Tag Archives: Balachandran Chullikkad

Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse

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Vampire Owl: I am doubtful if this Dominic is a vampire.

Vampire Bat: There is surely no reason to have such a feeling.

Vampire Owl: He is old, but he does not look that old.

Vampire Bat: Well, we will ask our spies in the human world.

Vampire Owl: Do you think that the protagonist is Sherlock Holmes?

Vampire Bat: Someone who wishes to be like Sherlock Holmes.

Vampire Owl: There have been enough private detectives in Malayalam cinema too.

Vampire Bat: This one seems to take that to modernity.

Vampire Owl: We have always wanted a detective in Cochin.

Vampire Bat: But the theatre response does not seem to show success.

Vampire Owl: Well, there is still time to rise.

Vampire Bat: Other movies have just risen too early.

Vampire Owl: Well, not all movies of same level get the audience response.

Vampire Bat: From the trailer, there is too much left to be guessed.

Vampire Owl: Well, they try to be the same most of the time.

Vampire Bat: You have to recreate the same and not be the exact same.

Vampire Owl: There is something special about being a Sherlock.

Vampire Bat: It is about being the right kind of Sherlock.

Vampire Owl: That would be difficult to do.

Vampire Bat: The trailer of this one still looked promising.

Vampire Owl: Yes, there are moments which I look forward to.

Vampire Bat: We have to begin the new year really well, don’t we?

Vampire Owl: Yes, one movie already managed to be impressive.

Vampire Bat: Two in a week can only be good.

[Gets a box with caramel popcorn and three cups of elaichi tea and moves into theatre].

Vampire Owl: This turned out to be an interesting journey, even though not exactly Sherlock.

Vampire Bat: This has that slow-burning feeling.

Vampire Owl: The world seems to remain simple though.

Vampire Bat: And our director seems to try to break fourth wall often.

Vampire Owl: I see that this is his first movie in Malayalam.

Vampire Bat: I am very much impressed by the final twist.

Vampire Owl: The dance movements in between seem to leave an impression too.

Vampire Bat: The complexities that come in between makes a twist in the simple tale.

Vampire Owl: The twists are nicely arranged to make way for the final one.

Vampire Bat: There are some fine red herrings at work too.

Vampire Owl: It is nice to see the city of Cochin represented well.

Vampire Bat: And we feel that this can be a franchise to elevate the level.

Vampire Owl: Mammootty and Gokul Suresh do make a nice combination here.

Vampire Bat: Sushmitha Bhatt does make the most impact in this movie though, with the dance, dialogues and revelations.

Vampire Owl: Shine Tom Chacko, Siddique, Vineeth and Vijay Babu are there only in smaller roles though, and that’s surprising though.

Vampire Bat: Meenakshi Unnikrishnan also has a good role to play as another lady love.

Vampire Owl: A little bit of humour is added nicely, but more should have been there.

Vampire Bat: The movie does lack in originality too, as more could have been added to make the level better.

Vampire Owl: The experimental side still runs through here. There was always some risk making a movie like this.

Vampire Bat: How a disgraced police officer turned private detective solves a missing and murder case with a start through a ladies’ purse which lands in his hands due to strange circumstances come as no surprise.

Vampire Owl: Still, Gokul Suresh should have had more classy moments, as it seems that Viji Venkatesh seems to be the next important character on the protagonist’s side.

Vampire Bat: The movie ends up being a satisfactory family investigation with that touch of comic side which also has enough to support the overall light mood, not like the earlier Kannur Squad, Anand Sreebala, Ozler, Thalavan or Anveshippin Kandethum.

Vampire Owl: I was wondering if things could get better with the private detective setup, but this one as of now seems fine.

Vampire Bat: What can a vampire do, but hope for more murder mysteries so that the human world can be more interesting? For humans have enough of demons in themselves?

Vampire Owl: Well, we already have those which serve as good beginnings. There will surely be more thrillers and some interesting serial killers to look out for. After all, humans are more evil than we could ever be.

[Disappears into the darkness of the day served by the clouds and awaits more of the dark days which symbolizes death].

