Oru Jaathi Jaathakam

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: We had missed this movie despite the comic side.

Vampire Bat: We were afraid that this would be overdone, and we were also too busy for this kind of a movie.

Vampire Owl: I am still seeing signs of things being overdone.

Vampire Bat: Well, we do watch dumb comedies too.

Vampire Owl: I hope for the best with this one due to a nice cast.

Vampire Bat: The cast can twist our ideas rather too much.

Vampire Owl: The multi-starrers would still get a minimum.

Vampire Bat: Well, not the case of multi-performers.

Vampire Owl: I have never liked the idea of people calling themselves stars.

Vampire Bat: They wish to be called stars instead of actors or actresses, but being a star is not really a reflection of acting skills.

[Gets a chicken dosa and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Jayesh (Vineeth Sreenivasan) is a man who has closed in on his forties, and has been looking for a suitable bride for quite a long time. When a girl named Sinitha (Nikhila Vimal), who is an expert in palmistry looks at his hand and tells him that this will be the worst time of his life, it makes him wonder, but the attempts at getting married, and the resulting failure makes him wonder if she was right all along. Sinitha had also precited that he will be ridiculed by many in his life and that that the real problem for him is within. He cannot help being careful about it, and at the same time, the family is really worried about him not getting married. His father Raghavan (P. P. Kunhikrishnan) is further worried as his son is supposed to get married before he gets to his seventy, or according to predictions, something bad would happen to him, most probably even death. Jayesh hopes that a leading matrimonial website can help him, and keeps calling the assigned agent Baby (Sayanora Philip) all the time, with unusual expectations while keeping himself a very traditional man who accept no deviation from his beliefs and ideas.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is seen that he has been looking for an alliance for such a long time with so many faces going through, that he ends up visiting the same girl twice. His colleague Suchithra (Haritha Parokod) advices him not to be very vocal about his views which sounds outdated, and this brings him in a fight with Thathrikutty (Isha Talwar), a writer who is also not ready to move an inch from her highly biased views. It is then that his wedding is almost fixed to Gopika (Aishwarya Midhun), a girl who seems to match all of his expectations. But the twist occurs when she tells him that after traveling with her best friend Krishna (Shaun Romy) and after sharing room with her during the trip, she had explored her romantic and sexual desires through experiences together and is now a lesbian – that both of them are in love. But confused people feel that he is the one who is homosexual, after videos of him kissing a man after getting drunk goes viral. This further dampens his situation among people looking for an alliance. A depressed Jayesh goes back to his workplace in Chennai and finds that a few more people have taken rooms in his big flat which is already shared.

And what more can happen here as confusions continue to come in? :: One of the new inmates is Merin (Chippy Devassy), who advices him against taking all these things seriously, and it makes him wonder about the whole situation when he has tried to remain prude, but nothing really worked out in his favour. He also becomes friends with Payal (Kayadu Lohar), a North Indian girl in the next flat, as he has two women friends outside his extended family for the first time in his life. Meanwhile, his boss Babu (Babu Antony) provides him with the card of Pallavi (Indu Thampi) who has been a successful match-maker despite being divorced at an early age. He continues to see many girls, but finds out that none of them comes to a suitable acceptance. Finally, his marriage is fixed with traditional girl whom the family finds for him, Meghna (Varsha Ramesh), but the question remains if at least this one will really happen, as there have been so many similar situations which never really materialized. He even had random people like Gopalakrishnan (Vidhu Prathap) in his dreams who stop his wedding; can this time be a welcome change to his life?

The defence of Oru Jaathi Jaathakam :: The movie is pretty much funny and entertaining, especially in the form of a light-hearted time-pass movie which intentionally creates laughable situations and comic dialogues. Going for the same without high expectations just to relax for about two hours would make this the right choice, and Amazon Prime Video has very less such movies added in there in the last one or two years, this being one of them. Vineeth Sreenivasan is indeed good in his exaggerated, and at the same time uninhibited comic acting. His work with regional dialect is also favourable. The complicated modern arranged-marriage struggles and the anxieties of a late-30s protagonist remain quite reflective. Among the long female cast, it is Chippy Devassy who scores the most and it is one lovely character nicely brought to life – we would hope to see more of her in the Malayalam movie industry. The next one we note is Indu Thampi, and Kayadu Lohar is right behind. Varsha Ramesh, Haritha Parokod, Aishwarya Midhun and Shaun Romy also leave quick mark here. Babu Antony has a smooth stay in this one too.

