Keerthy Suresh – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I did like the trailer enough to go for this particular movie.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but we are less interested in watching movies in general.

Vampire Owl: We can’t leave the movies just like that.

Vampire Bat: We are not leaving them. We just don’t watch that many of them.

Vampire Owl: It is a deviation from our earlier policy.

Vampire Bat: There are no permanent policies in a world of chaos.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that chaos hasn’t left our world again.

Vampire Bat: I will not hesitate to say that it is forever.

Vampire Owl: Why is it that humans can’t keep the chaos to themselves?

Vampire Bat: Maybe they are too busy with evil that chaos is no longer deemed necessary.

[Gets a vancho cake and three cups of elaichi tea].

What is the movie about? :: Advocate Ebin Mathew (Tovino Thomas) and Advocate Madhavi Mohan (Keerthy Suresh) are collegues who have only started some progress in their field of expertise. While Ebin struggles to find the cases, Madhavi feels that she is wasting her time under a senior lawyer who doesn’t value her at all. Even though Madhavi is not even able to submit documents to the court properly, she blames other for it, and continuously plays the victim card. Advocate Satheesh Mulloor (Baiju Santhosh) tells them that there is a room available for setting up a lawyer’s office. They start working together, also falling in love in the process, and soon, Ebin gets appointed as the public prosecutor, as his influential brother-in-law manages to get his name ahead of the other lawyers trying for the post. Soon, as both of them are forced by their parents to get married, the two finally decide to get together with one another, even though Madhavi feels that she is not ready, as she is not settled yet. She is insecure because she always feels that she is targeted because she is a woman, but in reality, she remains an irritating person who doesn’t know how to talk to people with mutual respect. Ebin gets his first duty in the form of Anusha Shivakumar (Anagha Narayanan) who has filed a case against Gautam Ganesh (Anu Mohan), which goes forward as breach of promise to marry after intercourse.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Anusha had also tried to commit suicide after he had refused to marry her. But it turns out that Ganesh is a relative of Madhavi, and she is forced to take the case, much to the shock and dismay of Ebin, as he sees her in the court in defence of the accused. The two decide to keep the matters of court away from their personal lives in the beginning stages. Even though the two families find their marriage idea with the case going on in the background complicated, they agree to the alliance despite the community differences. But their battle against each other in the court soon begins to cause problems in their personal life, and most of the time, they try not to let anyone else know about the crisis. Ganesh assures Keerthy that he made no promise to marry Anusha at any point of time, and that they didn’t come close to a proposal either. Ebin and Madhavi continues to fight over the case, and the relationship gets to a new low. But the question remains about how far they can go on like this, and also about who will win the case in the end? Who will be the one desiring for a win the most? Where will pride and prejudice lead them?

The defence of Vaashi :: The film is pretty much effective as a courtroom drama, and has its moments to lift the level. It doesn’t make a mess of things even when there were so many chances – it sticks to the points instead of looking for mass masala dialogues like Jana Gana Mana, and there is not that much of a stress on romance and other usual nuisance which comes to ruin a film which deals with the relevant things. The movie has control over the world, and doesn’t go on to add the dialogues to get the claps. There are messages about right and wrong, while also talking about the complicated situation of law, as subjectivity and objectivity might come up with different results every time. It reminds us that people can’t be understood by just feeling that we have known them for very long, and also that balancing work and family is important. The songs are mostly good, even though not that much effective to remember for long. It is the combination of the leading performers that makes this one better – they do make us feel that they are stronger together, and the supporting cast contributes nicely. This is the kind of the movie which makes you feel the need to watch it from the trailer itself.

The claws of flaw :: The emotional side is not that effective unlike how it seems to have been intended. The movie rushes through some of the moments which should have taken more time, while it slows down for no particular reason at times. It doesn’t try to make the point strong enough, and in the end, even though there seems to be valid ideas, there are rather too many of them, and we feel that they bring conflict with each other, as ending struggles. The final talk about no right and wrong being present feels rather foolish, as one just can’t put everything in the grey zone, for good and evil makes the grey, sometimes a lighter version or at other times the darker one. Having one’s own principles matter in life, and trying to be righteous is not a bad thing. You just can’t avoid the opportunity to find the right thing to do, and it is where the spectrum of feel-good films lie, and we appreciate them for the amount of goodness it displays against the chaotic world – the female lead’s ideas also go vague from the beginning itself. In the end, it feels that the movie is trying to lose the meaning rather than to find it by the end.

