Revathi – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: Are we going to watch another movie about corona virus lockdown?

Vampire Bat: I do not think that this would have the lockdown at the core.

Vampire Owl: I thought so because it is too late for anything related to that.

Vampire Bat: Well, such movies have lesser chances of working with the audience now.

Vampire Owl: Yes, there are so many things to deal with other than the past.

Vampire Bat: The opportunities spread towards infinity itself.

Vampire Owl: I remember that Dr. Frankenstein had written an essay about.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein is not educated to write that good an essay.

Vampire Owl: Frankenstein is a man of his word and the only one of his kind.

Vampire Bat: Even Uncle Dracula would not agree to that.

[Gets a butterscotch cake and three cups of badam tea].

What is the movie about? :: Anitha (Anupama Parameswaran) has been looking for a job since passing out from an engineering college. Despite being a bright student with good scores at college and in spite of her expertise, she was rejected at so many interviews that it affected her confidence beyond repair. Her father Suresh (Charle) has been working hard to make sure that his family have enough, and hopes that his two daughters do well in life, as he is always worried about his friend’s daughter who had eloped with a local goon and married him despite everyone begging her to stay. Anitha is determined to make her parents proud and will not stop until she gets a job. For the same, she has to stay close enough to home and also opt out of night jobs as her family does not approve of the same. At the same time, there are many local young men who are trying to win her love, but she is only focused on getting a job and earn enough to support her family which also includes her grandmother along with the younger sister and parents.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Sudha (Nirosha), Anitha’s mother, decides to take special care of their children due to the news about the children of people they know not being happy ones. Anitha’s best friend is Swapna (Priya Venkat) who live in the same city. But as she goes to a party with another one of her friends where she meets a Human Resources Manager of a famous IT company, she ends up being drunk and passes out. She comes to her complete sense only after two days, and continues to search for jobs despite the assurance of an offer letter in a month. Two months later, she gets a call from the company asking her to join. But by then, some time had passed since the first corona virus case was reported in India. As she begins to join, more restrictions are applied, and soon, she begins to feel very unwell. She goes for tests at the hospital, but by that time, the lockdown related to pandemic was being applied, and she could no longer go out. Her health was getting worse, and she was slowly realizing what was happening to her. But with the lockdown enforced, it was too late for her to do anything. Can she survive this?

The defence of Lockdown :: The movie addresses significant issues of the present such as consent, bodily autonomy, unplanned pregnancy and societal judgment. These days, the messages are often not considered with the seriousness that it deserves, but not this time. This is dealt nicely with an emotional side that works so well, mainly due to the leading actress never staying behind with her performance, standing tall, and rising to every moment of relevance in the flick. She particularly excels in the final moments as she fights against all odds when hope seems to fly away from her. The character’s journey feels so real to us due to her memorable performance. The emotions only get deeper as the movie progresses, and the helplessness of the protagonist makes the stakes much higher. The significance of family in a person’s life is also asserted, as we are reminded that the worst can be handled in the family with their support. The music as well as the technical departments nicely work efficiently with the film’s emotional tone and dramatic moments, making sure that the feeling is never lost.

The claws of flaw :: The movie still remains slow, and sometimes provides the feeling that it is going through the same thing again and again. It seems to bring the same kind of solutions again and again that we feel that the protagonist just has that option which does not happen and therefore need to keep trying one option multiple times. A final answer to what really happened and the right solution is not really provided by the movie as a few things are just left unanswered. There is no real investigation into the same and there is no idea of justice, as the focus only seems to be getting rid of the trouble and move on like nothing happened. The unresolved mystery means that the suspense never gets the strength and a thrilling side never gets stronger than the emotional drama that never stops running underneath story, as it was already established with an elopement and marriage. Then there are also those scenes and dialogues which can feel overly message-driven and meant to preach about a few societal elements. Some of the subplots are also lost in the way as the movie keeps its focus only on the protagonist.

