Tag Archives: Sudhi Kozhikode

Narivetta

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Vampire Owl: This is one movie we missed at the theatre despite being interested.

Vampire Bat: Well, it was said to be a political action thrillers and politics is not our thing.

Vampire Owl: Some of those rare Tovino thrillers that we missed.

Vampire Bat: We have never been the people who watched movies for its actors.

Vampire Owl: Yet, we have watched more Tovino movies in the theatre considering the ratio.

Vampire Bat: It is the case of acting in the kind of movies that we like to watch.

Vampire Owl: Yet, we have created no borders in cinema.

Vampire Bat: Well, we have watched almost every kind of movie.

Vampire Owl: Yes, our identity is of people of the true cinema.

Vampire Bat: We will one day be left with nothing more to watch in Malayalam cinema.

[Gets a paneer samosa and three cups of Yercaud tea].

What is the movie about? :: Varghese (Tovino Thomas) has been living a usual small-town life having a lot of time spent with his love from school days, Nancy (Priyamvada Krishnan), despite the disapproval of her father. Varghese has been employed since forever, as he keeps looking for a good job, ending up getting none, while Nancy has been employed in a bank for some time. Along with the same, Nancy’s father is a rich man running a number of business ventures with his influential family members, while Varghese’s family has the history of his father committing suicide due to financial problems, from where they never recovered. This makes the marriage alliance almost impossible between them, and both families are aware of the same. Finally, after being forced by Nancy, he decides to take up the job of a police constable, even though he continues to wish for much more. He thinks that he will study for the Public Service Commission tests while working as a constable in the police force.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Varghese is not at all confident or comfortable at the police camp, but he is supported by Head Constable Basheer (Suraj Venjaramoodu), a senior with whom he forms a bond, as both are forced into this job due to different circumstances. While Varghese is not that popular with his colleagues, things only get much worse as tribal protests erupt in Wayanad demanding land rights under the leadership of C K Shanthi (Arya Salim), Madhu (Prasanth Madhavan) and Thaami (Pranav Teophine), as they seek the fulfilment of promise by the government. DIG Raghuram Keshavadas (Cheran) is assigned the task for suppressing the agitation. Raghuram becomes the hand of the politicians of the state, and with his plans nicely at work, the support of army is also requested. This would mean that Varghese and Basheer would have to face something different from what they were expecting – can they survive the same and come out strong?

The defence of Narivetta :: This one is a bold movie with strong performances that go deep down the list. As the movie focuses on issues like tribal rights, police violence and the abuse of power, with inspiration from the Muthanga Incident, there is a certain amount of realistic touch to some parts of it, with some scars never really fading and some resolutions never really being reached in a world of chaos and absurdity due to human behaviour. The realistic side often takes the front seat, keeping the commercial side to the minimum, and this mode is followed not only by the moments inspired by original events, but also those which come around it to complete the movie. The romantic side is also good, and the “Minnalvala” song is going to remain a favourite for a long period time, even after time passes by a long way. The hero and heroine surely have a fine chemistry between them, and the choice of supporting cast works like a dream. The movie surely has a lasting effect to make the audience think about situation in a chaotic world.

The claws of flaw :: The movie is surely too long, and we are forced to fast forward it as we watch it on the OTT platform, Sony LIV. Even with the less shown romantic side, there is a stretch, and with the serious moments that come later, there is more lag, and we often feel that there is the journey through similar situations and dialogues again and again, with moments also present where nothing much of interest happens. Then, the heroine is mostly lost after the romance seemed to have a role in the beginning. There is a struggle that goes on with the movie, which is not just between the characters, but also to keep the main idea at the core and engaging enough for everyone. The predictable story is surely there, even if we keep the closeness to real incidents away. Some moments just feel like made to keep the whole thing rather comfortable. The antagonist, as a character, could have also had more strength, and just using the government and the system for villainy serves less as a whole.

The performers of the soul :: As expected, the highlight of the movie is the performance of Tovino Thomas who comes up with a strong performance as the main character like he always did from Minnal Murali to 2018, Thallumala, ARM and Anveshippin Kandethum, nicely portraying the character’s change from a careless young man to someone who stands for justice against all odds, bringing a dynamic character to life. He scores with the emotional side, whether it is the romantic side or the hopelessness that comes later when facing injustice. He further scores through the “Minnalvala” song with Priyamvada Krishnan who comes up with a responsible performance in a character that sticks more to the loyal romantic side, but with determination. The song surely has her best appearance ever. Suraj Venjaramoodu once again comes with a performance that strikes, a matured one that will stay with us for long too – as a mentor, big brother figure to the main character, he remains a character who brings maturity to the scene, while keeping close to doing the right thing. Arya Salim is extraordinary in her work as she brings a character to perfection while Cheran brings villainy nicely to the scene.

