Ittymaani

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: Ittymaani (Mohanlal) was born in China to Malayali parents who settled down in the Eastern nation because his father was a martial arts expert. After spending a childhood close to the Forbidden City, they return home, his father begins a Chinese restaurant and catering services at Kunnamkulam in Thrissur district of Kerala. Ittymaani himself adds more to this business including creating duplicates of almost everything he wants to, as it was a popular thing happening in the town itself. With Sainuddhin (Dharmajan Bolgatty) and Sugunan (Aju Varghese) for help, Ittymani continues his business as well as some commission programmes which become part of it. He is happy with his life, even though he never even came close to being married, much to the dismay of his mother Theyyamma (KPAC Lalitha). He does agree for marriage, but even after seeing more than thirty girls, there is nothing positive coming out of the procedure.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: Ittymaani is also in charge of the church committee, but things are messed up when Joji Pothen (Hareesh Parumanna) takes revenge on him for rejecting his sister Lissie Pothen (Honey Rose). But with the help of his old friend who becomes the new vicar, Fr. John Paul (Siddique), he manages to get back some of his pride. But it is at the same time that the extremely wealthy Plaamoottil Annamma (Raadhika Sarathkumar), their neighbour and good friend has a heart attack. She has been a widow for a long time, and has lived alone for a long time with her sons and daughter having left her in the name of their jobs and childrens’ education. They tell her that they would come and see her soon, but nothing happens – even when Annamma lands in the Intensive Care Unit, they leave everything to Ittymaani and go for a pleasure trip, leading to the worsening of her condition. Ittymaani decides to help her, but how can he?

The defence of Ittymaani: Made in China :: There is a certain amount of humour in this movie which keeps it going, and even though there are actors working for it throughout the film’s run, there is also a certain amount of the same from other more serious characters. There is also the message about how parents are treated by the sons and daughters once they get old, and after the children get well-settled with their own kids in the city. It also becomes a tribute to the old parents abandoned in such a way, as the reference is there even when the movie is not referring to the same; we have to forget those jokes made in bad taste though – in the end, there is also a full strength preaching regarding the care that the elderly people deserves. The movie does stick to the Onam festival mood though, as this is also a kind of movie that the family audience wants to watch during vacations – it could be reflected in the number of people who came to watch the movie too.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does have that tendency to reveal the saint out of the protagonist in the end, as it is a heart attack which becomes deus ex machina too – Its a little bit like Madambi where the main character is misunderstood, even though the golden heart is revealed to the audience a little too early this time. A number of characters are also wasted in this movie, and some of them are played by some fine actors, which is disappointing. Some of the jokes are also disappointing, and one could have avoided them to make this one feel more appropriate in relation to the message that it wanted to convey. The movie had to live up to the cause, but it never tries that. The movie is also too long, and with not much of an interesting story in there, it has to depend on comedy all the time. The drag that the movie shows in the middle part makes the whole setting go less interesting. There are also no good songs in between to bring a better mood.

The performers of the soul :: Mohanlal once again has himself as the centre of everything, and all the other characters make way for him, as he finds something out of this lesser tale. With his character being highly popularized with much hype, the audience was also banking their hopes on him. But this is certainly not a challenging role, and also for KPAC Lalitha, this mother-son combination comes easy. Madhuri Braganza plays her younger version with no trouble, after that touch with Joseph. Raadhika Sarathkumar doesn’t get that much of a lead even though the movie soon gets centred around her. Aju Varghese and Dharmajan Bolgatty get to add some fun as usual, but some jokes seem to be rather cheap and missing the mark. Kailash and Swasika do have some little moments of humour to add here too. Hareesh Perumanna is the other actor to add to the comic side, but his role is also side-lined.