The YouTube video version comes up with the vlogged review. Our YouTube channel Scholar Nomads seeks to expand all horizons, exploring diverse areas of interest through video as much as writing. Not leaving any mode behind, both the blog and vlog will feature film reviews and explore fresh styles, offering even more intriguing content to viewers and readers alike.

Release date: 23rd January 2025
Running time: 152 minutes
Directed by: Gautham Vasudev Menon
Starring: Mammootty, Gokul Suresh, Sushmitha Bhatt, Meenakshi Unnikrishnan, Shine Tom Chacko, Viji Venkatesh, Vineeth, Balachandran Chullikkad, Suresh Krishna, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Lena, Wafa Khatheeja Rahman, Veena Nair, Dinesh Prabhakar, Ashvin Mathew, Neeraja Rajendran, P R Rajasekharan, Arjun Nandhakumar, Harshitha J Pisharody, Laya Simpson, Sudha Sumithran

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Naradan

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Vampire Owl: I am glad to find this one finally coming to the OTT.

Vampire Bat: Yes, especially as it is on Amazon Prime Video.

Vampire Owl: With Minnal Murali on Netflix, Tovino has risen to be an even bigger star.

Vampire Bat: Yes, we don’t really need the local theatre stars anymore.

Vampire Owl: It has always been difficult to watch the superstar movies in theatre.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that the corona virus changed that up to an extent.

Vampire Owl: There are too many things that the virus has changed.

Vampire Bat: Smarter movies getting better appreciation all around India through OTT should surely be one of them.

Vampire Owl: Let there be more skills displayed in films.

Vampire Bat: It is all about watching the right movie and avoiding the others. In the case of some movies, we know that they are to be avoided, whatever happens.

[Gets an onion vada and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is the movie about? :: Fr Daniel Purambokkil (Jaffer Idukki) is an activist who provides sensational news for the media while trying to help the poor people in need. He is a regular part of the telvision channel talks. Chandraprakash (Tovino Thomas) is one of those new age journalist who wishes to do those kind of stories which increases the rating of his channel – he is always forced to take it to another level by the channel, News Malayalam, but decides to keep it going naturally as he has been doing for quite a long time. Pradeep John (Sharafudheen) is part of a less popular channel, Vartha 24 X 7, and manages to come up with sone interviews to improve its viewership all of a sudden. Shivadas Kurup (Joy Mathew), Chief Editor of News Malayalam is not happy about the viewers choosing another channel instead of them who have better infrastructure and has had a bigger audience throughout history. Vartha 24 X 7 seems to get debates based on maoists and related news which would bring more of the audience into interest.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Pradeep John joins News Malayalam, much to the dismay of Chandraprakash, who feels that he has been sidelined by a new person who gets the same position and salary, along with better options to excel in the media field. Babuji (Vijayaradhavan) who has different special interests in politics and business comes up with an idea to make the best use of this particular opportunity. With his business partners, he plans to start a news channel which can attract the best revenue options from advertisers. Chandraprakash who is now known as CP, begins the channel with a big news related to Thomman Varghese (Kunchan), the Minister of Finance. The minister accused of being part of a sex scandal, and is forced to resign. Despite the best attempts of News Malayalam, it soon losses the number one spot among news channels. Narada News goes through the paths less taken – it is basically without moral principles as the focus is only one being the number one; where does that lead CP and his team?

The defence of Naradan :: The journalism that goes too hungry for TRP gets a dose here, as that side has been explored without any second thoughts to go with it – with a better ending, things could have been more in the movie’s favour. When Swantham Lekhakan released in 2009, this was a lot more relevant, and when Run Baby Run came into the picture in 2012 and Love 24×7 released in 2015, it continued to stay relevant – despite the YouTube channels gaining a little too many viewers, this one manages to establish the TRP hunt well, thanks to the leading performance from Tovino Thomas. There are some interesting moments related to the field, and we are all taken to this particular world from the beginning itself. One can also find some relations to incidents which happened in real life, but with the corona virus pandemic after that Jio revolution, things seem to have changed even further. Still, one would agree to the fact that news is not to be made for emotions, but discovered for the truth that it happens to be. Maybe, the movie would have been more relevant, releasing a few years ago.