How it finishes :: This is a movie which is worth a watch for how it progresses with a content that needed some fine attention, and keeps it working without deviating from the main thing which it seems to be seeking towards the climax – the final justice. The progress is not that smooth though, and even when scratchy, it is surely going in the right direction. There was a little bit too much of expectations with this movie, and it does not seem to progress in the way the posters and the superhit song were seemingly pointing to. A bigger scope was surely expected of this one. But the movie gets many things right, with its focus on the need to do the right thing even when against some of the most powerful forces, and on having faith even when there seems to be not much of a chance for hope. The ending is achieved well in a realistic manner, rather than going through those mass-appeal moments when hero just takes what he wants – it is the kind of idea which would increase the gross in other states and those languages, but not with this one, as it seems to have faith in the realistic, and that has served well.

Release date: 23rd May 2025
Running time: 138 minutes
Directed by: Anuraj Manohar
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Cheran, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Jithin Eden Mathew, Priyamvada Krishnan, Pranav Teophine, Prasanth Madhavan, Rini Udayakumar, Nandu, Sudhi Kozhikode, Srikant Murali, Badusha N M, Appunni Sasi, Kumar Sethu, Vijesh Lee, Shahi Kabir

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

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Kalamkaval

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Vampire Owl: I remember that we had a thought about watching this one in the theatre.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but it is now on Sony LIV, and so we get to it.

Vampire Owl: I feel that Sony LIV has some of the most unexpected releases.

Vampire Bat: Some classic movies are surely around there.

Vampire Owl: Recharging with that Airtel unlimited offer did have that advantage.

Vampire Bat: We had lost the urge to watch movies in theatres anyway.

Vampire Owl: Yes, one of the things which corona virus lockdown had changed.

Vampire Bat: Yet the world remains too much the same.

Vampire Owl: Well, world changes, but how many times can a vampire change?

Vampire Bat: A vampire is not immune to uncertainties of life.

[Gets a poori masala and three cups of Kandy tea].

What is the movie about? :: SI Jayakrishnan (Vinayakan) is assigned with what seemed to be a usual case of local unrest following the elopement of a young woman that was slowly moving towards a communal problem due to the woman being a Hindu and the man being a Muslim. To add to this, the man had denied any involvement in the woman going missing, making the woman’s family even more angry and frustrated. But there is no proof that the two even talked to each other except for someone who looked like him being seen around. Soon, they find out that the woman had not eloped with anyone they knew. As he digs deeper and deeper, Jayakrishnan begins noticing inconsistencies and understands that there is something that lies deep beneath. He understands a long-running pattern of missing women across the rural areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, divorced, widowed or unmarried for a very long time, each last seen with only one unidentified man. There seems to be some pattern about this.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: There is also an alternating pattern that after a murder occurs in Kerala, the next one takes place in Tamil Nadu, as missing women from Kerala seems to travel to Tamil Nadu, and vice versa. The investigation reveals that each victim’s phone is used to call and communicate the next target, forming an unbroken chain. To help the investigation further, they seek the help of a police officer in the border and with good knowledge of both state investigations, Stanley Das (Mammootty). The number of victims and possible victims only keep increasing, to Deepa (Shruti Ramachandran), Divya (Rajisha Vijayan), Babitha (Malavika Menon), Nandhini (Malavika Nair), Abhijitha (Dhanya Ananya), Shiny (Gayatri Arun), Anagha (Vaishnavi Sasikumar) Despite trying different methods to get the killer, the team keeps failing and reaching a dead end. They begin to suspect that a policeman might be involved and the person could be a psychopath with a perfect planning and identity. Can they find the person before times runs out?

The defence of Kalamkaval :: This is one movie that dares to go through divergent patterns. It does not take the usual path, but the narrative is kept really interesting, even without the situations not really following the parallel path. The tension and the mood are what keeps the movie going, that too with minimum gore and the violence is implied, never taking over the screen despite all the dark mood that has spread through the flick. The tension goes further with the cat and mouse game that prevails throughout its run. The visuals are really good and the dark tone does not keep the visual beauty down. There are not many dramatic sequences in the movie, as we look further, and there is no attempt to take this to the masses except for those few shots of the main character. There is nothing heroic about the investigation here, which makes it closer to reality, and we see that this one progresses through understanding and observation. The silence is nicely used, and even the final action stays very realistic.