Further performers of the soul :: As far as Honey Rose is considered, there is nothing more decorative than she is, contributing nothing to the movie, other than being there for about ten minutes, half of the same being in video chat – even during the rest of her moments in the movie, she has very less to speak. If this is not a cameo, one would wonder what it is – another actress, a model could have done the job, serving the ornate purpose. It wouldn’t have been that difficult with Viviya Santh being there in the cast, with not much to do. We see the need for the actress to be on the screen and act disappearing, and that is disappointing. There are also many other actors and actresses whom we might miss if we miss a few seconds of action on the big screen. The actors like Saju Navodaya and Salim Kumar are restricted in the same fashion, and Sunil Sukhada gets even lesser moments. But thankfully, Siddique gets his due yet again, as he once again shines in the priest role, and has some fine scenes of comedy.

How it finishes :: The movie does struggle hard to get to its message, and goes through the journey with a certain amount of humour, and a part of it going the wrong way. But it is still an entertaining movie considering the fact that it has a good number of moments to cheer for, and a message for the society coming in the end. Even though Love Action Drama also focuses on the funny side, it never felt trying to be serious or logical, but Ittymaani is trying a little bit too much to be dealing with something serious, and it is a serious challenge to its quality of completeness, as the story itself never really becomes a whole. Still, as it is Onam, we get to see movies like this one, and enjoy them to the fullest, leaving with a mood of celebration – after all, the students get only eight or nine days for holidays during this Onam season. I wish you all a Happy Onam, do watch all these Onam releases in the theatres along with those which have carried on from earlier, like Porinju Mariyam Jose and Thanneermathan Days!

Release date: 6th September 2019
Running time: 158 minutes
Directed by: Jibi Joju
Starring: Mohanlal, Honey Rose, Madhuri Braganza, Swasika, Raadhika Sarathkumar, Aju Varghese, Johny Antony, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Salim Kumar, Sijoy Varghese, Saju Navodaya, Sunil Sukhada, Siddique, Hareesh Perumanna, Kailash, Vinu Mohan, Aristo Suresh, Sethulekshmi, Saju Kodiyan, Anjana Appukkuttan, Asokan, KPAC Lalitha, Rajesh Paravoor, Antony Perumbavoor (cameo)

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Ira

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: Dr. Aryan (Gokul Suresh) arrived at Cochin from Kolkata, trying to leave a mark in his own home state, but is accused of murdering the Minister of Forests and Wildlife Protection, KP Chandy (Alencier Ley Lopez) who seemingly dies due to cardiac arrest. The much discussed case becomes a favourite for the media, as the minister was already in the news for corruption allegations, and his son, the next big name in politics, Jacob Chandy (Shanker Ramakrishnan) is looking forward to punish the man who is supposed to have murdered his father. Aryan is accused of being a naxalite and part of a group which is known to target politicians, and police is very much interested in making him confess to this crime. It is during these times that Inspector Rajeev (Unni Mukundan) arrives to take over the investigation from Delhi.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: Rajeev doesn’t have a smooth run with the investigation, as the Commissioner of Police, Satheesh Varma (Kailash) is not interested in helping him. Even the people at the hospital seems to be not that much interested in helping him. But beginning with the taxi driver who dropped Aryan at the nearby church, Rameshan (Saju Navodaya), Rajeev begins to solve the mystery. There is more than what meets the eye with this tale, and he soon finds one love story which becomes the core of the whole thing, with Jennifer Jacob (Niranjana Anoop), the neighbour of Aryan, and his own tale of love with a girl whom he met in a forest near Kothamangalam, a long time ago – Karthika (Miya George). Now, the question remains about who is so much interested in framing Aryan as the murderer of a minister, and it is a difficult question to solve.

The defence of Ira :: We can see that the suspense stays strong throughout the movie, and there is the nice use of opportunities for twists towards the end. The first half as well as the second, has its thrilling moments as well as an effective emotional side. The entertainment side is strong throughout its run, and it has the audience interested in the investigation, and the predicament of the main characters. It is something offering a full run of entertaining moments, even adding some jokes here and there, with some of them working well. We can see how much the politicians manipulate people, and how so many incidents are twisted to be of advantage to them – we see where the common man’s place is, and what they are made to believe by putting them into a coma of indirect oppression. The visuals are very good, especially those of the forest, as we see that it is close enough to the locations where Pulimurugan and Shikkari Shambhu were shot – the beautiful world on the other side of Kothamangalam.