The performers of the soul :: This is a movie of Anupama Parameswaran who delivers an emotionally convincing performance and effectively carries the film. This one is surely all about her as we keep seeing her on the screen almost every minute, and the movie itself seemingly runs for her, based on her predicament from where she keeps trying to escape one way or the other, despite the corona virus and its lockdown affecting her attempts. One keep feeling that Malayalam cinema is yet to have the best of Anupama, as movies like the debut work Premam, then Jomonte Suvisheshangal and The Pet Detective are never enough for someone with her calibre, as she keeps reminding us how good she can perform. Priya Venkat who plays her friend supports really well, and has her moments, as she goes through as one of the best comrades that one could have, standing by her friend’s side against all odds. Charle who plays the father and Nirosha who plays the mother also come up with the emotional performances that we note down. The fatherly affection will be something that we particularly remember. George Maryan, Livingston and all contribute well to support too.

How it finishes :: If you think that this a movie about that nation-wide lockdown with happenings related to that, you are surely going to be disappointed, as it plays only a part, and affects the proceedings from a side, bringing difficulties to the protagonist – otherwise it is not the main thing or the central idea that runs right through the movie. This is still that kind of a work which deals with the main idea well with some messages to take home. It sometimes provides the feeling that it is going the preachy way, but returns to the main thing soon enough. This could have actually gone on to be a conventional thriller, but instead focuses on the emotional and social consequences faced by the protagonist and makes itself more of a drama – in doing so, some of the answers are not provided and the focus is in staying within the tradition and not to deviate too much from it. Considering the present situation of a new generation, it is not really a bad thing, but the level of deviation or divergence will always remain in question as generations pass.

Release date: 30th January 2026
Running time: 119 minutes
Directed by: A R Jeeva
Starring: Anupama Parameswaran, Charle, Livingston, Nirosha, Priya Venkat, George Maryan, Indhumathi, Rajkumar, Shamji, Redin Kingsley, Abhirami, Revathi

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

What is the movie about? :: Kozhikode District collector Paul V Abraham (Tovino Thomas) gets an urgent call when he is about to leave home. There are a series of events that lead to the same, and most of it happens in the Kozhikode Medical Centre. A nurse named Akhila (Rima Kallingal), was taking care of a young man named Zachariah (Zakariya Mohammed), who was admitted to her hospital for fever, but is now suffering from the same symptoms. Dr. Abid Rahman (Sreenath Bhasi) is having his normal shift in the hospital as his lover and medical student Sara Yakub (Madonna Sebastian) shows signs of ending their relationship – at the same time, more and more patients are being admitted in the hospital. But the signs that some of these patients show are not natural, as the doctors figure out that something strange and unusual is coming up. It is also not limited to one or two people anymore, and there is panic.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: The samples are sent to Manipal to be tested by the experts led by Dr Suresh Rajan (Kunchacko Boban), and it is confirmed that it is Nipah virus which has affected the patients. With no vaccination or specific treatment available for the epidemic, the only hope for the goverment is quarantine, and hope to find the source, as well as make sure that it didn’t spread to many people. The team lead by Health Minister CK Prameela (Revathi) includes the collector Paul V Abraham with Dr Smrithy (Poornima Indrajith) and Dr Annu (Parvathy) in an attempt to stop the infection from spreading. First identified in 1998 in Malaysia, the disease, in most cases has taken the lives of those who were infected. With people not related to the first patient, like Unnikrishnan (Soubin Shahir) getting infected, there are questions raised how the source could be found. Are the authorities good enough to find it?

The defence of Virus :: The movie nicely deals with a situation that Keralites, especially those from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in the north of the state had to go through. With the virus showing its signs of return in the central area now, the case has gained further significance. One won’t fail to notice how the movie has kept itself close to reality, and how each character has been given significance, with each actor having a job to do. The movie is never dependent on one person, as there is no main character – there are only people who tries to help others, and a few others who try to survive in a world which is threatened by something new, and something deadly. The movie was a need, as the world needed to know the story, and making it a memorable one was Aashiq Abu’s duty, which he did with ease, as we have three good memories in a row, with Rani Padmini, Mayaanadhi and this one.

