Tag Archives: Sandeep Pradeep

Padakkalam

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Vampire Owl: I thought we had reviewed this movie a long time ago.

Vampire Bat: We had watched it long ago, but did not review the same.

Vampire Owl: This might be one of the longest delays in writing any review.

Vampire Bat: It keeps coming on television all the time, so there are multiple watches.

Vampire Owl: I think we have kept watching it on Asianet Movies.

Vampire Bat: Watching it on television channels is not the best option though.

Vampire Owl: Yes, we keep missing parts of the movie at times.

Vampire Bat: But we watch parts of the movie that we missed the next time watch it.

Vampire Owl: But the movie has stopped repeating in the channel now.

Vampire Bat: Well, they have kept doing it for rather too long.

[Gets a Schezwan masala dosa and three cups of Darjeeling tea].

What is the movie about? :: Long ago, at a time when sorcery was considered to be part of common life, the ruler of Vijayanagara had a magical artefact created for his leisure, but understood that the device brought about something more than just entertainment. He realized that this was so powerful that it could even be used to control people or even the world, and tried to keep its existence a secret. But the huge army of Tipu Sultan marched to the declining kingdom and captured the same. This helped the Sultan’s further wars against other Indian kingdoms intending to conquer the lands for himself, as the artefact aided him from a side. But he was stopped by the King of Travancore who inflicted a big defeat to the Sultan’s army with the help of a great wizard. The victorious king decides to bury it in the battlefield itself so that nobody would be able to use it, and marked its location on some secret palm leaves. Soon, the tale itself losses its significance as it is considered as a fable. But many decades later, someone had started searching for the same and found it.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: At present, Jithin (Sandeep Pradeep), Ramzad (Arun Pradeep), Nakul (Arjun Ajikumar) and Kannan (Saaf) are four students who are pursuing their bachelor’s degrees in Engineering at the exact same location where the final war had occurred – there stood a monument surrounded by a reputed institution called Shri Kartika Thirunal College of Engineering. As Jithin’s girlfriend Jeevika (Niranjana Anoop) who returned from a trip brings some doubts about their relationship, he writes down his feelings on a piece of paper, which is taken by the lecturer who was in the class Shaji (Suraj Venjaramoodu). As a strike is called and chaos happens in the college, Jithin losses the idea of where that paper was taken. As the protest for bringing down the Head of the Department intensifies, another lecturer Renjith (Sharaf U Dheen) recommends Shaji as the next Head, which surprises everyone, as they were not on good terms. Shaji is delighted about this as he has been working at the college for a long time without any appreciation, but Renjith actually had other plans.

And what more can happen here as a crisis takes the spotlight? :: Renjith had the ancient artifact in his possession, which he uses to control Shaji and manipulate him into getting into a public fight which leads to him being suspended and Renjith becoming the new Head. This is supported by students as he is a popular teacher who helps students even against other teachers and management when in trouble unlike Shaji who as a learned man has always gone with the rules. The students enjoy their cool and supportive teacher becoming the Head, but Jithin accidentally sees Renjith using the artifact to control Shaji through the CCTV footage while trying to find the piece of paper which Shaji took, and talks about this to his friends. While searching on the artifact, they understand that a person can control another person who uses it by just playing his turn – it is revealed that the other person does not have to use it, and just the missing player’s blood on the dices is needed. They feel that the earlier teacher who died and was replaced by Renjith as new appointment might have also been a victim and decides to steal the artefact, but can they do that?

The defence of Padakkalam :: A supernatural campus story becomes a perfect new model for the viewers who are expecting divergence, and the magical artifact, mind control and body swaps do not usually come to the movies of this part of the world. The big three of the movie – Suraj Venjaramoodu, Sharaf U Dheen and Sandeep Pradeep come up with classic performances not just with the comic side, but also with a certain amount of skill which is reflected even more when the swapping of bodies is done. Sharaf U Dheen going on between a charismatic professor and a power-hungry antagonist, and his moments after body swapping strikes us well, while Suraj’s transformations between characters are outstanding, and humour strikes very well with him around. Sandeep’s comic timing remains outstanding, and he becomes a perfect choice for a campus character. Niranjana Anoop does well within a smaller screen space, while the friends of protagonist add some fine fun around here as the comic side gets further boosting. Pooja Mohanraj also becomes a good addition here.