The claws of flaw :: There seems to be reflection of real life moments in the movie, but they really have no point here, and we see that they are unable to affect the movie well enough to make an impact worth remembering – these are more or less like the ingredients added to catch the attention of the viewers with the manifestation of a strange visage. We can also guess a number of things about this movie, as there is not that much focus on making sure that all minor twists hold ground. The movie could have also focused more on its title, as its oppressed including the tribals and the common people facing powerful politicians, never really get enough of justice, even though the poetic justice is delivered by vengeance. This could have been a better thriller, no doubt about that – it could have had a smarter investigation, and a stronger backstory which would be able to connect better with the right kind of bridges between the past and the present.

The performers of the soul :: Unni Mukundan doesn’t have any problem with this police role, the kind which he has already done before. From the nice entry in the beginning, he has things under control, with no real challenge being present in there to play this particular police officer for him. Gokul Suresh seems to be getting better with every movie, and we see how things have managed to rise in quality from Mudhugauv to Masterpiece, and now here. Even though Unni Mukundan’s police officer is established as the hero very early, we come to know in the end that all that Gokul’s character did was of high purpose, from the very first moment itself, with or without him knowing about it. There are also signs of a younger Suresh Gopi with his work, and the viewers are sure to wait for more from him. The significance of him being in an action-thriller is displayed so.

Further performers of the soul :: As you will notice here, the movie does have quite an interesting list of actors. The main female lead would be Miya George, even though she has lesser time on the screen, arriving late, and leaving rather early – she is very good in her work here. It is rather surprising that we don’t see that much of her work these days, Niranjana Anoop has more presence, and has done a pretty good job. There is a long way to go for her, in the industry for sure. Alencier Ley Lopez plays the corrupt politician in a nice way, Shanker Ramakrishnan plays a pretty good negative character for most of the time. Lena plays a strong character, that of a lawyer with ease, and Saju Navodaya only has a few moments to bring the laughter, which he manages; so does Nelson during the flashback moments.

How it finishes :: Ira has enough to make sure that the viewers are engaged at all moments. It might not be the best investigative thriller of our times, but it possesses enough in there to make sure that the audience is entertained. One might think that it could have been made better, as the premise was set very well. But it has been difficult to make good stories of investigation for some time in Malayalam industry, and Ira makes sure that something more is added to that genre. Well, thrillers don’t usually have enough support from the audience, unless it has those family elements like Drishyam, and also has a big superstar at the helm. Let us hope that this one has that support, as experimentation in the genre seems to have stopped rather too early. If the early opinions about the movie is going to continue, Ira might be followed by more of similar flicks.

Release date: 16th March 2018
Running time: 139 minutes
Directed by: Saiju SS
Starring: Unni Mukundan, Gokul Suresh, Miya George, Lena, Alencier Ley Lopez, Niranjana Anoop, Shanker Ramakrishnan, Neeraja, Saju Navodaya, Kailash, Nelson, Mareena Michael Kurisingal

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Masterpiece

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Tennyson

What is the movie about? :: An arrogant Roshan Cherian (John Kaipallil) and an adamant Mahesh Raj (Maqbool Salmaan) leads two rival gangs at the Travancore Maharaja College in the centre of the city. These two gangs, Royal Warriors and Real Fighters fight for domination, with hockey sticks, cricket bats, cycle chains, table legs or whatever they can find, sometimes in the remote corners of the huge college campus, and at other right times, right in front of the students and faculty, much to the dismay of the Roshan’s father, Vice Principal Cherian Philip (Mukesha) and Principal Narayana Kaimal (Sunil Sukhada). There is no shortage of chaos already, but the love story of a Real Fighters member Unnikrishnan (Gokul Suresh) with a girl named Vedhika (Mahima Nambiar) from the nearby college makes things even worse. They soon find the dead body of Vedhika in the college premises, and first suspect for the crime is Unnikrishnan who is arrested.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: Soon, Unnikrishnan is found hanging inside his cell in the police station, and things get worse. A.C.P. John Thekkan I.P.S. (Unni Mukundan) who was leading the investigation lands up in the hospital after college students attack the police, and S.I. Ramakrishnan (Kalabhavan Shajohn) is suspended after being held responsible for the death of the student. There are wide protests in the city by student organisations which take over the whole thing, and as Vedhika comes from a reputed and rich family, and is the daughter of an influential politician, pressure mounts on the officials, and a new team lead by A.C.P Bhavani Durga I.P.S. is brought to action. With John Thekkan expected to return and join the team soon, the group decides to take quick and firm action against the possible culprits before new orders come from the top again.

