Latest Malayalam Movie Reviews

It’s after a long gap of 8 years that the legendary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan has returned with a film, Pinneyum. Perhaps the longest gap in his illustrious career so far, Pinneyum marks his foray into digital filmmaking, something that he had never attempted so far. Aided by a supporting co-producer, Baby Mathew Somatheeram this is also perhaps the first time than an Adoor film has received a wide Pan India release (with English subtitles) making it more accessible to people. Pinneyum also sees Adoor working with Dileep for the first time, similarly the film sees popular Marathi actor, Subodh Bhave making his Malayalam debut.

Naturally I was quite eagerly looking forward to the film and was quite astonished to see a good turnout for my show over the weekend. Pinneyum is a love story; a tad old fashioned and spread over a long period of time. The film talks of Purushothaman Nair (Dileep) and his wife Devi (Kavya Madhavan). Theirs was a love marriage but then today circumstances are such that their married life is in a state of disarray. Purushothaman is jobless and spends his time trying to apply for positions and attending interviews while Devi is a teacher who runs the household. They live along with their daughter in her family home, where her father Pappu Pillai (Nedumudi Venu), a retired school teacher and her brother (Indrans), a perennially sick man also live.

Things seem to change for the better when Purushothaman lands a job in the Gulf, leading initially to some much needed joy and cheer in their lives. But then an unexpected series of incidents goes on turn their lives upside down. Adoor Gopalakrishnan has tried to draw our attention to the fact that greed is dangerous and how it can impact the lives of a few seemingly simple individuals with middle class aspirations. The film shifts its tone from that of a romantic drama to a thriller after a while, something that one doesn’t usually associate with Adoor’s films. Hence the shift does look a little
shaky and doesn’t manage to appeal as much as it could have.

However there are enough and more moments that remind us of the auteur in Adoor and the film puts us in a time freeze of sorts. Dileep and Kavya once again show why they have always been a popular pair, sinking very well into the characters of Purushothaman and Devi respectively. Nedumudi Venu, Indrans and Vijayaragahavan also lend admirable support. Pinneyum is not the best of Adoor, far from it in fact, but it is still refreshing in its own way and makes us hope that he doesn’t take another long break now.

After a successful foray into Tamil cinema with 36 Vayadhinile, a remake of his own How Old Are You, director Rosshan Andrrews has combined once again with his regular collaborators, writers Bobby-Sanjay to come up with another family film, School Bus. It goes without saying that Roshan and Bobby-Sanjay have formed a formidable combination, and except for the costly misadventure called Casanovva, they have more or less delivered impactful films. Hence the expectation from School Bus was that it would be an interesting film for the whole family, going by the title and the promotional material.

School Bus has a relevant premise, something that most of us especially those living in the big cities can relate to. In our daily vagaries of life with our busy schedules etc maybe we really don't seem to have enough time for our children or try to understand what is in their minds. Joseph (Jayasurya) and Aparna (Aparna Gopinath) live in Kochi along with their children Ajoy (Aakash) and Anju (Angelina). It is clear that they are quite affluent and both Joseph and Aparna are busy with their careers to manage, they are not very clued into what the kids are up to in school etc. The mischievous Ajoy gets into trouble in school unknowingly and runs away from home being afraid of his father's reaction. As Joseph and Aparna realize their mistake and are worried for their son's safety, in comes Gopakumar (Kunchacko Boban) as the cop in charge of the mission to bring Ajoy back.

As you would have realised by now the plot is fairly straightforward and there is nothing to discover as such. Despite moving from a drama to a thriller mode midway it is still easy to predict what is in store as the tale progresses. Bobby-Sanjay seem to have taken it easy by keeping the proceedings simple, reminding you of various other films with a similar subject. The lack of novelty is the factor which lets down the film, as otherwise its quite a well intentioned attempt. Cinematography is the main highlight of the film, not a surprise considering that the DOP is C.K.Muraleedharan acclaimed for his cinematography in various films like 3 Idiots, PK, Lage Raho Munnabhai etc. Both the kids are natural and lead from the front with their performances. Jayasurya, Aparna Gopinath, Kunchacko and the supporting cast do what is expected out of them.

School Bus ultimately is a harmless watch, but there's nothing remarkable about the film as such.

Ranjith's Leela has been in the news ever since the project was announced a few years ago. To start with, it was a movie adaptation of Unni.R's popular Malayalam short story of the same name which was being worked upon for the big screen by Unni.R himself. Also the various casting choices for the main lead role of Kuttiyappan which included Mammootty, Mohanlal and Shankar Ramakrishnan kept viewers guessing as to who would eventually end up playing the iconic character. Eventually the role went to Biju Menon, a wise decision one would say after watching the film.

