Alphy Panjikaran – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I wonder who these babies in the movie are.

Vampire Bat: I have heard about a baby going missing in this story.

Vampire Owl: How can babies go missing? Who takes them? A succubus?

Vampire Bat: I am relieved that you did not say gargoyle.

Vampire Owl: The gargoyles are completely under the control of Uncle Dracula now.

Vampire Bat: I am glad that you did not assign them to Mr. Frankenstein.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has better scientific plans.

Vampire Bat: What will he invent now? A fake time machine?

Vampire Owl: I have heard that Dr. Frankenstein is going to create an elixir of invisibility.

Vampire Bat: You mean like the elixir of immortality which increased mortality by a thousand times in multiple realms.

[Gets a Paneer Fried Rice and three cups of Nuwara Eliya tea].

What is the movie about? :: Meenakshi (Mythili Nair), a young student doing engineering graduation at Bangalore had just given birth to a baby girl, only to find out that her baby had gone missing when she checked. She had married her senior at college, Akash (Akshay Prashanth) who had just turned twenty one, the minimum legal age for marriage as she had already turned eighteen and was pregnant with his child. Sanal (Nivin Pauly), the attender and Sukumaran (Jaffar Idukki), the security, becomes the worst affected due to this situation as their lack of care for their duty time becomes known to the police force led by Sub Inspector Rakesh (Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan) and Assistant Sub Inspector Akbar (Azees Nedumangad) who try to get to the bottom of this, despite not getting enough support from Circle Inspector Sujith (Sreejith Ravi) and City Police Commissioner Shameer (Major Ravi) who are focusing more on a political protest which is going on in the city. The protests get through the blockades and with the Chief Minister at the location, there is least police support provided to the missing case.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As the team send CPO Jeffin (Aswath Lal) to gather further information, Sanal tells them that he had seen someone in a purdah going out from the hospital with a bag, and he suspected that the baby was inside it. They keep searching for the same person in that clothing, and Sanal ends up getting a baby from a woman in the streets, but that turns out to be her own baby, making it an embarrassment for both the police and the hospital. As the hospital dismisses him with immediate effect for carelessness as much as recklessness, his wife Sini (Aditi Ravi), a nurse who had just returned from Saudi Arabia, asks him to return home and not to think more about what happened. But he is determined to find out what happened to the baby, but the situation is not like what he had been thinking, as Rishi (Sangeeth Prathap) and Rithu (Lijomol Jose) are the two people involved in this, but things had gone out of their control. Can there be some balance brought back to the situation, and will they be able to find the baby and return it to the mother before there are more complications?

The defence of Baby Girl :: The movie has the main incident coming into the picture right at the beginning itself, as not much time is wasted in a movie which had all the opportunity to waste a lot. It seems to be in a hurry in the beginning, as nothing else gets the care other than the baby girl gone missing, and the investigation is very quick to start and move on with hope. The movie needed an initial strength as it focuses more on the Passenger-model of common people going after a serious situation covered by the media, and that early boost helps the movie to keep moving forward even when pulled down. When the movie powers to an effective interval, that nicely gets to a point where emotions peak. The emotional side can also be seen as mostly working, and the deviations in the tale with more characters always seem to bring the emotions further. With realistic moments as much as performances, the movie never really moves away from our world. Cinematography and background score also adds to the overall quality of the movie. Then, the hype was always meant to keep the movie felt grand at the start itself.

The claws of flaw :: The movie’s attempt to bring the emotional side of losing a baby girl is lost in the process of getting emotionally attached to the other characters, who are not that much well-established. The movie seems to be keeping us close to different griefs and the abiding sadness here is more or less related to these people being sad for many other reasons which becomes more important than a lost child at times, and there are moments when we feel that the baby is just a missing package which has to be reminded as important by the police and the main characters through carefully crafted dialogues meant for some occasions only. The story keeps losing strength at times, as if there is some laziness which comes in here and there. The subplots often do not come up with that much of a strength, and a number of characters, fail to come up with the desired impact here. The ending is not that satisfactory, even though it is emotionally effective, for we did not wish to go the Game of Thrones finale way after a long wait. Well, this is a movie in which characters remain strange and act so, on too many occasions, as police characters also remains not effective in thinking.