The claws of flaw :: The movie often makes us feel that it was made in a hurry, and even dialogues feel like they were quickly created to match the situations which were indeed brought to the front to create the laughter, and sometimes, it feels like forced out of nowhere. They have also restricted the role of Nikhila Vimal and Isha Talwar despite having scope, which is disappointing, as most hope was surely around there; and Sayanora Philip is left without impact coming in through phone calls which even feel unnecessary with the regular progress happening without the same. One has to wonder if some of the cast were just included to increase the list of much known actresses in the industry. Some of the humour can be considered old-fashioned, regressive or insensitive, and not working for the age. In between, we wonder where the story is progressing, as it does pause in the middle of nowhere, and struggles are also visible. There are many repetitions which keep us wondering if the movie will finally reach a conclusion, or whether things will just keep happening.

How it finishes :: Oru Jaathi Jaathakam makes its point in simple and often silly fun on Amazon Prime Video. Surprisingly, this release was not given that much of a space in the news about OTT releases, and that might have kept the flick less watched. We have enjoyed movies like Maranamass, Enkilum Chandrike, Falimy, Sahasam, Adi Kapyare Koottamani and Kunjiramayanam a lot without thinking too much – this one is surely not that much fun in comparison, but you can see that this one also serves the purpose enough. Even with too many lady characters played by notable actresses and also lesser-known ones, and despite having a few moments which feel ridiculous or regressive, the movie goes on to its end in an entertaining manner, leaving the repetitions behind. If you are having a fine weekend with nothing much to do, watching this movie is something that you would prefer, especially when not looking that much for anything innovative, special or with the demand for using that much of a brain. Well, you cannot keep asking for the intellectual side all the time.

Release date: 31st January 2025
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: M. Mohanan
Starring: Vineeth Sreenivasan, Nikhila Vimal, Babu Antony, Kayadu Lohar, Indu Thampi, Chippy Devassy, P. P. Kunhikrishnan, Amal Thaha, Isha Talwar, Pooja Mohanraj, Sayanora Philip, Mridul Nair, Aishwarya Midhun Koroth, Shaun Romy, Ranji Kankol, Rejitha Madhu, Varsha Ramesh, Arvind Reghu, Sharoon Lakshman, Sivadas Kannur, Sarath Sabha, Haritha Parokod, Nirmal Palazhi

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Lokah: Chapter I

Posted on August 30, 2025 by Tennyson

“Lokah Chapter I: Chandra” with Kalyani Priyadarshan in the lead, is the latest superhero movie in this part of the world, and is based on the myths, legends and folklore which had been spreading through the state of Kerala in the distant past and are loved by people of the state. It is the first of a planned cinematic universe. Watch a quicker opinion in the form of video here:

For the detailed written review, please continue below:

Entry of a superhero universe blended with myth and legends :: Among the superhero movies of India, Minnal Murali has been a game changer, and four years later, another film, this time produced by Dulquer Salmaan and directed by Dominic Arun, which brings back the genre to life has released for Onam in the form of Lokah Chapter: 1 Chandra. With we all waiting for Kathanar: The Wild Sorcerer coming back to life with a work of fantasy and folklore, this one comes into the picture, taking the myths and legends into its wings. We had ARM dealing with a folklore depiction, but this one is different, as it establishes a universe. It serves as the origin story for a character that becomes a superhero with a dark side. But it is not the tale of one such a being with superpowers, for it introduces many more. There are characters who make the presence felt here, and we know that we will see them again. We see that a lot of skill is displayed in working with this tale, which would offer more. You know that there is no life in a folklore without the yakshi myth, and that would stay not that distant from the vampire legend from Eastern Europe, through the literary vampire and to the present friendly neighbourhood vampire due to the popular culture effect.

