Shikkar -- Revenge drama --
Directed by Padmakumar Shikar tells the story of Balaraman(Mohanlal) - a (protective) father and his daughter (Ananya)both whose lives are under threat by the naxals.In an effort to flee from the attacks of a haunting past, Balaraman(now a lorry driver) finds shelter in a a terrain of bamboos. The past that haunts balaraaman soon takes upon him and he has to resort to herioc methods to save himselves and his daughter.The details on the past cannot be revealed as that suspense element would be the only surprise for the viewer in this padmakumar venture.
Scripted by Suresh babu,shikkar fails to maintain proper punch/thrills in most part of the movie(especially during 1st half).Except for the later half of the second half and for the climax suspense, most part of the movie is predictable and lacks good dialogs to trigger the expected thrill.Padmakumar occasionally tries to rise above these weak points in the script but still could not help pace up proceedings.Manoj Pillai needs to be applauded for his exemplary camera works of a location that hasn't been exposed much on the screens.Mohanlal's portrayal of Balaraman as the action hero with fear within, is a fitting role for the great actor which he executes with ease.Samdurakni as Dr Abdullah plays a brilliant cameo role that shouldn't have been cut short.Sneha,mythili etc has nothing much to do.Ananyas climax sequences deserves credit though.Suraaj - jagathy comedy track did not work out. Lekshmy gopaala swaamy,Laalu alex etc performs well enough. Songs are well picturized and present a good hear.
On the whole - Shikkar is better than Mohanlal's all recent flicks in the sense that the character is tailor made for him but one would feel it was let down by the screenplay.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Elsamma Enna Aankutty --- Aimed at the families
Elsamma enna Aankutty
Laal Jose ,the most talented of the new era directors of malayalam cinema is here with the story of Elsamma a bold village girl from Balan pilla city.Elsamma plsayed from debutant Ann Augustine has the support of the whole village except for some the corrupted minds of her village.Elsamma is the sole bread winner for her family after her fathers demise.In the process she restrains herself from committing her love to paalunni (Kunchakko).Paalunni too loves Elsamma and seeks help of Paappan(nedumudi) to convey his wish to marry her.Paalunni's Plang's go haywire with the arrival of Paappan's grandson Aby (Indrajith).
Ann performs credibly as the central character without any fuzziness of a beginner.Kunchako's character is well executed and steals the love of the audience.Indrajith performs well as the flirty youngster.Nedumudi,KPAC,Vijayaraaghavan etc as usual ensured the integrity of their characters.Jagathy was able to bring some laughter among the viewrs.Suraaj wasnt over used.The duet songs looked forced into and could have been avoided.
Plotted against the beatiful backdrops of thodupuzha Elsamma too shows glimpses of the midas touch of Lal Jose (thanks to the cameraman too) in several scenes.
Though not as absorbing as his previous bench marked super hits,Elsamma is a simple movie with a neat narration from Lal Jose,which might be more preferred by the families this ramzan.
Laal Jose ,the most talented of the new era directors of malayalam cinema is here with the story of Elsamma a bold village girl from Balan pilla city.Elsamma plsayed from debutant Ann Augustine has the support of the whole village except for some the corrupted minds of her village.Elsamma is the sole bread winner for her family after her fathers demise.In the process she restrains herself from committing her love to paalunni (Kunchakko).Paalunni too loves Elsamma and seeks help of Paappan(nedumudi) to convey his wish to marry her.Paalunni's Plang's go haywire with the arrival of Paappan's grandson Aby (Indrajith).
Ann performs credibly as the central character without any fuzziness of a beginner.Kunchako's character is well executed and steals the love of the audience.Indrajith performs well as the flirty youngster.Nedumudi,KPAC,Vijayaraaghavan etc as usual ensured the integrity of their characters.Jagathy was able to bring some laughter among the viewrs.Suraaj wasnt over used.The duet songs looked forced into and could have been avoided.
Plotted against the beatiful backdrops of thodupuzha Elsamma too shows glimpses of the midas touch of Lal Jose (thanks to the cameraman too) in several scenes.
Though not as absorbing as his previous bench marked super hits,Elsamma is a simple movie with a neat narration from Lal Jose,which might be more preferred by the families this ramzan.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Pranchiyettan and the Saint -- Fresh thoughts......
