Shikkar -- Revenge drama

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.