The performers of the soul :: Nivin Pauly leads the way here not as the hero who would come out strong and prove that he is among the best, but as a flawed protagonist. He surely has a lot of screen time here, and is there from the beginning, and yet, I would consider the main character to be that one which is played by Lijimol Jose. One can safely say that it is her character that determines the real outcome of the movie, and scores like no other in the emotional scenes. It is also good to see Sangeeth Prathap getting roles like these, which have something far away from that usual humour. Even then, he does add a little bit of situational humour here too. Mythili Nair and Akshay Prashanth, the new faces also get some strong work to do, and they handle the same with some maturity which is to be appreciated. Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan’s police role is solid, and Azees Nedumangad’s support is also to be appreciated, even though it comes as no surprise after watching movies like Kannur Squad. Aditi Ravi’s role is surprisingly limited to a few scenes at one house and so is that of Alphy Panjikaran at the hospital. Major Ravi, Aswath Lal and Sreejith Ravi plays their smaller police roles well as expected.

How it finishes :: As this one comes from the writers Bobby-Sanjay, the expectations were to be the much higher, and only some of the same is delivered here. There will not be the emotional power of Kaanekkaane or the investigative strength of Salute. After the success of Sarvam Maya, this next movie of the year with Nivin Pauly in the lead and with the addition of Lijomol Jose of Jai Bhim fame around was supposed to be a movie which helped expectations to skyrocket, but that journey to the clouds was surely short-lived, even though the movie does serve with entertainment and emotions as well as thrills and some twists also added here and there. The potential was so much, but movie confuses itself towards the ending which will satisfy only a small number of people. It had begun with such a compelling idea of a missing newborn case with a clear atmosphere of urgency and tension, which deviates, and feels like ready to lose its way, but then comes back, and feels like raising itself on occasions, only to end without that much of a real solution. But the journey remains memorable, and effective enough to have us go for it with the engaging moments.

Release date: 23rd January 2026
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Arun Varma
Starring: Nivin Pauly, Sangeeth Prathap, Lijomol Jose, Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan, Alphy Panjikaran, Aditi Ravi, Rudraksh, Azees Nedumangad, Major Ravi, Sreejith Ravi, Mythili Nair, Akshay Prashanth, Jaffar Idukki, Aswath Lal, Nandhu, Nisha Sarangh, Ranjini George, Prem Prakash, James Eliya, Kichu Tellus, Anoop Krishnan, Archana Prakash

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

What is the movie about? :: Philippose (Kunchacko Boban) is a thief who works close to two other thieves, Achu (Vishnu Unnikrishnan) and Shaji (Hareesh Perumana). The three had made an attempt to steal a golden cross from a church in Kunnamkulam area, only to fail in the attempt and escape to the highranges. They decide to stay hidden in a remote place, and the news that there is a tiger attack in Kuruthimalakkavu, makes them travel all the way there disguised as hunters. They also have their eyes set on the statue in the village temple which is said to date back long, and is valued at crores. They are welcomed by the group of villagers lead by the Panchayat President Sudhakaran (Maniyanpilla Raju) and the local priest Father Luko (Johny Antony), and are offered five lakhs to catch the tiger. The three feels that this is a big opportunity for them to make some quick money.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: The three lives in the fear of being attacked by the tiger, and along with their adventure, Achu falls in love with the daughter of the Panchayat President, Revathy (Alphy Panjikaran) who is a college student. At the same time, Philippose has his interest set on Anitha (Shivada Nair), who is one of the more active and stronger women in the area. They do end up capturing the tiger, but it turns out that this doesn’t stop the killings. It won’t put an end to their problems either. So, is there one more tiger that they need to handle? Can another Shikkari Shambu incident of pure luck save them? But even luck has its limits, as the three friends attempt to make one last stand to save the village as well as get the money that they wanted. This is the time for them to find all their courage, but are they up to it? How many people will have to die before they can?

