What is the movie about? :: S.I. Anand Narayanan (Tovino Thomas) and his team of police officers (Vineeth Thattil David, Rahul Rajagopal and Pramod Veliyanad) faces two cases in two time periods. The first one is related to the disappearance and murder of Lovely (Anagha Maya Ravi) and the second one is a cold case related to the murder of Sridevi (Arthana Binu) whose death could not be solved by even the best of police officers assigned to the case. Regarding the first case, he faces problems from his seniors who do not wish to see him doing better than them, and neither can they stand him going against a priest Fr. Thomas (Madhupal) who becomes a suspect, but is revered by the locals. When his seniors find another suspect from the available clues, Anand decides the take matters into his own hands unofficially, and even creates situations which would help him to find Lovely, who was returning home from college after receiving her hall ticket. This would lead to a few twists, but can Anand finally catch the real killer?
So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The second case which deals with the murder of Sreedevi would seem more twisted and placed at a higher difficulty level, as it occurred much earlier, and the police department is ready to stop the whole investigation. The locals are also very much tired of the investigation due to the earlier police officers pestering them and even resorting to torturing some of them ruthlessly. The panchayath president Philo (Baburaj) and the local landlord Sadanandhan (Shammi Thilakan) are hostile to the presence of any police officer for the purpose of finding anything related to Sreedevi, who is a lost cause for them. In this case, there is no restriction imposed by the seniors, but the unsupportive locals and lack of clues bother them. Yet, the team decides to go on with what they have, and extends their stay in the small village where the incident took place by a few days. But with time running out, can they do it without just randomly writing anything on the report to close the case?
The defence of Anveshippin Kandethum :: There is a certain amount of interest gained from the title of the film itself, as we are reminded of the Bible quote – “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened”. We are once again introduced to a world that our audience has embraced really well, that of murder investigations; the search is on for the police officers led by Tovino’s character, and we look forward to finding. This has indeed been the favourite genre of our people, and this one will only reassert the idea that we are more into thrillers and murder mysteries than anything else. The confidence which has been shown by the makers of this movie to keep things realistic enough, and in keeping the protagonist a character without those usual heroic abilities makes sure that this is one of those movies which will not be remembered for the nonsense moments.
Positives and negatives :: If the material like this was put before any of those overrated superstars or directors of Bollywood, the movie would have been unbearable, and except for the kind of audience who likes the terrible exaggeration, this movie will work like a dream. The blending of twists into a world staying so close to realism is not an easy job, but has been accomplished well. The music in the movie works pretty well while the visuals effectively add to the overall quality here. The journey to an earlier time period is nicely arranged without adding too much to make the world become more important than the other elements. The second investigation is more interesting than the first, as the twist is more effective there, even though the flashbacks are very well done – the characters in the first case should have been introduced earlier than we had first noticed them. The supporting police officers should have also been given more to do rather than keeping the focus on the main cop.
The performers of the soul :: Tovino Thomas continues to come up with at least one big movie every year, like 2018 last year, Thallumaala before that, and Minnal Murali in the year before that. He has been continuously impressing us with his variety, and even though we have seen him as an investigator of murders in films like Forensic, this one is indeed special. The way in which he moves through different roles of divergence has been setting an example for all the newcomers in the industry in the last few years. Vineeth Thattil David, Rahul Rajagopal and Pramod Veliyanad who plays his supporting do not get that much to do in comparison to what we had seen in Kannur Squad where almost everyone has something special to do. It does not happen here, even with Azees Nedumangad who was present in that movie here again – he would have blended into a team better than anyone else. Among the veterans, there is the certainty of strength. Baburaj handles the role very well with a touch of humour, while Indrans goes through a completely serious path, while Harisree Ashokan has a certain amount of sadness associated with his character.
Further performers of the soul :: Siddique plays a role with which he is not that much of a stranger. Shammi Thilakan is a fine addition to a world which needs his work to keep things going. The two main girls Arthana Binu and Anagha Maya Ravi who are murdered in different time periods, come up with some fine work, blending into their entirely different roles. One would remember Anagha from another thriller Eighteen Hours, and here the role seems to be so different, and she handles it with perfection. Aadya Prasad also comes up with a nice contribution here even though the role does not last that long, yet plays so well towards the twist. We would have still wanted more female presence among the police officers going through the investigation. Among the better known names, Alencier Ley Lopez only has very less to do too. Nandhu does some fine job from the beginning stages, while the roles of Sreejith Ravi, Prem Prakash and Madhupal are smaller, even though the last two contribute to bringing the twists leading to the conclusion quite well.
How it finishes :: We have not been strangers to thrillers of quality during the last few months, with Kannur Squad coming up as the one classic investigative thriller and Neru making a huge profit and Abraham Ozler following a serial killer with all the thrills that it can provide. The thrillers of the industry have only been gaining in strength during the last few years, a trend which seemed to be triggered by Anjaam Paathira, even though weakened by the corona virus pandemic for a small amount of time – the trend is back now, and the signs are stronger than ever. This particular movie here keeps it realistic and at the same time, has the thrills moving forward stronger than ever. This one is sure to make it to the list of some of the most interesting thrillers in the recent past, while never trying to overdo things to catch the attention of the audience. The same would be the reason why the movie has managed to rise so well in this week of multiple releases.
Release date: 9th February 2024
Running time: 142 minutes
Directed by: Darwin Kuriakose
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Arthana Binu, Anagha Maya Ravi, Baburaj, Indrans, Siddique, Aadya Prasad, Vineeth Thattil David, Alencier Ley Lopez, Harisree Ashokan, Shammi Thilakan, Pramod Velliyanad, Saranya, Nandhu, Sreejith Ravi, Prem Prakash, Madhupal, Rahul Rajagopal, Azees Nedumangad
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Movies of the Soul 