What is the movie about? :: Chandra (Kalyani Priyadarshan) is a mysterious woman who have come to live in the city of Bangalore, and works night shift in a popular café. Her friend and seemingly a mentor Prakash (Nishanth Sagar) keeps asking her to stay low, without letting many people know about her presence, and she makes minimum contact with people. Meanwhile, opposite to her apartment, lives Sunny (Naslen K Gafoor), Venu (Chandu Salimkumar) and Naijil (Arun Kurian), three best friends who have nothing much to do with their lives, and pretend to be still students, even though they are not that much into gaining knowledge or going for a job. While Naijil stays nearby, Sunny and Venu share the same apartment. One day, Sunny comes across this new unfamiliar face living opposite to him. He becomes more and more interested in her, and after he feels that he was saved from an accident as Chandra pushed him away, his infatuation grows.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: But there is something more serious going on in the city, in the darkness of the night. A group of criminals is conducting kidnappings and organ trade, and supporting them is the corrupt and arrogant police officer Inspector Nachiyappa Gowda (Sandy) who believes only in having ultimate power and using them on the weak and subaltern. His path would come across that of Chandra, as she beats up one of the goons associated with these criminal activities for trying to throw acid on her co-worker in the café. At the same time, an elderly man named Daniel (Vijayaraghavan) has been writing about supernatural forces that have lived with humans through the ages, and that most of the tales of folklore are true, and real incidents passed on orally by people who witnessed the same. He believes that many people have superpowers and they would be unleashed in time. With the organ trade mafia running through the city, can there be a superhero to stop it?

The defence of Lokah: Chapter I: Chandra :: Dominic Arun has brought a masterpiece on the big screen, a perfect treat for the Onam holidays. His tale with Santhy Balachandran, the Tharangam star also holding a side of the pen, has taken us to a world of magic with the base so well rooted in the folktales that we are familiar with. The movie thrives on this familiarity and builds on those pillars which might be like some of those ruined but strong pillars that archeologists would find in Rome or Egypt during some excavations – the folktales of Kerala that grows on us. What is a folk-tale without the epic saga of Kadamattathu Kathanar and Kaliyankattu Neeli? And the twist that this movie takes is something that could grow further spin-offs, and for now, to rule the box-office, with contrasting moments that we remember, from the protagonist’s first fight to her human appearance in party, and then the violence that follows in the next night and her final preparation for the impossible – all these are sources of contrasting emotions – then there is the cameo appearance of Tovino Thomas that totally changes the mood to even better. The music by Jakes Bejoy is just impeccable in the case of this movie.

Positives and negatives :: The action here is amazingly good choregraphed by Yannick Ben. The final action sequences inside the café are beyond impressive, and the detailing of that world within that place keeps us enchanted. The humour which might have felt as just a side element often makes the movie a lot more enjoyable even when the dark side is on focus. The cinematography by Nimish Ravi and the editing by Chaman Chakko does a magnificent job in keeping this movie strong, and raising it to a level which would make the whole industry proud. The world detail and the colours are too good to escape our attention, while the flashbacks feel so well placed, and there are those scenes that add on in the end like watching those Marvel movies – they work on excellence to make us interested and not with mass appeal, and that would be the feature that keeps our movies apart. The movie uses its complexities like Minnal Murali used its simplicity to its advantage – nobody becomes a superhero by a lightning, for complexity comes in the darkness and not in the light. Some people might find some mixing to be forced with some moments going on as they would expect, but that is to be decided by nature.

The performers of the soul :: Kalyani Priyadarshan comes up with what might be the greatest of her career, not easy to outdo, and working like a dream. She had this so effective that imagining someone else in this particular role would be very difficult. She shines as a superhero who works on another level as an anti-hero with different shades of her character. There is also an emotional side that comes up, and shows further effectiveness. Naslen K Gafoor adds further emotions and a funny side with Chandu Salimkumar and Arun Kurian nicely contributing to the same. The three keeps the humour alive throughout the run, and this different role of Arun is to be noted, as one would not identify him from that work in Aanandam. Meanwhile, Sandy here makes a perfect antagonist, more menacing that him in Leo, a man to be feared, and someone who keeps bringing more than what meets the eye. Nishanth Sagar and Vijayaraghavan plays two characters who nicely add to the mystery of the overall tale. Then we have Tovino Thomas, Sunny Wayne and Dulquer Salmaan in some big cameo roles, and a few more are also shown, Soubin Shahir, Balu Varghese, Ahaana Krishna, Santhy Balachandran and Vijay Menon.