The defence of Shikkari Shambhu :: The movie has the formula that works, right out the movies like Ordinary, which was acceptable to so many types of audience. There is a lot of entertainment in store, beginning with the comic side that runs through, and also the mystery to come to light along with the big twist to arrive by the finish. The visuals are stunning, and it is not limited to the beautiful “mazha” song which has already become the best song of the year without doubt. When you look closely, you see that Shikkari Shambhu is surely better than Pulimurugan, even though that much of a box-office collection is not there to be taken – this one is still more fun, has a better story, and there are cent percent better female characters, along with coming up with better songs and visuals. Well, you begin laughing from the very beginning itself, and when you see that happening in a multiplex in a mall with the family audience, the movie has won the hearts.

The claws of flaw :: The tale could have been better in the middle parts, and there was scope for more with this trio trying to make something out of their stay in a village haunted by wild animals. There is the feeling of the movies like Ordinary, and a little bit of Romans in this one, and you will also think that this flick is a little too long. A bit shortened, this one could have done without some moments. The tiger doesn’t come up well enough to create an impression either. The fact that this movie didn’t have its shows in a number of theatres including Carnival Cinemas Angamaly and Carnival Cinemas Muvattupuzha, was surely a terrible thing, as we can be sure that so many people wanted to watch this movie after being addicted to the “mazha” song which is undoubtedly a pleasure to look out for, on the big screen. A little more care, and this one could have done even better – it could have had the special ingredient and could have attempted a deviation from the usual path.

The performers of the soul :: Kunchacko Boban handle this role with ease, and we remember that he played a thief in his last movie of 2017 too, in Varnyathil Aashanka. This character does work for him very well, and never does he need to try more. The song “mazha” itself seems to be custom made for him, something which makes the viewers immediately interested in the flick itself. Shivada has a fine role here, paired opposite Kunchacko Boban, making this her one more notable role after Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam. Her character is strong, determined, and with those qualities that surely make this one a different role for her – there is more than what meets the eye to the strength of this particular female character. Vishnu Unnikrishnan, after Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan, continues to be the boy next door, carrying most of charm into this one too.

Further performers of the soul :: Alphy brings good work in her first full role, paired opposite Vishnu as the movie progresses. She is sure to stay there in the industry with some good roles to come. Hareesh Perumana scores the best in this movie, and you don’t need to think twice before asserting the same. We know that he has always been good, no matter what people will say about a movie as a whole. He has been having a good time in the Malayalam movie industry, and this one has him controlling the funny side, rising above everyone else. The movie’s advantage is that he is there throughout the flick. Two directors Johny Antony and Aji John plays interesting roles in the movie too, and the former provides some fun moments which scores big. Salim Kumar has only a smaller presence as a police officer, but when he is there, the whole theatre has no problem in getting into a laugh riot.

How it finishes :: Sugeeth has had a good run with Kunchacko Boban in the lead, beginning with Ordinary and the last one being Madhura Naranga. With a title that reminds us of the comics character who used to be very special for us, Shikkari Shambhu once again brings us one of the better family entertainers of our times, with the content that is suitable for almost all kinds of audience. After the depressing Daivame Kaithozhaam K Kumaraakanam which claimed to be a family entertainer, but ended up being a miserable copy of ideas from other movies creating a mess, the viewers will find Shikkari Shambhu to be a relief among the flicks which are never really what they claim to be. But Shikkari Shambhu is surely the one movie which you would love to go through more than once for its comedy, which will be a big asset to our comedy channels in the future, unlike Aadu 2 which was surely overrated. I hereby leave you with a lovely song from the movie:

Release date: 20th January 2018
Running time: 140 minutes
Directed by: Sugeeth
Starring: Kunchacko Boban, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Shivada Nair, Alphy Panjikaran, Hareesh Perumana, Johny Antony, Aji John, Salim Kumar, Sphadikam George, Maniyanpilla Raju, Krishna Kumar