And what comes next with this murder mystery? :: After questioning the peon of the college, Sankarankutty (Santhosh Pandit), canteen in charge Maniyan (Saju Navodaya) and helper Reji (Bijukuttan), the police comes to know that Roshan had alcohol mixed in Unnikrishnan’s drink making sure that he wouldn’t get to meet Vedhika who was waiting for them at the beach, where she was last spotted. Roshan becomes the suspect, and the police tries to enter the campus to arrest him, only to be stopped by protesting students, with the exception of Real Fighters who welcome the move to arrest the leader of Royal Warriors. As police and students fight inside the campus, the new English professor arrives to take charge – Edward Livingstone (Mammootty) who has a record of police cases for himself. He decides to change the whole setup in the college, and re-unite its students, as police looks for the murderer.

The defence of Masterpiece :: It is after Mammootty arrives that this movie gets better, as the latter part of the movie is surely better. There will also be a lot for the fans, and that is for sure – as I skipped the early fan shows and watched the movie with normal hardworking people, there was no focus on those mass scenes in the theatre. The suspense is maintained till the end, and the revelation awaits at the final moments. Just like Aadu 2, this one is for more the fans, and the other categories of viewers will find only limited impact. The festival mood of this holiday season is also maintained in this movie. This leaves no surprise about how well the movie began at the theatres, as the first of the many flicks of Christmas including Mayaanadhi, Vimaanam, Aadu 2 and Aana Alaralodalaral. Well, it is always good to go back to the campus isn’t it? And nothing better than a murder mystery in a college campus to provide a grand entry for the hero who is all prepared to go invincible and immortal in a world of cheap mortal humans.

The claws of flaw :: You will find Masterpiece to be too similar to Mohanlal starrer Velipadinte Pusthakam, but the mass elements are rather too much in this one. A college professor with a complicated past coming into a college where students battle each other as part of two separate gangs with a murder behind – just the same idea that you had seen on the big screen earlier. The shots of hero throwing the goons to the Mahindra Scorpios parked there, destroying the vehicles too easily will have the makers of the vehicles wonder what would happen if a Scooty is to hit them in the middle – will the SUV be split into two then? Then there is a modified vehicle which goes through walls – are they promoting this vehicle against Mahindra? Is that a foreign-made SUV that is declared to be better than Mahindra SUVs? The hero also throws a heavily built villain around with one hand a little too many times, and the movie could have done without these scenes. In this too long a movie, the jokes are less effective and there is confusion about where it is going. Slow motion is used badly as expected.

The performers of the soul :: It takes just above an hour for Mammootty to come in, and it might be because of the presence of too many characters that it takes so long. It is after he arrives that things begin to get interesting, as he immediately makes the impact as the college professor. The two female characters who are there till the end, Poonam Bajwa and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar got not much to contribute, playing stereotypes. Mahima Nambiar gets better but the character goes dead. Unni Mukundan has to go a little too much towards the stylish side, but has our attention. Kalabhavan Shajohn is someone who never struggles in this one, as a cop suits him so well just like in Oppam and Drishyam. Gokul Suresh did believable work here. John Kaipallil and Maqbool Salmaan were good playing what Arun Kurian and Sarath Kumar played in Velipadinte Pusthakam. Saju Navodaya brings some comedy here and here with Bijukuttan, but not that much as we would expect. Captain Raju brings some laughs, even though we see more going over the head.