The tale revolves around Kuttiyappan, a wealthy carefree individual who goes about living life on his terms. His constant companion is Pillechan (Vijayaraghavan) who is there besides him on all his escapades. Kuttiyappan expresses his desire to hire an elephant and thus sets out looking out for one along with Pillechan and Dasappappi (Indrans). On the way they pick up a young girl (Parvathy Nambiar) with a traumatic past who is rechristened as Leela by Kuttiyappan. Their pursuit for an elephant leads them to the hill ranges of Wayanad where eventually the mystery behind Kuttiyappan's desire to hire an elephant and pick up Leela is revealed. Unni.R has gone on to make suitable changes to the overall concept in the process of converting his short story into the screenplay for the film.

But despite the changes the basic plot remains more or less the same, Kuttiyappan comes across as a bizarre yet interesting character with a lot of quirkiness in him. Prashanth Ravindran's cinematography is impressive and Bijibal's music is quite effective. Manoj Kannoth's editing leaves the film with a tight finish and with a run time of just 101 minutes, it makes you ask for more. Parvathy Nambiar is effective as Leela and leaves a mark despite having no dialogues, Indrans impresses once again and Jagadeesh as Thankappan Nair, the perverted father of Leela is a revelation in a role that's very different from his usual work. Vijayaraghavan delivers one of his career best performances as Pillechan, his body language, dialogue delivery and mannerisms are a treat to watch. Biju Menon as Kuttiyappan is a natural and sparkles in almost every frame, be it with his interactions with Pillechan and Dasappappi or with the various women.

As the film ends it might shock you, upset you, repel you or impress you but whatever be it I'm sure that it would leave a lasting impact on you. 

We all love to hear or watch stories of someone getting bogged down by circumstances and fighting his or her way back, don't we? Which is why time and again this is a premise that's been utilised by filmmakers regularly. Vineeth Sreenivasan's latest Malayalam film, Jacobinte Swargarajyam is again one such film, but this time the inspiration is from a true story, that of a family based in Dubai. So what's special about the film then you might ask? Well plenty to be honest, as the film has turned out to meet the expectations in the right way.

Jacob (Renji Panicker) is a successful businessman in Dubai and he lives with his family comprising of his wife Sherly (Lakshmy Ramakrishna) and 4 children, Jerry (Nivin Pauly), Abin (Sreenath Bhasi), Ammu (Aima Sebastian), and Chris (Stacen). Their happy World comes crashing down when Jacob hits a major financial roadblock, thanks to a business associate who cheats him. The rest of the tale is all about how Jerry is forced by circumstances to look after the family and bring them all out of the crisis affecting them.

Despite the fairly simple plot Vineeth makes sure to keep the narrative absorbing, coming up with memorable characters, wonderful dialogues and some notable moments. It is also commendable of him not to cash upon the popularity of Nivin Pauly and make the tale revolve around him alone, in the process there's a lot of scope for nearly everyone in the film to perform. Ashwin Kumar, Sai Kumar, T.G.Ravi, Dinesh Prabhakar are all effective, while Sreenath Bhasi, Aima Sebastian and Stacen leave a mark. Lakshmy Ramakrishnan is shown as a gutsy character, who doesn't sit and brood over her fate but instead help her son Jerry in rebuilding their lives. Nivin Pauly does well in a role that sees him slowly emerge from the shadows of his father.

Renji Panicker is fabulous as Jacob, the doting father, husband and successful businessman who loses everything just because he trusted someone. The scenes featuring Renji and Nivin are a highlight and leave a great impact. Overall Jacobinte Swargarajyam is a fine film and ideal to be watched with your family during this festive season.

After a long gap director duo Siddique-Lal reunite to bring us King Liar , a comedy film following the trials and tribulations of a con man with a good heart, Dileep essays the central character Sathyanarayanan and Madonna Sebastian plays Anjali - Sathyanarayanans love interest . Lal and Asha Sarath play the pivotal characters. 

The first half of the film follows  how Sathyanarayanan tries to win over Anjali, while the attempts  at humour can be appreciated some of the jokes aren't that funny whereas as other times it hits the mark, Dileep offers nothing new with his performance, Madonna Sebastian manages to pull of her role and Balu Varghese does a great job as Dileeps comic sidekick.

However  second tends  to over reach and comedy takes the backseat, the filmmaker duo tried to recreate their old formula of a humour filled first half and a slightly more serious second half unfortunately  this time the film fails to hit the mark overall King Lair recreates the old Siddique-Lal magic but only in parts.