The performers of the soul :: Tovino Thomas has another interesting movie for him, and manages to come up with a fine performance yet again. Minnal Murali star has had the different varieties of movies – Kaanekkaane of the emotional side, Forensic of the thriller side and Kilometers and Kilometers of the funny side. He gets to shine here, more than anyone else, as his character feels that it is the naïve young woman that needs justice as there was manipulation. Keerthy Suresh is back to Malayalam movie industry, and we only hope that she is here to stay. Even though her character does seem irritating in the beginning stages, she gets her moments in the later stages, and finishes off really well – the dialogue from Maayanadhi is nicely used in her speech, providing a reminder that women often get away easily due to the favourable laws and men are punished. Baiju Santhosh has another solid role which is done very well. Anagha Narayanan gets her moments to perform, and she contributes well – she could be the talent that Malayalam cinema industry could use more in future. Anu Mohan also gets a good role to work with after Twenty One Grams, and there is no trouble there either. Rony David also has a notable role which will be remembered. Kottayam Ramesh as magistrate is very much a fine act too. At the same time, Nandu plays the father figure in a convincing manner.

How it finishes :: The movie manages to be an engaging courtroom drama for most of its run-time. There are moments when the struggles appear, but with some other sequences, the movie gets over them. Here, we have something at almost all times to make up for what goes missing, and it is a film of ups and downs, but it talks about two sides of a problem effectively. The idea becomes even more relevant in the contemporary world, as similar cases have been in the news for some time, and one can only wonder if there will be answers to some questions which are raised by such situations. The world is a strange place, and it often struggles to provide truth in a world of lies. The movie also seems to have focused on taking a safe side, as there is no clear conclusion derived around here. It seems to try and make sure that it makes some point, but as it is reluctant to take any risk, the questions remain. Well, this is one movie which was of interest due to the cast and the premise, and considering the same, it has delivered well enough.

Release date: 17th July 2022 (Netflix); 17th June 2022 (Theatre)
Running time: 128 minutes
Directed by: Vishnu G Raghav
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Keerthy Suresh, Anagha Narayanan, Anu Mohan, Baiju Sathosh, Rony David, Kottayam Ramesh, G Suresh Kumar, Maya Menon, Sreelakshmi, Nandu, Maya Viswanath, Arya, Vanitha Krishnachandran, RJ Raghu, Meera Nair PS, Amal Rajdev, Vijaya Kumari

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

What is Geethanjali? :: Even as all of us literature students have to answer this with Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, the collection which made him the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the only Indian to win the same so far. But as the Vampire Bat is not alive enough to talk about such great works of Indian literature, he is talking about a movie of the same name, not about the National Film Award-winning Telugu movie of the same name, but the recently released indirect sequel to the masterpiece which was Manichitrathazhu. It once again has Mohanlal as Dr. Sunny Joseph, one of the most loved characters in the Malayalam movie industry. Its been a long time since there was a Mohanlal movie too. Thanks to the hype and the well-made trailer, this became one of the most anticipated releases of the time, even when colliding with the other movies which released during the same weekend – Thira, Insidious: Chapter 2 and Ram-leela.

What is it about? :: There were two twins, Geetha and Anjali (both Keerthy Suresh) (together making the movie Geethanjali – if one of them was Chitra, the movie would have been Chitranjali, like the name of the studio which was used by the film?) and only Anjali is alive now, as the other is supposed to have committed suicide by jumping into the sea – and body not found. Anjali comes back to her home where she lived till her youth after her mother falls down from the terrace and goes into a comma. Her fiancee is also with him, and at the house, she has visions of her dead sister who also loved the same person. The vision of the ghost who seem to try to end her life to keep the lover away from her, makes life uncomfortable for the young lady. The fiancee Anoop (KP Nishan) calls Nakulan (Suresh Gopi) who recommends Dr. Sunny Joseph (Mohan Lal) for the case, but the question remains if the future bride can remain alive or at least in his senses before the man arrives, and if he can solve this mystery before anything horrible happens.