Positives and negatives :: One might feel that the movie could have explored the past of the artifact a little more, but that is understandable considering the plan to provide maximum entertainment. The movie’s female characters also have very less to do other than being reasons for a few things to happen, which is surprising for a campus movie. The superhero references also add some funny elements, and the situations leading to humour instead of forcing the comic side comes up with more advantage to the flick. The initial setup, character introductions, and the spread of mystery make sure that the starting is nice, and the ending is also very well done. When it seems to be ready to have a slight dip, the situation immediately gets a lift, and thus the movie keeps a certain level. The cast needs to be credited a lot for the same. Many moments also serve as reminders that people are not really what they seem to be, and like seen before Thanneermathan Dinangal, the seemingly better teacher could easily be the least perfect one among them all.

How it finishes :: It is not easy to bring comedy and fantasy together in this part of the world, and the movie does the same so well. This one succeeds primarily as a high-energy campus entertainer that takes the risk to step away from routine college situations and blends the genres in the process. By bringing supernatural elements, mind control and body-swapping to a usual college setting, the film creates something that most people would not have expected to happen in this part of the world. The comic chemistry between Suraj Venjaramoodu and Sharaf U Dheen brings something out of nowhere again and again and keep thins lively and engaging while Sandeep Pradeep takes that title of “Padakkalam Sandeep” with ease even though most of us would love to remember Falimy as the one defining flick for noting him for the first time. Well, this is one entertainer that you do not wish to miss, that is for sure. All the fun with innovation that is seen around here will have us interested all the time. It is on Jio Hotstar, and you might also be able to find it again on Asianet Movies as it has been some time since its last arrival there.

Release date: 8 May 2025
Running time: 123 minutes
Directed by: Manu Swaraj
Starring: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Sharaf U Dheen, Sandeep Pradeep , Arun Pradeep, Arun Ajikumar, Niranjana Anoop, Ishan Shoukath, Vijay Babu, Luckgith Saini, Nahas Hridayath, Saaf, Shaju Sreedhar, Pooja Mohanraj

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Falimy

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Vampire Owl: I think that humans no longer have the concept of ideal family.

Vampire Bat: Are you referring to the change of spelling here?

Vampire Owl: I am referring to the idea of a perfect family.

Vampire Bat: Humans have never been family-oriented by nature.

Vampire Owl: So, the human nature has been missing for long?

Vampire Bat: They are moving away from families as it is not in their nature.

Vampire Owl: So, there are no families anymore?

Vampire Bat: Almost all families of humans are broken now.

Vampire Owl: So, there is no more hope for them?

Vampire Bat: Hope is now a thing of the undead, not of the living.

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

What is the movie about? :: Janardhanan (Meenaraj Palluruthy) is an 82 year old man, the eldest person in the family who keeps trying to travel to Varanasi, but every time someone from his family finds him on the way and brings him back. But that does not stop him from trying again and again. On one occasion, he had almost boarded the train itself. His son Chandran (Jagadish) does not go for any job, and had ended up shutting down the printing press owned by the family. He spends most of his time doing nothing except watching television. He has a lack of interest in family matters, and becomes more and more alcoholic as time progresses. Chandran’s wife Rema (Manju Pillai) is working at a press, and tries to keep her family running without problems. She keeps the family together after giving her best efforts. The elder son of Chandran and Rema, Anoop (Basil Joseph) works as a dubbing artist in a nearby studio. Abhijith (Sandeep Pradeep), the younger child spends his time doing nothing, and dreaming about getting out of India, preferably the United Kingdom.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Things seem to get better when Anoop gets an alliance from Anagha (Raina Radhakrishnan), a school teacher who had earlier rejected the idea of marriage itself. The engagement gets into trouble as a man named Robin (Joemon Jyothir) disrupts the ceremony, claiming to be her lover. Abhijith beats him up, only to be chased by the goons regularly. Anoop who feels cheated decides to go to Varanasi for a change, accompanying his grandfather, and a frightened Abhijith also decides to go with them. Chandran and Rema also decide to go and according to the plan, they get into the train. On the way, at a railway station at night, Chandran finds himself tricked by a tea-selling boy at a railway station, and he is stranded at the station with his wife and two sons. The grandfather is also forced to get out of the train, and the whole family is forced to continue the journey by road. But with tension building between them, can they finally finish the journey? How far will they travel?

