Baby Girl

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Tennyson

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.

Thalavara

Posted on November 2, 2025 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: So, this is what humans call destiny related to a mark on the head.

Vampire Bat: There is no destiny that humans can create in any world.

Vampire Owl: They could still seal their own fate.

Vampire Bat: They are the fates that the world is forced to endure.

Vampire Owl: You remind me of the cursed fates of the northern witches.

Vampire Bat: Still, humans come up with motivating movies with some feel-good.

Vampire Owl: Humans do not really make any species feel any good.

Vampire Bat: Well, feel-good is that mask which humans need.

Vampire Owl: Yes, they need that reason to live.

Vampire Bat: Well, you do not need any reason to live forever.

[Gets a Kadai paneer puffs and three cups of Darjeeling tea].

What is the movie about? :: Jyothish (Arjun Ashokan) suffers from a skin condition called Vitiligo which provides visible white patches on the skin due to loss of pigment, clearly visible on his face. His dream is to become an actor, and had won many accolades for his efforts during school days as a leading drama performer. He had left all of these behind and after taking a graduation in commerce, started working in a mobile shop, only to be fired from there due to his movie craze leading him to take day off on almost every Friday on the day of movie releases with some lame excuses. Now jobless, he is forced to work with his mother Asha (Devadarshini) in the supermarket where she works in the sales, as the new person supposed to the home delivery. He is ridiculed by people for his skin disease, and even his best friends call him names and make fun of him, despite their close connection with each other. His father Kannappan (Ashokan) has been movie enthusiast who had planned to go abroad, but ended up jobless at home due to the same craze for cinema much to dismay of the family.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is then that Jyothi (Athira Mariyam), Jyothish’s sister elopes with his friend Ganesh (Sarath Sabha), who had full freedom in their home, leading to Asha, as the breadwinner of home, disowning her. It is then that a new girl Sandhya (Revathy Sarma) arrives near home in Palakkad, from the other side of the state border, Coimbatore. She works at an agency which deals with foreign education, focusing on UK, and Jyothish ends up meeting her in her office as well as the supermarket. Even though everyone around seems to be attracted to her, she falls for Jyothish, and their love story slowly blossoms. But without a good job, her family is surely not going to agree to this wedding, and the family history of her sister eloping with someone was not going to help the cause at all. He gets a small role in a short-film which becomes viral on YouTube, but is humiliated for his looks while looking for a role in the upcoming movie. Can he go beyond the restrictions imposed on him by the society which do not accept the divergent or will there be a union of bad luck events for him?

The defence of Thalavara :: The movie nicely addresses something which is not usually shown in the mainstream cinema — the life of a person with vitiligo and how he has to go beyond the opinions of society and achieve something. Here, we can see that the same is done without adding that much of a melodrama, which would have been the main thing if this was taken in Bollywood. The romance here is also very well managed in a realistic manner. It should be considered as a fine quality as most of the other industries of the nation would have clearly overdone the same and might even add a quick dance in a nation with a lot of snow with greenery and classic streets. Its reflection of a common man’s life and the regular problems which becomes part of the crisis will never leave our attention. The idea of accepting oneself and living with dignity work very well. Even the romantic scenes show that understanding, and it just becomes a usual thing rather than a glorified piece of garbage – it is there and it an extended form of friendship and not a stalking, lusty, infatuated absurdity like in movies like the lesser appreciated Maine Pyar Kiya and for that undeserving very much appreciated Annayum Rasoolum.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does deviate the main concerns at times, maybe to try and make it feel more entertaining, and it is also a little bit too long for this kind of a content, as one and half hours would have been perfect in this case. When we consider that it does not take into account, the psychological side that much except for the negative feeling and lack of confidence, something might feel left out. The movie just goes through the simple journey, which makes it feel no need to go in a more intense manner or launch that dramatic punch which will leave a big difference. The ending does not really solve the problem, but makes one feel good enough that there could be a better future soon. Even a movie which dealt with a lesser problem like Mili had an even more consistent solution to its crisis. The movie’s beginning might have also left many people with not much of an interest in the journey forward, as it just feels too ordinary a start to the kind of message it would intend to deliver with that special dose of motivation.