How it finishes :: As the first installment in a new cinematic universe, this one is a classic beginning. If Minnal Murali was a lighter version of a beginning of a possible large cinematic universe like Marvel, this one here is more like that early version of DC Universe with The Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Man of Steel and others. Unlike the Tovino-starrer of 2021, the danger here is more felt, and while the villain there was a man of circumstances, we see antagonists as personification of pure evil. With people more wronged in further violent ways, redemption here is not attained by saving a village. There is no lightning striking people to make people better here, as the superpowers are attained by sacrifices. With all the action, classic flashbacks, visual spectacles and added humour with memorable character ready to spawn more sequels, this is one movie that truly begins a perfect superhero universe in India. This is something I had wished for when I watched the Indonesian superhero movie Gundala which was followed by many sequels to extend it. This Onam, it is an honour to watch this one, our newly found prestige on the big screen.

Release date: 28th August 2025
Running time: 149 minutes
Directed by: Dominic Arun
Starring: Kalyani Priyadarshan, Naslen K Gafoor, Sandy, Arun Kurian, Chandu Salimkumar, Nishanth Sagar, Vijayaraghavan, Shivajith Padmanabhan, Nithya Shri, Sarath Sabha, Anna Ben, Tovino Thomas (cameo), Sunny Wayne (cameo), Dulquer Salmaan (cameo)

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Kannur Squad

Posted on December 31, 2023 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: We have taken a little too much of time to watch this one.

Vampire Bat: Well, as people say, better late than never.

Vampire Owl: I have heard that this is among the best of the year.

Vampire Bat: We have all heard a lot about this movie in a positive manner.

Vampire Owl: I hope it is not from some fan boys.

Vampire Bat: We do not talk to the human fan boys anymore.

Vampire Owl: It could be a vampire fan boy, like the Vampire Penguin.

Vampire Bat: None of the vampires are fans of any human.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that there are exceptions.

Vampire Bat: This movie itself is an exceptional one.

[Gets a Kadai chicken pizza and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is the movie about? :: ASI George Martin (Mammootty) and his team of CPO Jayakumar P. Vasu a.k.a. Jayan (Rony David Raj), CPO Jose Skaria (Azees Nedumangad) and CPO Muhammed Shafi T A (Shabareesh Varma), popularly known as Kannur Squad go on a search for some political goons in the forests of border area between Kerala and Karnataka, only to find a partially decayed body hanging from a tree. Even though the first idea is to leave it as a suicide, George is not ready to leave it behind. His idea is that this not a random suicide. They are able to find the culprit with ease, but is struck by the allegation against Jayan for working with sand mafia, seemingly ending the Kannur Squad with a certain amount of unexpected dishonour. But when an NRI businessman from Kasaragod named Abdul Wahab (Manoj K U) is murdered with no clue to be found, the police officers are forced to bring them back, as the other team of Kannur Squad is on a mission in North India.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Krishnalal T K IPS (Vijayaraghavan) finally agrees to have them investigate the case in ten days as SP Manu Needhi Cholan IPS (Kishore) also supports them after reading about them. By tracing the calls, they get to Riyas (Deepak Parambol) who had supplied the sim cards on his name. They understand his role in the robbery and murder, while also figuring out that there is involvement from people outside Kerala. But the other people involved could not be found out as they seem to have reached safe havens in the north of India. Farha (Afsana Lakshmi), Wahab’s daughter who was brutally beaten up and sexually assaulted, provides them with better details of what happens during the night and one of the assailants in revealed to be Ameer Shah (Arjun Radhakrishnan) who gave his name before strangling her father in front of her. Kannur Squad also gets an image of Ameer from social media and the search leads them to Mumbai. But it is still to be found if the investigation can be finished in ten days.