The claws of flaw :: The problem with Naradan is that despite keeping on showing the mirror to media as a whole, it doesn’t show the same with the Youtube channels which do the same – except for a very few channels of high quality, there has been the lack of truth in Youtube, a case which will affect the common man’s senses more than the usual television channels, as the Jio revolution has made sure that anyone can say anything in the name of video blogging or vlogging. Unlike the usual media, the control is so much less there. The ending of Naradan is also not that convincing – there is a certain lack of power around there too. There could have also been a better show of the fight between the channels. In movies like this one, emotional side is also important, but the same doesn’t get to rise in its level either. The movie could have been strong with its pillars, but it decides to just go on without setting the base, which is why it seems to come down with its score here and there – the strong foundation is surely missing around here, along with the overall quality being low.

The performers of the soul :: Tovino Thomas once again comes up with some excellence here, but his role should have been closer to what he had played in Kaanekkaane instead of coming up with that change all of a sudden. Forensic had him in the thrillers, but Naradan has him with the negative side effectively. Anna Ben has a short period of time to perform here, even though the Kumbalangi Nights, Sara’s and Helen star remains solid during those moments – a better finish would have helped her cause more though. Vijayaraghavan and Joy Mathew have those smaller, but effective roles, even though they should have been there for more. Sharafudheen’s controlled role is really good. Balachandran Chullikkad and Jayaraj Warrier also have those smaller, but notable roles, which could have been expanded too – they just seem to disappear in between. Jaffer Idukki comes up with another role of a priest after Bro Daddy, and that seems to work really well for him. Renji Panicker and Lukman Avaran makes some good lawyers here too.

How it finishes :: Naradan would have been more effective if it came a few years earlier – the media that we know has been replaced by YouTube these days, and the common man seems to believe what is seen on the internet more than the television channels, and with so many such content in YouTube, the real Narada News would be one of the online channels. We do see so many channels which contradict with the news that they come up with, and we have also seen so many fights going on between these people. One would keep wondering where the truth lies with these channels, as there seems to be not much which can be trusted in the online world of chaos with social media being in the front to spread such news – Whatsapp universities and Facebook colleges do that more than anything else, but that is one blame which the films forgets with convenience, but we find some truth and engaging moments here. This is also not an easy task to deal with this topic, but the director of some of my favourite films like Rani Padmini, Mayaanadhi and Virus could have surely done better.

Release date: 3rd March 2022 (Theatre); 8th April 2022 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 149 minutes
Directed by: Aashiq Abu
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Anna Ben, Joy Mathew, Vijayaraghavan, Sharafudheen, Balachandran Chullikkad, Raghunath Paleri, Jayaraj Warrier, Kunchan, Rafi, Dileesh Nair, Rajesh Madhavan, Indrans, Lukman Avaran, Jaffer Idukki, Renki Panicker, Vijaykumar Prabhakaran, Koottickal Jayachandran, Navas Vallikkunnu

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Chapter 32 Verse 23

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32-23 (2)

***Full title in Malayalam: 32aam Adhyayam 23aam Vaakyam. Translated into English for convenience because of the length.

Vampire Owl :: I thought that you were going to watch something else.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, but I decided to promote Malayalam movies which are getting caught in the web of the movies in other languages. It is the responsibility of each and every Keralite to make sure that the Malayalam movies are saved.

Vampire Owl :: That sounds so awesome. What were you going to watch otherwise?

Vampire Bat :: It is what comes after ABCD.

Vampire Owl :: Okay, you mean EFGH.

Vampire Bat :: What? No, not all.

Vampire Owl :: Then is it IJKL or MNOP?

Vampire Bat :: No. What is wrong with you? It was ABCD 2!

Vampire Owl :: Well, in that case, I feel that this is an interesting decision.

Vampire Bat :: Yes, lets see.

[Starts the car].