The defence of Falimy :: There is a pretty good attempt to display a middle class family with all the small problems that become inflated as members do not understand each other too well. The realizations that come across them are nicely shown here. Having Basil Joseph at the centre surely has worked in favour of the movie, and Antony Varghese withdrawing from the project did not do that much of a damage. The message about importance of being one family and providing values to the desires of the elders could get the attention here. The frustrations in the movie do feel real, as the meaningless existence of a few and the inability to find meaning for others do get some presence here. Living through some habits which lead nowhere would not feel strange to our people, as doing nothing itself has become a habit due to the rise of Youtube – people these days know nothing other than to make videos which are watched by more jobless people, and it is one reason why we need the Terminator-type apocalypse to come and internet to go down. The visuals outside Kerala makes an impact, especially as we get closer to Varanasi with the characters.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does go through its struggles just like the characters within it. There seems to be the feeling that there is comedy when there is none. The comic side often losses its charm as it is lost between reality and the need to add something extra. In the name of showing middle class families, the movie also shows too many brainless people – in a society, we would expect at least one person to have some brain, but this locality and extended family seems to be different, and it is to be noted that this is not a Kuniramayanam or Adi Kapyare Koottamani type of film to move that way. The poverty here seems to be that of intellect rather than anything else. The movie could have used its spirituality at the end to its advantage, or bring back the wedding element to create the feel-good, but this one is caught between the feel-good and the dumb comedy which often prevents film from making the best out of the available potential. There was so much to be done, but this family takes the easy path, and that might have felt like the safer one for them. This is where the struggle feels more real for the movie than the characters.

The performers of the soul :: Basil Joseph remains the major protagonist here, and he adds more to the existing factors like in Enkilum Chandrike. He makes this character so good with the frustration, helplessness and meaningless existence which becomes him – you know that it is very difficult for a young man to get married in this part of the world if you do not have a government job. At the same time, Jagadish and Manju Pillai makes a fine combination and adds to some situational and realistic humour, but the latter do not have a Home-like platform here to get to serious mode. Sandeep Pradeep also comes up with some fine performance in a new generation realistic mode here. Meenaraj Palluruthy has a fine performance which would be remembered for long, and the emotional touch remains strong. Boloram Das who plays the main character outside Kerala also leaves us with some fine moments to cherish, filled with funny elements. Raina Radhakrishnan who is like the main female lead for a few minutes also leaves a mark – the moments have a cute side as well as a tragic one, which sets the world moving forward. It could have been good to have her back at the end of the movie, but it was not to be.

How it finishes :: Falimy is a movie which could have surely been much better, and there could have been better quality associated with different elements present here. The attempts to create comedy out of nowhere do not work at all times, but the simplicity and the plan to remain close to reality would keep it going and gain the positive appreciation that it required. The journey still does not become a Kumbalangi Nights kind of adventure which we could cherish for a longer period of time. It has been strange throughout the movie to see so many opportunities to be wasted. You cannot keep asking the ordinary space to create something special out of situations, and that is where the problem lies. Consistency has not been a quality of this film from the beginning itself. Yet, we watch this one for those moments, the comic ones that work here and there and the emotional ones that struggle even further to create impact. The movie surely manages to be at a higher level than the rubbish that is provided to us in the form of realism, like Angamaly Diaries and Annayum Rasoolum, two of the most miserable nothingness movies in the history of Malayalam cinema.

Release date: 15th December 2023 (Hotstar); 17th November 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 127 minutes
Directed by: Nithish Sahadev
Starring: Basil Joseph, Jagadish, Manju Pillai, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Raina Radhakrishna, Joemon Jyothir, Boloram Das, Amith Mohan, Meenaraj Palluruthy, Sandeep Pradeep

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Antakshari

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Vampire Owl: This reminds us of the great game that we had in the castle.

Vampire Bat: The human game was indeed interesting.

Vampire Owl: Yet, humans play more of the evil games.

Vampire Bat: It is just a part of their evil nature.

Vampire Owl: Evil is part of their nature more than ever these days.

Vampire Bat: Can you guess how many evil humans are in this movie?

Vampire Owl: I am guessing that at least ninety five percent of them will be evil.

Vampire Bat: It is not really a big percentage for any group of humans.

Vampire Owl: Doctor Frankenstein has determined it be as high as ninety nine most of the time.

Vampire Bat: I don’t think that this has anything to do with Mr Frankenstein and his fake experiments of no meaning.

[Gets a chicken samosa and three cups of orange tea].

What is the movie about? :: Circle Inspector Das (Saiju Kurup) is the officer in charge of a police station in the remote area of a hilly terrain, where Srinivas (Sudhi Koppa) joins as a probationary officer while hoping to solve a big case as soon as possible. Das gets into a fight with Vasudevan (Vijay Babu), who is a local leader of a prominent party, and also has multiple business interests. On the very next day, Das’ daughter is almost strangled to death by a man wearing a paper mask, saved only because of his wife Chitra (Priyanka Nair) noticing it at the right time. Despite threatening Das and his family before, Vasudevan denies any kind of involvement in the act, affirming that his problems are solved face to face, and there will be no hiding. Das has the habit of playing antakshari where each person sings a song, and the next person begins with the letter on which the previous person’s song ended. On the day on which his daughter was attacked, he had also received a call from an unknown number asking him to sing a song, or his daughter will be singing instead.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Their senior officer Jayachandran (Binu Pappu) and the local head constable Hariharan (Kottayam Ramesh) are not really fond of Das, as they are on the side of Vasudevan, and do not want him to solve too mysterious a case. He also comes against a strange, mute girl named Nayana (Ishita Singh) who has come to her grandparents’ home from Delhi. There is something about her, as she also seems to be hiding some secrets which nobody would want to know. Das and Srinivas slowly, but effectively connects the dots and finds out that similar murders have happened before, but police had closed the cases. Some of those murders were also considered to be accidents, and the deaths of the fathers after the murders of their children were considered to be accidents or suicides as a result of alcoholism and depression. The two officers end up finding a chain of events which lead a long way back, but will they be able to find the person behind it in time or is there another murder on the path?