The defence of Kannur Squad :: The movie goes through an interesting set of proceedings from the beginning itself, and some fine music supports the same at all times. There is no moment in the movie which is not interesting, and we become part of the whole thing as the journey proceeds from one place to the other, from one end of the nation to the other. All of the performers seem to be perfectly chosen for their respective roles, including those who do not speak Malayalam – the choice of cast is one of the best things about this particular movie. There are moments that we remember, and some of them are there to stay for a longer period of time. As the fans of the mass masala avoids this movie, we can watch this one in peace, and hope for more of similar films to come. The emotional side do appeal to us, even though there is no overdose of emotions to make melodrama come forward. The movie focuses on the essential, and not the exaggerated, and it is the beauty of the world that has been created here – you feel that the police universe here is real, and not the unreal chaos that we see in Bollywood. Among the best of realistic police works, Kannur Squad is here to stay.

Positives and negatives :: The movie could have surely had more interesting moments in between in relation to the villains and their journey, but we have the police officers’ journeys nicely documented through some fine visuals. The determination of the righteous police officers and the difficulties that they come across on the way can be seen in a realistic manner rather than in the exaggerated ways which are often preferred by industries like Bollywood. A little bit of mass moments is added only in the end, but that would also be limited to suit the realistic nature of the film. The ending nicely finishes all things well. Maybe, they could have added some moments from back home by the end, but they have done well without it. The idea of the squad itself is inspired by a real-life police team of the same name, which makes the investigation even more interesting. The real-life police officers who investigated similar cases were also contacted. The shooting locations also stay close to the incidents and the journey feels very much real.

The performers of the soul :: Mammootty leads another fine team of police officers, and he does the job with ease, as he has always done, whether it was about brutal power as shown in Christopher or something classic in nature. His character would remain an iconic one here to be remembered for long, along with the squad itself. Rony David Raj plays another fine police officer here, as he continues the good form in similar roles. It is also nice to see Azees Nedumangad in a serious role, and he does his police role incredibly well – coming out of the usual in Star Magic, he has been doing so well in films these days. The team from that show of Flowers will have our attention at all times. Shabareesh Varma makes the next police officer really well, and blends into the team nicely. Kishore’s police role is also notable, while Vijayaraghavan plays the veteran police officer job with ease. Sunny Wayne and Shine Tom Chacko has small cameos to add to it. The women do not have much to do in this film, but the notable performance here is from Afsana Lakshmi who surely has a bright future in front of her. The villains led by Arjun Radhakrishnan and Dhruvan leave a mark with their remorseless and brutal presence with villainy.

How it finishes :: When talking about police investigations which keep close to a realistic mode, Operation Java is the only other film that seems to bring some comparison as relevant. Related to Mammootty and his team of policemen, that would be Unda that would call for the comparison. The visuals keep us going as much as the controlled emotional side and procedure of investigation. The movie’s journey to one of the highest grossers in Malayalam movie industry is very much justified, and as 2018 and RDX: Robert Dony Xavier have already done so well, the year has been a fine one. As we welcome the new year, we look forward with hope for an even better 2024. As of now, I wish you a very happy new year, and hopefully, this will be the one grand year to look out for. Maybe we are hoping for no reason, but that is what we do for every new year. Then we also wish to watch more movies which will stay with us for long.

Release date: 17th November 2023 (Hotstar); 28th September 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 161 minutes
Directed by: Roby Varghese Raj
Starring: Mammootty, Rony David Raj, Azees Nedumangad, Shabareesh Varma, Kishore, Vijayaraghavan, Sunny Wayne, Arjun Radhakrishnan, Dhruvan, Sarath Sabha, Afsana Lakshmi, Manoj K U, Resh Lamba, Nalneesh Neel, Ankith Madhav, Sivadas Kannur, Mullai Arasi, Sajin Cherukayil, Shebin Benson, S P Sreekumar, Manohar Pandey, Susmita Sur, Saraswat Pandey, Gibin Gopinath, Benzi Mathews, Seju K Eapan, Anoop Trivedi, Avinash Pandey, Catherine Maria