What is it about? :: Ann (Mia George) is a journalist at Cochin and her husband Freddy (Govind Padmasoorya) who is working at the United States returns home only for a few days with a small break from work and expecting a promotion. They are celebrating their first wedding anniversary and gets a book as a present from a friend. As Freddy is having a lot of free time while Ann is at work, he starts reading that book and instantly begins to have a certain liking towards the work. He begins to imagine the life of the protagonist as his own, and it affects his personal life. Ann and their family friend Ravi (Lal) feels that he is somewhat losing his mind. But as he gets more interested in the incidents of the book and its number twenty three, he finds a few things from his past and will also uncover another mystery which has been unsolved for years.

The defence of 32aam Adhyayam 23aam Vaakyam :: The visuals are very good with this one. The movie explores the 23 enigma for the first time in Indian movies as far as most of us know, but there is still doubt it. As everything gets connected to the belief, this becomes one of those movies which tries to be different, and also choose to make an attempt on things which are not common in the Malayalam movie industry. The plot is good, and has scope. Still, it is an obvious risk, but a fair step in the right direction, and even if this might not work as much as expected, there is the hope for more of similar attempts. Also, you have to like how everything comes together as the movie gets near the end. The suspense is successfully maintained, and coming from a new team, this needs to be applauded. The songs are also pretty much okay and background score is nice.

The claws of flaw :: The movie doesn’t focus that much on the 23 enigma which was supposed to be the main point. Even the title of the movie itself is revealed to be relevant only in the end with the Holy Bible. The sequences which show the fiction from the book are quite bad. It was quite unnecessary, and one can guess what such things can be to audience if there is a chance to check how Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla turned out to be. It was like just adding to the drama in a ridiculous way instead of boosting the thriller side. There are moments when the movie also seems to struggle to make the point. There are no scares using the big number enigma and the first half struggles to get to the point. There could have been some horror elements added related the “number”. I haven’t watched the movie The Number 23, and so I won’t be the one talking to you about similarities and differences between the two flicks.

Performers of the soul :: Govind Padmasoorya manages to do his role well enough, except for those moments inside fiction where the same can’t be said. It was a world of disaster inside that imaginary world anyway. There is the need to expect nothing exceptional though. Mia George is very good here even though the focus was almost completely on the protagonist. The journalist role is something which seems to automatically suit her right from Memories despite the fact that there has been no movie based on media for her yet. Lal has a smaller role which he manages to do well in his usual style. The movie is basically around the leading actors, and so the contributions from the rest was always going to be less. But there is not much lost in the acting department.

Soul exploration :: The movie’s plot can be seen as an attempt for the protagonist to go through a novel and at the same time find his own past, with the support of incidents helped by fate. In the end, not only will the man have known the truth, but also would have become a better person. There is murder, but that which happened very long ago, and this movie would have worked even without that, because what matters more is a secret and also a belief which are searched and brought to light. This not about romance, and neither is it about a murder mystery. The story is about the mind rather than a sequence of thrilling events. It is sad that the same point is not really brought on the screen with its full energy, and it doesn’t make full connection with the audience as it was clear in the theatre. But the idea is the right one.

How it finishes :: 32aam Adhyayam 23aam Vaakyam could have been big if the idea was better transformed on the screen, but it isn’t. Still, the movie has enough to go on till the end as an okay thriller. The Malayalam movie industry has been regularly coming up with average or above average thrillers for quite a good amount of time, and it is time to move back up to the level of Drishyam and Memories. This year is struggling to have better Malayalam movies as a while despite the big success of Premam and the nice little wonder which was Mili. I would like to hear about something the Hollywood movie The Number 23 from anyone who has watched it. May be the makers could have chosen the number thirteen because it was a more accepted one. But for now, lets try and watch the variety with this movie and see what they have tried differently, can’t we?

Release date: 19th June 2015
Running time: 116 minutes
Directed by: Arjun Prabhakar, Gokul Ramakrishnan
Starring: Govind Padmasoorya, Miya George, Lal, Arjun Nandakumar, Sunil Sukhada, Sasi Kalinga, P.Balachandran, Balachandran Chullikkad, Rahul Karthik, Sreejith Pokkan, Gowry, Sasha Gopinath, Sharan

32-23

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.