How it finishes :: The movie is something which seems to be exactly opposite what the title says. Masterpiece is exactly what this movie isn’t, but if we separate the word into two, and say “Master in pieces”, that would be more appropriate. But as Velipadinte Pusthakam itself was, this is not really a terrible movie. There is something here and there for the fans, and we know that the core idea had more potential. The hero worship in this movie is exactly what brings this movie down – it is always the superstar’s fans and their needs that brings a wonderful actor down, as it is proven on so many occasions. We need to forget a few moments defying gravitational force along with slow motion, and some unnecessary dialogues about respecting women without meaning the same when there is no need, and we have one twist awaiting us in the end, and a villain whom we least expected. As a thriller, the idea at the base is surely good, but we have to often wonder at the final product.

Release date: 21st December 2017
Running time: 160 minutes
Directed by: Ajai Vasudev
Starring: Mammootty, Unni Mukundan, Poonam Bajwa, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Mahima Nambiar, Megha Mathew, Lena, John Kaipallil, Mukesh, Gokul Suresh, Maqbool Salmaan, David John, Santhosh Pandit, Kailash, Nandu, Divya Pillai, Sunil Sukhada, Arjun Nandhakumar, Saju Navodaya, Thesni Khan, Divyadarshan, Ameer Niyaz, Bijukuttan, Shivaji Guruvayoor, Udaykrishna, Renji Panicker, Manikkuttan, Anjali Nair, Captain Raju

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Pathemari

Posted on October 10, 2015 by Tennyson

What is it about? :: Pathemari is a movie of struggle and survival through an unfair world. Pallikkal Narayanan (Mammootty) is a man who left for the Middle East with his friend Moideen (Sreenivasan) and many others on a boat defeating the waves of sea to swim and reach UAE at a time when the border laws were not as strict as it is now. Becoming part of that exodus from Kerala to the Gulf area at that time when unemployment was at its peak, Naranan becomes the symbol of the journey that one has to undertake to make sure that the whole family survives. He is someone who struggles for not just one’s own family, but the extended relatives as he keep working to see life getting better for them while his youth as well as the existence beyond that disappears. But he continues to do the same without complaints.

The defence of Pathemari :: There is a lot of truth and sincerity on display in Pathemari. It is certain that a lot of NRIs, not just of the Middle East, but also belonging to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and may be even other nations can relate to the story here. It doesn’t change according to circumstances, but instead stick to the common man. The movie’s second half and the ending are the more powerful ones; the finish might be the most touching one – simple, but easy to be connected and with significant power to touch one’s emotions. It is sad, and with its sadness, the movie becomes lovable; with the depressing truth which it shows on the screen, it becomes more beautiful – it is a poetry of lost hope and desire which brings tears to the eyes of the audience; this is what the ending of the movie is truly about. There are also some nice visuals for support.

Claws of flaw :: Pathemari doesn’t bring anything new to the most part of its story-line. There is the usual problems of a man who has left home reflected here. It follows the sacrifice model of movies like Vatsalyam and the problems of the man who returns from the Middle East with the relatives as in Varavelpu, even though this one follows a more realistic path and passes through the ages. There is also some drag here and there, even though the emotional side hides it for most of the time. The movie could have shown some more of the life in the Middle East too, how the protagonist had struggled there throughout the ages with how the others have lived and faded around there; it would have been a fine boost; after all the movie is also shot there – but we have to appreciate the fact that they have kept the movie not too long. The songs are not interesting, but other music is catchy.

Performers of the soul :: Even though Mammootty takes some time to appear in this flick, he becomes the heart and soul of Pathemari as soon as that happens. Most of us have been complaining about his choice of movies with Acha Din and Utopiayile Rajavu, but he gives no chance for us to complain this time. As the director had earlier said, what we see is the just the character through ages, and not Mammootty as he lives as this character who becomes not just Pallikkal Narayanan, but many other people who really exist. It is his grand return to the class role that we see here, and it is something worth the applause that even the multiplex never hesitated to provide. What has to be admired more about this movie as the commercial thing is that it didn’t overdo its promotions, and the fans have also been self-controlled in their actions in favour of this movie.