Positives and negatives :: The movie might feel slow at some points, but it quickly goes past the same. We are able to place ourselves in the place of the characters, and we go through their emotions with ease. The emotional strength of the movie is high, and it can even be more with different people, and their perspectives. The thrills are also there, and we keep close to the whole thing, each moment. Parts of the movie might be fictionalized, but our director surely knows where to stop that. The location is as nicely captured as the people themselves. The view from the top more or less makes us feel the city. You know what is going to happen in the end, and you want to know how we reach there, and to go through that journey, we are with the characters like never before – in creating that closeness to the characters, the director has succeeded.

The performers of the soul :: The movie has a fantastic cast, and the talent can be seen in each part of it. Parvathy comes up with another great job after Uyare, and this one has one more natural performance from her. Two of the three best movies of the year belongs to her, with the other one without her presence is Kumbalangi Nights. Tovino who was Parvathy’s co-star in Uyare had only memorable performances, with Lucifer, Ente Ummante Peru, Oru Kuprasidha Payyan, Theevandi and Maradona giving him a continuous impressive run in Malayalam movie industry. Here, once again, he owns his role. Kunchacko Boban didn’t have that much of a great run with his previous movies, but he is right there, solid with this role of a doctor. Asif Ali continues his choice of some good movies with another emotional role. Vijay Superum Pournamiyum had provided a great beginning to the year for him. Joju George, after Joseph, continues to strike our emotions in a beautiful way.

Further performers of the soul :: Indrajith Sukumaran and Rahman has smaller, but memorable roles, especially with the former who manages to come up with some nice moments in between. It is also great to see Poornima Indrajith after such a long time, and this is a role to remember for sure – nice to see Remya Nambeeshan there too. Revathi manages to do the job of Health Minister in a believable manner. The similarity in appearance has also been achieved up to an extent. Madonna Sebastian doesn’t have much to do here, and neither does Sharafudheen. Rima Kallingal is quick to come and go, and stays in memories because of the emotional connect with the real-life character being attained. Meanwhile, Sreenath Bhasi gets a different role this time, and he manages to provide complete justice to the same. He had provided some signs of the same in the last movie, but that was a mute character – this time, he raises the bar. The roles of Jinu Joseph and Dileesh Pothan are small, but to be noted. Unnimaya Prasad and Soubin Shahir also catches our attention.

How it finishes :: Virus is already the biggest movie of the weekend, with so almost all shows being booked early. The success here lies in the fact that it shows everything in a realistic manner, never do we see those unreal heroes – we feel that almost every character in there are people like us, and therefore part of us. We can feel the pain and troubles of the characters, as well as reflect the same. As Nipah virus once again becomes a cause of concern, this becomes a thing of focus yet again. Virus is a movie that needs to be watched for how it shows the people showing their fighting spirit and their concern for others, in a battle for survival. It is also a memory of the people who lost their lives in the process, especially the nurse, Lini Puthussery who died while doing her duty. It is the same reason why this movie needs to be watched more than any other.

Release date: 7th June 2019
Running time: 152 minutes
Directed by: Aashiq Abu
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Joju George, Jinu Joseph, Rahman, Soubin Shahir, Indrajith Sukumaran, Parvathy, Poornima Indrajith, Remya Nambeeshan, Revathi, Madonna Sebastian, Sreenath Bhasi, Indrans, Rima Kallingal, Dileesh Pothan, Senthil Krishna, Sharafudheen, Shebin Benson, Zakariya Mohammed, Sudheesh, Savithri Sreedharan, Darshana Rajendran, Basil Joseph, Lukman Lukku, Ann Saleem, Haris Saleem, Sajitha Madathil, Leona Lishoy, Nikhil Raveendran, Sreekanth Murali, Vettukili Prakash, Sreedevi Unni, Ambika Rao, Divya Gopinath, Unnimaya Prasad, Sundara Pandyan, Binu Pappu,Vimal Muraleedharan, Nilambur Ayisha