Cinematographer turned director Sameer Thahir had worked with Dulquer Salmaan in his previous film, Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (2013), a film which was well received critically and commercially. Now the two have got back together for Kali (rage), which also sees Sai Pallavi of Premam fame in her first solo lead appearance. The promos and the songs have been well received, so has the film gone on to meet expectations and turn out to be another success for the inform director and the lead pair? Well that’s what I set out to know while watching Kali on the first day of release.

Kali revolves around Sidharth (Dulquer Salmaan) and Anjali (Sai Pallavi), both of them having fallen in love while in college and getting married later without support from their families. Sidharth has always been fiery and hot headed right from his childhood and is temper is always on the tip of his nose as Anjali describes. Life seems to be taking a positive turn for them as Sidharth slowly seems to be settling down at work. But his short tempered nature continues to create problems, until one night they land in a situation unexpectedly which changes everything for them. What really happens and how do they get out of it is what the rest of the film is all about.

The film has a wonderful first half and the chemistry between Dulquer and Sai Pallavi is excellent, making their interactions appear quite interesting. We see that Sidharth is not happy with his problem but then he just can’t help losing his cool very easily even the slightest provocation. Sameer Thahir in a way makes us understand why anger management is not something to be ignored, in today’s stressful life we all go through moments where we do get upset and angry, leading to issues at times. From a romantic drama of sorts the film moves into the thriller zone post interval, with a brief hint of NH 10 as well. Nevertheless the film manages to maintain the momentum and keep us hooked. The concern if any is that just as the tension was really mounting, it all seems to evaporate a little too easily.

Gireesh Gangadharan’s cinematography is impressive, doing justice to the shots at night. Gopi Sunder makes an impact both with the songs and the BGM. In terms of the supporting cast Soubin Shahir, Vinayakan and Chemban Vinod get noticed, though the focus mostly is on the lead pair. Sai Pallavi is a natural and shows that Premam was no fluke, she has even dubbed for herself (though she does seem to struggle a bit at places) and compliments Dulquer very well. Dulquer on the other hand is perfectly cast as the fiery young man who just can’t keep his temper under control. Overall Kali makes for a good watch as it addresses a relevant topic and is backed by excellent performances by its lead actors. 

Darvinte Parinamam (Darwin’s evolution) is definitely an unusual name for a Malayalam film, that was what I really felt when I heard of the film for the first time. Considering that it was a film featuring Prithviraj and also produced by August Cinema, a production and distribution house of which he forms an integral part, there was something to look forward to from the film. The trailer did not reveal much but looked promising to me. As I watched the film I also realised that director Jijo Antony’s intention is to clearly do something different within the popular or mainstream space.

Anil Anto (Prithviraj) shifts from Kottarakkara to Cochin along with his pregnant wife Amala (Chandni Sreedharan) in order to escape the constant taunts from his mother. With the help of some friends and with some luck, Anil and Amala slowly start rebuilding their lives. Darwin (Chemban Vinod) is a notorious don in Cochin who is a little uncouth and brash by nature. Anil and Darwin have nothing in common and they do not know each other at all. However one day an unexpected event triggers off something that goes on to connect them together in a way that neither of them would have expected.

The film starts off on a promising note as we see Darwin being introduced as the hero of the tale and Anil as the villain, quite the opposite of what one would expect. The first half is quite serious and at the interval point the confrontation is very well set up and one tends to look forward to an engaging second half. However Jijo Antony shifts the narrative to a more light hearted fashion which after a while makes the proceedings drag along. It’s good to see Prithviraj allowing Chemban Vinod to share the centre stage and both of them are effective enough. The cinematography (Abhinandan Ramanujam) and action sequences are impressive. Eventually the film is a mixed bag of sorts, not as good as Prithviraj’s last 4 films, but not among his worsts either.

Dileesh Pothan who has been an assistant director and actor,makes his directorial debut with Maheshinte Prathikaaram which has been produced by his mentor, Aashiq Abu. The film features Fahadh Faasil in the lead along with a wonderful supporting cast. Fahadh hasn't been having a good run at the box office of late, with some strange choice of subjects in the recent past. But with Maheshinte Prathikaaram we see the debut of a talented director and a return to form of the leading man.

Set in Prakash City of Idukki which in reality is just a village of sorts, Mahesh Bhavana (Fahadh Faasil) runs a photo studio and lives with his aged father who used to be a photographer himself. Mahesh has been wanting to marry his childhood sweetheart Soumya (Anusree) but she gets married to someone else instead. An unexpected incident in a public place brings him in confrontation with some unknown people,leading to an altercation where he gets beaten up. Hurt and humiliated, Mahesh swears not to wear footwear any more till he takes his revenge.