Further Performers of the soul :: This is also the debut movie of Jewel Mary who was first seen in Utopiayile Rajavu which released first because of the delay on Pathemari. She is good on her debut, and her performance is clearly above what was seen in the movie which first released. Sreenivasan has a memorable role in this one, and so does Siddique who has a smaller but interesting character to play. Salim Kumar just has a small presence while Joy Mathew brings another good performance on screen. The actresses Anju Aravind and Anu Joseph gets to play the sisters of Mammootty, and it good to see them back on the big screen out of those serials. Siddique’s son Shaheen Siddique also makes a good debut in this movie. All of them make sure that Pathemari is indeed driven by performances.

Soul exploration :: There is something about the life of the NRIs that people here won’t know about. Even though the people who leave for the foreign nations these days have better status, it was not the case during the early days. As the situation here was so bad, they just wanted to get there so that things could only get better if they survived. But people here would think that they live a happy life there and are sending only a small amount of money after spending like they wish to. It might be so in the case of some people these days, especially the youth, but in most cases, when we consider people who have left to save their families, it has always been about survival and saving the family. There are lots of people who haven’t gained much for themselves or their children, but have managed to make sure that their brothers, sisters and cousins have managed to do better – aren’t they winners too?

How it finishes :: As far as NRIs who have left not for glory, but due to the problems at home are concerned, this one will be a big reflection. It will also be effective for the rest, and it won’t be easy for anyone to leave the theatre without being touched by the emotions, and this abiding sadness is an achievement for the movie. In the end, we know that there are good men and bad men, and with both types among the achievers, we further feel that most of the people who have failed are actually very good men who have sacrificed a lot for others – but it is actually an achievement in itself to have suffered and gained victories for others in a world where only the rich are officially considered the achievers even by the relatives and friends of the poor. It is an achievement often forgotten, as the rich write their own names into the history; but God knows, and so does nature.

Release date: 9th October 2015
Running time: 109 minutes
Directed by: Vinay Govind
Starring: Mammootty, Sreenivasan, Joy Mathew, Jewel Mary, Siddique, Anu Joseph, Anju Aravind, Salim Kumar, Shaheen Siddique, Saju Navodaya, Yavanika Gopalakrishnan, Hashik TK, Kalabhavan Haneef, Viji Chandrasekhar, Santosh Keezhattoor, Safin, Nyla Usha (cameo)

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Life of Josutty

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Tennyson

What is it about? :: The movie goes through the life of Josutty (Dileep) from his childhood till the age of fourty. His childhood friend is Jessy (Rachana Narayanankutty) whom he wants to marry when she finishes her degree. But as he has no education or job, her father rejects the proposal. Despite the best efforts of the two, she gets married to someone else. Meanwhile, Josutty and his family goes into deeper trouble due to loans. To get rid of these problems, he decides to marry a nurse working in New Zealand, Rose (Jyothi Krishna) whose family offers to pay his loans. Even though it is her second marriage, his good friends Geevarghese (Noby Marcose), Rameshan (Pashanam Shaji) and other well-wishers tell him that it is the right or the only decision. So he gets married to the lady and soon gets the visa to New Zealand. Another stage of his life begins there.

The defence of Life of Josutty :: The first fear that the audience will have is if this will be something like Kadal Kadannu Mathukkutty due to its theme, but that is averted very early itself. The movie’s life is in the first half as there is a lot of humour right there. The best comic scenes come with the three, Dileep, Noby and Suraj, joined also by Pashanam Shaji at times. The scene during the wedding is the best of them all, and it will remain in your minds for long because it is more of a reality shown in a comic way. The emotional sequences are also very much effective, even without the depth. There are some messages which are given at regular intervals, and this movie is sure to be effective for the families. The best thing about the movie is still the cinematography. There is some CGI added, but the shots are really breath-taking, both from the hilly areas of Kerala and the landscape of New Zealand. The songs are mostly good. It is Jeethu Joseph whose way of creating magic that saves this movie when there is struggle in the story.