Pranchiyettan and the Saint
With Ranjth Mammootty combo coming together after the critically acclaimed paalerymaanikyam,cine freaks would have kept their fingers crossed on what praanchiyettan and the saint would be all about.Well,they don't disappoint you... yet again they deliver a silver screen experience far from the routine cine products which at the same time is both entertaining and thought provoking.Ranjith has come up with a satire that throws light into relevant social and religious concepts.
Parnchiyettan(Mammootty) is a rich rice dealer based in trichur who is quite desparate to make a name for himself and in the process escape from the nick name that he is often associated with -- "Aripraanchi".In an effort to help his friend, Vasu menon (innocent)misleds praanchi to commit blunders that often makes him end up as a laughing stock. With more characters entering into his life, praanchi is exposed to some bitter realities that demotivates him and decides to seek relief from St.Francis.
Coming to the performances,its a Mammootty show all the way,proving his critics wrong yet again,as he easliy handles the natural humour with subtle expressions and rocking trichur slang based dialogue delivery without resorting to any slapstick comics.He is the soul of the movie, which otherwise could have gone very dry handling an unconventional subject.Innocent too rocks (after a long time)as praanchis sincere friend.Praanchis servant,priyamani,siddique,kushboo,The Saint, etc. fits in perfectly to their roles.Ganapathy could have done better in some scenes or he was badly directed.
One song in the movie is hummable with its feel good music and lyrics.
Ranjith deserves credit for having come up with something that shows up to be fresh and different from the other movies.He has shown that there can be cinemas like praanchi too,rather than sticking to formula movies.His dubbing for the saint was flawless too.His dialogs (especially the one liners of praanchi) are excellent and steals most of the appreciation.
The screenplay however could have been better in the second half.The episodes that brings the realizations in praanchiyettan should have been more interesting.(Especially the pauli episode).Siddique and Kushboo could have been given more importance in the plot.Jagathy's character/plot had some shades of slapstick humour which almost went overboard.
In an industry which finds itself safe to resort to masala movies ,Praanchiyettan is another bold attempt from Ranjith and Mammooty that needs to be appreciated.Needs to be seen if it would cater to all type of audiences.I would anyday recommended Praanchiyettan to serious movie buffs as well as to those who love satiric comedies.
With Ranjth Mammootty combo coming together after the critically acclaimed paalerymaanikyam,cine freaks would have kept their fingers crossed on what praanchiyettan and the saint would be all about.Well,they don't disappoint you... yet again they deliver a silver screen experience far from the routine cine products which at the same time is both entertaining and thought provoking.Ranjith has come up with a satire that throws light into relevant social and religious concepts.
Parnchiyettan(Mammootty) is a rich rice dealer based in trichur who is quite desparate to make a name for himself and in the process escape from the nick name that he is often associated with -- "Aripraanchi".In an effort to help his friend, Vasu menon (innocent)misleds praanchi to commit blunders that often makes him end up as a laughing stock. With more characters entering into his life, praanchi is exposed to some bitter realities that demotivates him and decides to seek relief from St.Francis.
Coming to the performances,its a Mammootty show all the way,proving his critics wrong yet again,as he easliy handles the natural humour with subtle expressions and rocking trichur slang based dialogue delivery without resorting to any slapstick comics.He is the soul of the movie, which otherwise could have gone very dry handling an unconventional subject.Innocent too rocks (after a long time)as praanchis sincere friend.Praanchis servant,priyamani,siddique,kushboo,The Saint, etc. fits in perfectly to their roles.Ganapathy could have done better in some scenes or he was badly directed.
One song in the movie is hummable with its feel good music and lyrics.
Ranjith deserves credit for having come up with something that shows up to be fresh and different from the other movies.He has shown that there can be cinemas like praanchi too,rather than sticking to formula movies.His dubbing for the saint was flawless too.His dialogs (especially the one liners of praanchi) are excellent and steals most of the appreciation.
The screenplay however could have been better in the second half.The episodes that brings the realizations in praanchiyettan should have been more interesting.(Especially the pauli episode).Siddique and Kushboo could have been given more importance in the plot.Jagathy's character/plot had some shades of slapstick humour which almost went overboard.
In an industry which finds itself safe to resort to masala movies ,Praanchiyettan is another bold attempt from Ranjith and Mammooty that needs to be appreciated.Needs to be seen if it would cater to all type of audiences.I would anyday recommended Praanchiyettan to serious movie buffs as well as to those who love satiric comedies.