At the very core this is quite a realistic and simple tale that is engaging all the way. Dileesh Pothan makes sure to incorporate some wonderful moments in the film, Bijibal's songs and Shyju Khalid's cinematography lend a lot of charm to the film. Anusree and Aparna Balamurali as the romantic interests of Mahesh are effective, while K.J.Antony as Mahesh's father, Alancier Lay as Babychayan and Soubin Shahir as Crispin are wonderful. Ultimately the film is a triumph in every sense and will leave you smiling indeed.

First off, kudos to the late director Rajesh Pillai for his efforts to keep pushing the limits of thrillers in Malayalam cinema. His passing is a great blow to Mollywood. He was a trendsetter of sorts with the 2011 hit Traffic being regarded as a benchmark movie in Mollywood and also remade in Tamil and Kannada. The Hindi version is also on cards. He will be missed.

Yet, thrillers in Malayalam cinema can be classified as pre and post Drishyam. There is an obvious sense of the need to bring about the feel that Drishyam did. Whether or not directors succeed, is a matter of how the audience perceive it. There is nothing wrong in directors trying to do that, but, when it starts taking a toll on the other elements of the movie, it becomes a problem. 

This is the problem with Vettah. It is the fact that it strives hard to be something it needn't be. You feel that unnecessary urge from the director to push the audience to the edge of their seats. It is forced. You don't need that kind of a push here. The background music is good, but repititive to the point of irritation. There are a lot of smirks, cliched dialogues about how the feeling of being cheated gives the greatest pain of all, complicated characters, parallel narratives, and most importantly, there are a lot of questions, all of which are answered only in the last few minutes. We all love it when our judgement is tested and put to question. We like being teased by the prospective of twists and turns. Vettah has a lot of those. A tad bit too much. 

Kunchako Boban, Manju Warrier and Indrajith Sukumaran have done a decent job, which is exactly what you would expect under the able direction of Rajesh Pillai. Had the audience not been coerced into believing that they are watching a thriller, the impact would have been real. Otherwise, Vettah is an apposite watch. 

There are only two things that can happen when you go for a Dileep flick:

1) You end up really annoyed OR

2) Have a fantastic time

Now generally Dileep is known for his slapstick style comedies and some of them have been successful while others have bombed at the box office. Under which category does Two Countries fall? Well, 2 Countries is thankfully one of those films that you will thoroughly enjoy. If you enjoyed My Boss, CID Moosa and Romeoo then be rest assured that 2 Countries will please you. Now my review is a bit delayed, considering this film released in December but nevertheless felt that it is a film worthwhile reviewing.

In a recent interview Mamta Mohandas called Dileep The "Robin Williams" of Malayalam Cinema and after watching this film I must say it is very true indeed. Dileep is an actor who has proven his versatility in both serious and comic roles. However, there is no doubt that comedy is Dileep's fort. When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was a bit skeptical. But, the positive word of mouth encouraged me to give it a shot. Malayalam audiences and their love for comedy films is a greater love story than Twilight. The challenge that most Malayalam directors face while casting Dileep, is churning out a product that caters to both his fans, and the general audiences. Fortunately, Shafi has succeeded in this challenge.

Right from the very get go the film is filled with hilarious scenes and there is only one mission that Dileep and Shafi have in mind - "To Bring The Roof Down With Laughter". Some parts of the film will remind you of Madhavan's "Nala Dhamayanthi" but this is a good thing. Dileep is a powerhouse, but what happens when you spice the film up with Mukesh, Suraj and Aju Varghese?  You get a fantastic comedy entertainer! Aju Varghese and Dileep handle the first half with ease while Mukesh and Suraj ensure to add magic to Dileep's masala for the second half. Our "Veluveluthoru Pennu" (Mamta Mohandas) too dazzles up the show with some good humour sequences and of course her glamorous avatar. Mamta Mohandas is like pure eye candy and this is most visible in the song "Veluveluthoru Pennu". After My Boss, Dileep and Mamta Mohandas share a wonderful chemistry . So, do not be surprised if they do a third film together.

Overall, it is fair to say that 2 Countries is a movie that will leave you thoroughly entertained. Go and watch this with your family and friends if you haven't already seen it!

A COMPLETE SUSPENSE FAMILY THRILLER WITH STUNNING CLIMAX OF MAMMOOTY.FIRST HALF OF THE FILM BRINGS TOO MUCH CURIOSITY TO WATCH SECOND HALF. STARTING THE SECOND HALF OF THE MOVIE BRINGS THE AUDIENCE BREATHLESS ESPECIALLY THE HOUSE WIVES. THE MOVIE SHOWS THE MODERN BEHAVIOURS OF THE YOUNG GENERATION AND THEIR LIFESTYLES.

"good film,a realistic cop movie.the film is a police's story and this story mixed with comedy and little bit action.don't compare this movie with premam.this is a new type movie in the history of malayalam film