The claws of flaw :: The movie should have kept the suspense of the psychopath at least for some time instead of revealing during such an early moment. There was the requirement for some shock element, and even that surprise in the beginning is delivered cold. This where the slow pace comes in, and we see the same pattern being repeated without anything new being added. The viewer keeps wondering if the overall length of the movie could have been less, thus making the movie more interesting with lesser victims shown – there is not much variety in the method, so seeing the same thing again and again was to be rather dull. The need for innovation was surely there to avoid repetitions here and there. There were moments where the movie really needed to pick up the pace too. The struggle to bring anything other than what has been repeated from the beginning can be seen, with the progress being so slow. One would keep wondering if something extra was there to be taken from behind.

The performers of the soul :: Mammootty leads the way in this film as an antagonist that we do not see from his side. The negative shade is more intense than ever, and remains bold and strong with that restrained evil which is not easy to portray. The psychological depth of the character is very well reflected in him, and could bring more appreciation with its presence in the OTT platform, and surely can have a sequel, or even a prequel. Vinayakan does his police role so well and in a realistic manner. This is one police character that gains no exaggeration, and we are with him throughout the investigation. This is one interesting character that goes so smooth that we love his way of doing things. The female characters only a get a few moments each, as there are so many of them, but it is Rajisha Vijayan who gets to do more and makes the short impact. In the end, it is Gayatri Arun who has more moments. Seema Sindhu Krishnan also has a throughout presence. Gibin Gopinath scores in the supporting moment, while the roles of Azees Nedumangad, Shyamaprasad and Kunchan are not extended despite having some scope around.

How it finishes :: Kalamkaval makes a quality journey with a fine narrative in its core. There is the feeling that more suspense could have been added, but this mode of journey in itself proves to be effective. The box-office collections of the movie is a reflection of the quality of the movie rather than anything else. Being a quietly disturbing, performance-driven investigative crime thriller depending on atmosphere and psychology will deprive the mass audience of what they have always wanted, but in that way, this one raises itself in overall quality. It had worked well through some of those carefully constructed scenes, and uses silence, restraint and visually beautiful storytelling to explore the darker corners of human mind, and makes us remember a few killers of John Luther, Forensic and Anjaam Paathira. You can forgive its slow pace and repetitions and go through the cinematic experience instead. It reminds us that even in the calm, there can be fear and terror, and we are reminded about how easy it is to exist side-by-side with terror.

Release date: 5th December 2025
Running time: 144 minutes
Directed by: Jithin K Jose
Starring: Mammootty, Vinayakan, Rajisha Vijayan, Shruti Ramachandran, Gayatri Arun, Gibin Gopinath, Shyamaprasad, Malavika Menon, Malavika Mohan, Megha Thomas, Vaishnavi Saikumar, Dhanya Ananya, N P Nisa, Azees Nedumangad, Kunchan, Biju Pappan, Ilavarasu, Kollam Thulasi, Catherine Mariya, Sudhi Kozhikode, Ranjini George, Aravind K S, Harisankar S G, Bibin Perumbillikunnel, R J Sooraj, Sindhu Varma, Seema Sindhu Krishnan, Devadevan Vijayaraghavan, Abee Suhana

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

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Golam

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Vampire Owl: I see that this is one investigation movie that we had missed.

Vampire Bat: This was also one of the most appreciated movies which we had missed.

Vampire Owl: We do not usually miss films of this genre, especially when appreciated.

Vampire Bat: But we have returned, thanks to Amazon Prime Video.

Vampire Owl: There are some fine thrilling additions to Prime, I see.

Vampire Bat: I would consider this to be the best option as delivery is included.

Vampire Owl: There have been so many classic additions in the last few months itself.

Vampire Bat: You know that we are not done with the reviews yet.

Vampire Owl: Yes, miles to go before we sleep, right?

Vampire Bat: In our case, kilometres to go before we sleep.

[Gets a milk peda and three cups of Ceylon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Issac John (Dileesh Pothan) is the Managing Director of V-Tech Company, a renowned IT-company in the city. He is a strict employer who does things done efficiently. One day, during working hours, he is found dead inside the washroom of his office with the door locked from the inside. The police are informed immediately by Rajeev (Ansal Palluruthy) who is the very next in charge, and Issac’s partner Gibson (Sunny Wayne) is also asked to come. Though first presumed to be a case of accidental death from a head injury caused due to slipping and falling in the washroom while trying to clean the coffee stains from his coat, there is also the possibility of a murder being talked about by the investigating officers. ASP Sandeep Krishnan IPS (Ranjith Sajeev) is certainly not satisfied here, as he points to murder and decides to keep all the staff there itself. He begins to question each of them, and feels that there is some clue left behind somewhere in the office.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: City Police Commissioner Babu Thomas IPS (Srikant Murali) has taken special interest in this case, even though he does not suspect any foul play. CI Abdul Raheem (Alencier Ley Lopez) is there to support him in the cause, but he feels that this is just a case of accident, and that the employees could all be sent him, and he could attend the booze party that he was supposed to attend. Sandeep is still adamant that something is missing, as he questions all employees starting from Meera (Chinnu Chandni) who organizes the whole team, followed by others, Neelima (Gayathri Satheesh) who has a mysterious look, Neena (Sheethal Joseph) who has sleeping pills with her, Bibeesh (Sanjay) who had a fight with the Managing Director, Arun (Anu Anand) who looks like too decent a person, Albert (Kaarthik Shankar) who has everything perfectly done, Dona (Rilnaah) who is only interested in packed drinks, Sara (Gouri Parvathy) who seems to be concerned, Sebastian (Praveen Viswanath) who seems to be too stable, and others, but things still seem to be okay – can he find any real foul play in this death?