The defence of Antakshari :: The movie has a police officer who is rather ordinary, and it has his struggles in finding the psychotic murderer, who is really that crazy as in Forensic, and very unlike the non-psychotic revenge seeker in Anjaam Pathira. The cop doesn’t have that much of a flaw as the protagonist of Memories, but is very much relatable with a usual kind of family and personal problems. The movie is shot nicely, and with some fine performances, leaves scope for a possible sequel – despite the low chances, we hope that such an attempt is made; there are also other similar trials of investigation which can be combined with this one to create a shared universe. Such a sequel can also talk about those elements of this movie which seems lost, and maybe, it can be a serial killer universe instead of a cop universe. This is the kind of movie which Bollywood would use to make a super-cop, but thankfully, we don’t leave it in their hands. The movie doesn’t take the predictable path either, as there seems to be the possibility of fun discovered in taking the road less taken, on the lines of Robert Frost.

The claws of flaw :: Antakshari is quite slow in its progression, and there are characters who don’t really play much of a role in moving the tale forward. A few things also go without explanations. The whole saga of one family with an abusive father, frustrated mother, music-playing son and cat-loving daughter facing a mysterious girl don’t fit in here at all – neither do the broken guitar and dead cat. This is that kind of a family which could have been there for namesake, but so much of time is wasted on them. If a red herring was intended, that should have been a part of the storyline – there was another villain out there who could have served the same. The young engineering student who is in love with a mysterious mute girl makes no sense, even if the vampires were to turn cent percent vegetarian. Without these moments, the movie could have been shorter, and the pacing could have surely been better. This one lets the lost moments go lost rather than get it back and link them. There were so many paths that this film could have taken, that is for sure.

The performers of the soul :: Saiju Kurup shines really well as the police inspector who has this investigation on a personal level rather than anything else, like Joju George of Joseph. He has been one actor who didn’t get enough opportunities to lead, but this is one chance which he holds on to. He is someone who suits this kind of a police officer really well. Sudhi Koppa plays the role of the supporting officer well, and it is also not a role he is stranger to. He is another performer whom we need to see very often, as there seems to be a lot of requirements for quality actors rather than entertainers. Binu Pappu doesn’t have that good and understanding police officer role here, but does this shade with ease. Priyanka Nair who did have some fine roles years ago has another one to remember here. Among all the roles being performed here, Ishita Singh’s role remains the one which doesn’t seem to give us any idea of its purpose of existence – feels like an absurd side around here, even though she suits the character. The rest of the characters mostly just have to play along here, but more notable are the woman and child from the flashback. Vijay Babu has a small role.

How it finishes :: Like Salute, Antakshari is another movie which doesn’t depend on the foolish mass masala to go through investigations by police officers. It is very good and effective because it doesn’t cater to those brainless fans who visit the theatres and get a movie crores of business while losing all their money to petrol, parking fees, highly expensive food and others. This movie is for the others, who look out for the new releases on OTT platforms, as the Corona virus pandemic has shown us that it is indeed the right thing to do. Well, you have the choice not to go to the theatre and watch those foolish dance and music to which insanity is unleashed in between a story – I would call for the lack of the same every time. The mass masala genre itself is a fake thing created for the superstars and their children to call their fans to the theatres and by creating the fake vibes, they make the rest of the audience feel that the movie is fantastic – lets see how long these star kids who fly around beating people and doing dumb romance will go. After that, you can come back to good movies like this one.

Release date: 22nd April 2022 (Sony LIV)
Running time: 122 minutes
Directed by: Vipin Das
Starring: Saiju Kurup, Priyanka Nair, Sudhi Koppa, Vijay Babu, Binu Pappu, Thomas Kunnampuzha, Shabareesh Varma, Sruthy Suresh, Kottayam Ramesh, Boban Samuel, Sandeep Pradeep, Ishita Singh

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✠ The Vampire Bat.