The performers of the soul :: Arjun Ashokan strikes gold with this performance, and it is as realistic as one could be, with him maintaining a common man’s feelings throughout the journey – this might also he his best work in a leading role till now. Revathy Sarma plays the Tamil girl whom we might remember even more than the one we had with Sai Pallavi in Premam with the realistic touch rather than that overstretched one. She plays the role with so much realistic touch, and remains a lovable character – something which she achieves with so much of ease. Among the friend characters, Muhammad Rafi stands as the most notable one, as he has always been in that television show of Flowers channel which keeps coming back to us. Sarath Sabha also remains very much notable. Athira Mariyam’s realist work will also have our attention. Then you see how good is Devadarshini in the mother role and how well Ashokan supports in the father role, with a little bit of humour and emotions also present in the journey.

How it finishes :: The movie does manage to finish off the whole thing well, and there is closeness to humanity that works like a dream here. This is the kind of movie that works with motivation really well, and reminds people that there could be those journeys with some type of crisis which is often overlooked in favour of some others which get all the attention. We remember that some problems get more attention than others, but it is to be remembered that for some people, some troubles are bigger, and that it has to be individual-centred. Well, not all people are the same, and the problems of some people are just of a grander scale than one would think. The movie reminds us that it is all about the individual, and if there is some support when required, things can only get better – it is important to keep everyone close to the heart as we are all in this together in one way or the other. This is no blockbuster material with scenes to get fans clapping, for a human tale that inspires and gets some feel-good into the scene.

Release date: 22nd August 2025
Running time: 120 minutes
Directed by: Akhil Anilkumar
Starring: Arjun Ashokan, Revathy Sarma, Shebin Benson, Ashokan, Devadarshini, Athira Mariyam, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Prasant Murali, Sam Mohan, Harish Mohan, Sohan Seenulal, Shaju Sreedhar, Vishnu Reghu, Muhammad Rafi, Manoj Moses, Aswath Lal, Amith Mohan, Naseer

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Kurukkan

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: So, we are talking about a clever fox here.

Vampire Bat: I don’t think that vampire foxes can be clever.

Vampire Owl: I do not see any mention of this fox being a vampire.

Vampire Bat: The possibility of a vampire fox cannot be ignored.

Vampire Owl: What about the vampire wolf among werewolves?

Vampire Bat: A vampire wolf shall only be a werewolf.

Vampire Owl: I thought we were categorizing them into two.

Vampire Bat: Uncle Dracula has said that we shall trust no wolf.

Vampire Owl: I thought we were using wolves against wolves infinitely.

Vampire Bat: We don’t do divide and rule here. It is the job of humans.

[Gets some butterscotch pastry and three cups of Siliguri tea].

What is the movie about? :: Krishnan Rajasekharan (Sreenivasan) is a documenter who keeps appearing in the court to falsely testify, as a witness. He had only recently become a witness to win over a case which was almost lost. He has proven to be helpful in many different cases, and his motive is the monetary benefit. It is then that a model and social media influencer Neenu Iype (Mareena Michael Kurisingal) is found dead in her huge mansion. CI Dinesh KT (Vineeth Sreenivasan) is in charge of the investigation. Commissioner Balachandran K (Joji John) wants the case to be solved as early as possible, as the media hype is rather too much to handle. Neenu’s roommate Anjitha Narayanan (Ansiba Hassan) and Manager Bhagat (Nandan Unni) are confident that she is in no relationship and has no enemies at all. There is also no clue of anyone having entered the house and there are no male finger prints. Dinesh and his subordinates SI Reena Mathew (Sruthy Jayan) and SI Sajad Hassan (Aswath Lal) come under immense pressure.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: At the same time, Dinesh’s friend provides the information that there are drugs in a certain room in a popular hotel in the city. Dinesh, who was looking for an opportunity to improve his image, arrests two people from the same room after finding some white powder. But upon examination by the experts, it is discovered to be just gypsum powder. Dinesh who feels ashamed about the situation tries to frame the man who delivered the newspapers at Neenu’s house, Hari (Shine Tom Chacko) in the case to save his image. Dinesh plans the whole thing and arrests Hari while going to attend a PSC examination, much to the dismay of his lover, Arya (Malavika Menon). He also tries to prove that Hari does not have a good record in his past, and gets the support of the public prosecutor, despite the commissioner not being sure about this case’s progress. Now, it is up to Hari to prove his innocence, but once again Krishnan is there to give false witness. It is not easy to find a way out.