The defence of Geethanjali :: It is hard to defend a movie which has been so much critically panned in a nation where even Krrish 3 gets positive reviews in another corner. Yes, this corner is famous for movies which usually get two or two point five out of five, and this miserly area doesn’t give away much. But let me tell you that Geethanjali scores with its environment, the almost effective scary scenes and the added twist, with the funny elements supporting it quite well. The cinematography helps the movie a lot, and this should be the first visually superior horror movies in Malayalam movie industry. The last good horror movie was Sahasram, released in 2010, starring Suresh Gopi. This doesn’t live up to that either, but the attempt is there, even if not original or with the right flow. Check out for Keerthy Suresh too, as she scores in her first movie – there is something called legacy, and she might be some of the few who might be proving it. There should be no comparisons to Manichitrathazhu though – who compares Dracula or Interview with the Vampire to Twilight? And as Alexander Pope says in Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot: “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?”

The claws of flaw :: The worst thing that could happen to this movie is that it released with Thira, which is already a hit as it comes from a man who has cent percent success rate. I can remember that Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Thattathin Marayathu was a hit months before it released. I am also sure about watching it myself. The problem is that the more we praise that one, the more we tend to downgrade this movie. To add to it, there are the copied things, along with the ghost who looks like the daughter of the Avatar guy and The Ring girl. The mirror and the ceiling fan leaks instead of the television and there is a lot of hair like The Grudge. More details about similarities can be found in the details with spoilers section. One can say that the movie tried too much to be like Manichitrathazhu, and there is a big problem, for it can’t be the same as the world has changed and so did a lot of things. People are also looking for something of variety just like the original classic, and more flawless stuff including no small mistakes (like Armenian Orthodox Church cross having Latin inscriptions and there might be quite some concerning the twins).

Performers of the soul :: Mohanlal is the star psychatrist yet again, but this time he has less screen presence, and this surely won’t be the Dr Sunny that we remembers. He makes his entrance just before the second half of the movie, and once he enters, there is a lot of hope being built up – even as he lives up to it with his performance, there is not that much in the story. His combination with Innocent is very good and Swapna Menon is a pleasant surprise and a fine addition to the funny side of the movie. Harisree Ashokan also contributes in a lesser manner to the comic side. Nishan has a weak role, but does the romantic part very well, but not that much in he climax scene where the debutant Keerthy Suresh takes over with a wonderful performance to support the beautiful screen presence. She doesn’t go on to become another beautiful young actress who can’t act – she does incredibly well as the two sisters, too good for a debutant. Well, the beauty gets more than just the pass marks. Its her movie, as she is both the protagonist and the antagonist. Siddique and Nassar provides nice support, and Seema’s role is too limited – Madhu’s character was almost not needed.

Details with spoilers :: The story has so much in common with Nadiya kollappetta Rathri and Chaarulatha, the former was one of my favourites, and this impersonation for love was well performed by Kavya Madhavan and rightly investigated by the character of Suresh Gopi. The latter which was a remake of a 2007 movie Alone, had a lot of things which this movie now has in common. The twins who impersonate and kill for love was told as an investigative thriller in the first case, and as a pure ghost story in the second. The good thing is that they are not conjoined twins like the latter. Our movie has a psychological twist to the same, seemingly attempting to make it just like Manichitrathazhu, and also adding some comedy in between. If you haven’t watched the two movies, this shall be a new experience for you, or if you want to repeat the experience in another way, this movie can help. Those who don’t like the two movies much and don’t want any more of it, might want to skip it though. I felt so from some of the reactions from a few. This is not going to be remembered in the later days like the well-crafted Devadoothan either.

How it could have been :: This could have been a lot better, there is no doubt about that. The ghost and the supernatural would have been better not shown and not observed by the family other than the girl. The blue ghost could have done better if shown just in the shadows without the support of water and the fallen hair. The sea on one side is a clear negative on a house which formerly made us feel that it is at a remote location on some hill or mountain. The darkness itself could have been an ally to a possible psychological thriller in this one. The songs might have done better if not coming up when not needed. The suspense could have been made more shocking even without the support of deaths. Mohanlal could have made an entry earlier. Overall, there should be no following the policy of the early classic, instead having some life of its own, keeping further distance from the movies which were used as inspirations. I would be surprised if even the C.I.D Moosa sequel can be any good considering the limited imagination involved with making sequels. Meanwhile, a horrible drop for this movie might discourage horror movies in Malayalam, and I am not going to stand that!

Release date: 14th November 2013
Running time: 150 minutes
Directed by: Priyadarshan
Starring: Mohanlal, Keerthy Suresh, KP Nishan, Swapna Menon, Siddique, Innocent, Ganesh Kumar, Nassar, Madhu, Seema, Harisree Ashokan, Chris Gayle Kuttappan, Suresh Gopi (cameo)