The defence of Golam :: The film does maintain a certain amount of mystery throughout, and the twists that defines the murders is incredibly clever. The nonlinear storytelling which runs through the movie and classic revelation of secrets keep us more and more interested in this world which has more to hide than to reveal. The thrilling side never gets behind, as the movie keeps on being engaged throughout its run, and with a length slightly shorter than two hours, this one manages to keep things perfect. The performances here are really solid, and even with those many new faces around, we do not see anyone lagging behind. The movie is also very nicely edited, as we see how well things move forward, and the flashbacks also enter in the right manner. The revelation reminds us of the evil that has been going on in our world, and the evil that has always existed in different forms in the medical field and in the form of viruses and antidotes, as nobody really seems to realize where the corona virus had gone.

Positives and negatives :: The start might feel usual, but that nicely blends in here with the rest of world which switches to the new mood with ease. The light-hearted feeling in the beginning takes not much time to change the gears by a long way. Maybe, some characters could have been explored more, but with this length, the lack of the same is justified. The revelation also happens rather too early without making the viewers guess to the maximum. Still, in the layers, so much of skills seem to have been put in use. The thrills only become more and more effective as the movie moves on and on. The visuals remain good throughout the run of the movie, and the same starts from the office itself. The final elevation of the movie is something that we would remember, as we await a possible sequel, but still we feel that there are other moments were the film could have stopped and made us wait for the next. This is the kind of movie that we have all asked for as long as the genre performance is concerned.

The performers of the soul :: The movie led well by Ranjith Sajeev who comes up with a solid performance as the police officer who investigates this particular case, and one can only hope for things to get better from there, once he arrives on the screen. Dileesh Pothan’s good work is limited to only a few minutes while Sunny Wayne has made a fine buildup for the next movie if there is one to follow. Siddique and Alencier Ley Lopez brings some fine moments to make the whole thing feel more solid. Among the long supporting cast at the office, everyone contributes so well, with Chinnu Chandni seemingly on the lead with Kaarthik Shankar and Praveen Viswanath keeping it going in a very serious manner, and leading to hope for more. Among the rest of the cast, the first people we notice are Sheethal Joseph and Gayathri Satheesh, who are seen like the faces we are going to see again, and we feel the need to see them around for long. Gouri Parvathy, Rilnaah and Arifa Hind also comes in with work to do, and manages the same very well. The rest also follows nicely in this progress which depends on them all.

How it finishes :: Malayalam movies have not been short of some fine thrillers, and this one adds to that long classic list which is led by Memories and taken over by flicks like Forensic, Anjaam Paathira, Abraham Ozler, John Luther and Kooman among others. With the kind of ending that it managed to get, it has a better chance of getting a sequel more than most of the other thrillers – there is the feeling that the tale is already supposed to be a two-chapter story. One cannot stop wondering if this would have been a bigger hit if there was more marketing. I do not remember the existence of this particular movie before the news that it had released on OTT and could gain many positive reviews. Well, the sequel would surely bring a lot of audience, and a classic ending is what this upcoming franchise deserves. It would mean that thrillers would stay alive and can also leave us with a hidden message like Joseph did years ago. The quality of this movie is surely an early reminder of the same, and would make us hope for more of similar films.

Release date: 7th June 2024
Running time: 119 minutes
Directed by: Samjad
Starring: Ranjith Sajeev, Dileesh Pothan, Sunny Wayne, Alencier Ley Lopez, Siddique. Srikant Murali, Rini K Rajan, Asha Madathil, Priya Sreejith, Ansal Palluruthy, Sudhi Kozhikode, Praveen Viswanath, Gayathri Satheesh, Sheethal Joseph, Gouri Parvathy, Rilnaah, Kaarthik Shankar, Anu Anand, Ala S Narayana, Pranav Ekaa, Vijaya Sadan, Unni Deshaposhini, Unni Vaikom, Sanjay, Remadevi

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.