Claws of flaw :: Facing challenges from fans of other actors and movies due to the presence of too many movies at the theatres, Life of Josutty will have its collection of blind haters. But if one understands where the focus of the movie is, and that it is close to reality in the form of an autobiography, you can’t deny the movie its due. The movie still has a certain amount of identity crisis with its half-baked elements, the biggest of them being the idea to bring some magic realism, which was not needed – surely not in the way it was shown in this movie. The ending also fails to deliver what seemed to the purpose of this movie’s soul, and it is more like finding a comfortable ending to what was so close to life. The second half is no match to the first half, as the scenes in New Zealand lags related to the comic side, and often takes the easy way out. It seems that there is a little misconception here about what should have been the strength of the movie – otherwise, this would have been a lot deeper.

Performers of the soul :: This debut production venture from Eros International in Malayalam has Dileep joining Jeethu Joseph for the second time, and their earlier combination was pure comedy in the form of My Boss which never ceased to entertain, and Dileep has also been moving away from mindless comedies to become closer to the regular family audience with Chandrettan Evideya and Love 24×7. This one actually gets a lot closer to his title “Janapriyanayakan” as he maintains that tranquility in his performance which makes the innocent protagonist of the movie a reflection of humanity’s lost goodness. Rachana Narayanankutty surprisingly has just a short stay while Jyothi Krishna plays her role very well. The new face, Renjini Rupesh leaves a mark as the third heroine of the movie, but she is the one who makes the biggest impact in the story.

Further performers of the soul :: In this movie which comes with lesser hype and a lot less social media promotion compared to its rivals Ennu Ninte Moideen and Kohinoor, there is no shortage of strength concerning the actors delivering the comedy as they joins Dileep. Among them, the most noticable one is Noby Marcose who plays the protagonist’s childhood friend, and this man who made the big impact in Vodafone Comedy Stars show provides us with his best comic performance in this one. It is always fun when he is around, and this time he has a lot more to do than in most of the other movies; we miss him when the scene shifts to New Zealand. Suraj Venjaramoodu comes in and gets a lot of claps as he offers some nice one-liners. Pashanam Shaji and others also add to the same, and Chembil Asokan comes later to bring the comedy. Hareesh Peradi makes the best emotional impact here.

Soul exploration :: One often wonders what life is all about. Most of the time, there is almost no point in living. But there is no shortage of things that life teaches us. The movie’s big message remains that “life is a text book from which you keep learning all the time”, and as the autobiography of the protagonist is shown, everything comes back to where it started, and our hero has managed to learn a lot in the end. This one just progresses as if it is just a reflection of life, with the protagonist’s life going on and on. The movie remains very much close to the common man’s problems and insecurities even though the ending just adds that unnecessary cliche. The reality could have been enforced better with the assertion that there are no happy endings in life. As it is already said on the poster, there is no twist or suspense, but just life itself on the screen.

How it finishes :: Life of Josutty comes from the man who hasn’t done much wrong with his works yet. Starting with one of the more complicated investigative thrillers of all-time called Detective, and following it with Mummy and Me which provided a nice lesson for both the youth and the parents, Jeethu Joseph had those humble and powerful beginnings; and the real fun movie which was My Boss continued the same. Then the magic of the psychological crime thriller Memories and the great family drama Drishyam followed, which inspired four remakes in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. This sixth Malayalam movie and the seventh from Jeethu Joseph is another interesting work from him, but it is still not anywhere near the Drishyam – Memories level. The point to be noted is that this is the first time that he hasn’t written the story for his movie.

Release date: 24th September 2015
Running time: 165 minutes
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Dileep, Rachana Narayanankutty, Jyothi Krishna, Renjini Rupesh, Aqsa Bhatt, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Noby Marcose, Sunil Sukhada, Saju Navodaya, Sasi Kalinga, Hareesh Peradi, Krishna Prabha, Sudheer Karamana, Chembil Asokan, Vijayakumari