straws of this fast-fading scaffolding that is central to our constructs of self as well as our social connections.
The writer-director duo weave their storyline to explore these dimensions without missing out on the mystery that captivates our attention as we continuously search for answers. The central cast comprising of Asif Ali, Aparna Balamurali, and Vijayaraghavan ace their respective parts with just the right dose of pathos, mystery, curiosity, madness and vulnerability. The score by Mujeeb Majeed subtly underlines the unfolding drama without drawing too much attention to itself.
The movie serves a perfect cocktail of an intelligent drama dense with emotions and multi-faceted mystery that lingers with you long after the viewing.