The defence of Kurukkan :: The attempt to move from the usual to become divergent is interesting indeed. The movie certainly required its seriousness along with the comic side, and that has been managed for most of its run. For the same, it has created the perfect partners in crime out of the right father-son duo; their adventures could have actually been longer. The final court scenes are hilarious, and the best moments are well-adjusted to the final shots of the movie. As one wonders if such scenes are actually possible, it is certainly far more realistic than what Jana Gana Mana dialogues make us feel in an artificial manner. The basic human nature can also be seen reflected here, as people continue to be what they do not seem to be. The inherent evil in man would find it difficult to let the innocent thrive, and the film shows it through multiple instances. There are no shortages for foxes in our world, and it is the innocent who have to take the blame, as it is shown in the movie. The smart evil ones often make the best out of their opportunities.

The claws of flaw :: The inability of Kurukkan to thrive on its advantages can be clearly seen throughout its run. There were so many opportunities to gain advantage here, but the same is not used effectively. The scene at the beginning which is the recreation of a known case is rather foolish and a sign of lacking in creativity and innovation. The use of some of the performers in the respective roles is questionable considering how the characters have been written. The main character here could have been developed better, especially with his personal relations. The mystery is also not effectively solved in the end, as the blending of genres often goes through a certain amount of struggle which makes some characters wonder about their existence. We have also reached a situation when talking about social media influencers do not concern the common man who go through their daily struggles any more. The comic side on some occasions also feel a little bit overdone in a film which has kept itself as normal as possible otherwise. Kurukkan could have mixed its world like Adi Kapyare Koottamani and evoked laugher, but it couldn’t really do that.

The performers of the soul :: In terms of performances, it is Vineeth Sreenivasan who stands out, and further excels in the final moments of the movie. He is not the usual cop, even for the comic standards, as a separate identity has been built efficiently by him. Another person standing tall is the real-life father and the reel-life partner in crime, Sreenivasan who has his fine moments of comedy. He once again pulls off a twisted role with ease. Shine Tom Chacko does not have the usual role when he is suspected as part of proceedings by the audience, as this time, the innocence is easily felt – but the role is not without his usual tendencies that are visible yet again. Malavika Menon has a neat role to perform here, and does a fine job to continue giving the feeling that she is here for stronger roles. Mareena Michael Kurisingal and Ansiba Hassan do not have much to do around here while Sruthy Jayan and Gowri Nandha have more notable moments. Aswath Lal also does some nice work here. Then, it is always nice to see Azees Nedumangad getting some roles to be noted.

How it finishes :: Kurukkan will have our attention with moments for sure. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, and finding faults around here might not be a difficult task. It is not a movie to be taken that seriously and is not to be a movie full of laughs, taking care of both genres in one way or the other. The final moments of the film would make sure that it finishes well, and there is also that poetic justice very well provided. Kurukkan could surely have a sequel, or even a prequel, as the adventures of the main character deserved more. The movies like these are the type which we watch at some later time period when there is a lot of time at hand, and when the need for some nice little humour has arisen. We have had some interesting movies like Madhura Manohara Moham and Nalla Nilaavulla Raarthri which were not given that much hype. This one had created a better interest among the audience with the trailers, but the others might have turned out to be bigger movies in the end, except for the climax where this movie scores the most.

Release date: 25th August 2023 (Amazon Prime Video); 27th July 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 123 minutes
Directed by: Jayalal Divakaran
Starring: Vineeth Sreenivasan, Sreenivasan, Shine Tom Chacko, Srikant Murali, Dileep Menon, Joji John, Sudheer Karamana, Mareena Michael Kurisingal, Malavika Menon, Ansiba Hassan, Sruthy Jayan, Aswath Lal, Balaji Sharma, Krishnan Balakrishnan, Azees Nedumangad, Nandan Unni, Rashmi Anil, Anjali Sathyanath, Sohan Seenulal, Ancy Sarah, Shaji Marad, Ajay Joseph, Mel Saju John, Riyaz Pattambi, Bijesh Naduvil, Manup Jaganathan