Identity

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I have been thinking about changing my identity.

Vampire Bat: The vampire one or the owl one?

Vampire Owl: The undead one to be exact.

Vampire Bat: You are already dead and returned. That cannot change.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has changed his identity multiple times.

Vampire Bat: He never had any real identity.

Vampire Owl: Yes, Frankenstein, the genius scientist.

Vampire Bat: The pseudo-scientist, to be exact.

Vampire Owl: He is more, for he has invented vampire mechanics.

Vampire Bat: The only thing he has invented is pure nonsense.

[Gets a chilli chicken pizza and three cups of Darjeeling tea].

What is the movie about? :: A recently engaged young woman Emy John (Nilja K Baby) finds herself blackmailed by a man named Amar Felix (Arjun Radhakrishnan) with the help of a techie and occasional hacker Nakul Sachdev (Vishak Nair), as he had recorded her half-naked through a mobile phone kept in a changing room. He threatens to spread her nude videos all over internet unless she gives him three lakhs to which she agrees, but after many blackmails of random people, this time he finds himself facing a mysterious individual who kills him in his own warehouse which looks abandoned from outside. Alisha Abdul Salam (Trisha Krishnan) is the only witness to the murder as she had seen the person coming out of the warehouse after burning it, as she was passing through. CI Allen Jacob (Vinay Rai) is assigned the case, and decides to keep the witness in his home for protection, as advised by DYSP Dinesh Chandran (Aju Varghese). They feel the immediate need to get a sketch of the killer done as Alisha says that she has seen the face clearly, but protecting her is the top priority.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Allen is helped by his highly influential friend Supriya Gopal (Mandira Bedi) who provide him with much needed information. Meanwhile, Haran Shankar (Tovino Thomas) is a part-time karate instructor and a genius in multiple subjects who suffers from OCD, and lives with his sister Devika Shankar (Archana Jose Kavi) and half-sister Neerja Sudip (Gopika Ramesh). Allen, after seeing a sketch made by Haran, decides that he should be the one to bring the identity of the killer to light. As Allen asks Haran to make a sketch, and as he does so with the help of the description given by Alisha, a few more things come to light, including the fact that Alisha can no longer identify human faces after an accident which followed the murder. This makes things further complicated, as finding the killer seems almost impossible, and Amar’s past also seems to catch up to the situation. It seems that things are just getting more and more complicated, but for how long?

The defence of Identity :: There is a certain amount of style related to how this movie looks, and the visuals remain stunning throughout its run. The technical strength is visible right there. We have not seen such over-reachers among the movies of this industry, unless it is Lucifer and its Empuraan, but this one has managed that extra load quite well. The movie nicely builds the tension, which keeps us interested. The twists are always present, and some of them are rather too nice. The action sequences are maintained well and kept under control without being overdone. The beginning of the movie was so good that we are attached to the proceedings so early. We wonder where the connections would be made, and that happens nicely too. The final fights are also well-executed, maybe qualifying as among the best-done moments. The performances remain of top quality, not really holding back even because of character complications. There is a certain amount of polishing that is visible there, moving further ahead of the usual movies. The background music also remains something of interest.

The claws of flaw :: The movie just seems to have taken so much for granted. After starting so well, and ending with a deviation, but in an interesting way, the middle part seems to have lost in the process. There are so many moments which seems over-stretched, and we feel that there was no need for that much of a detail in between, and the explanations which go long, just gets longer as we see and experience less twists in real-time than what we hear and find in flashbacks. The big reveal about the main character feels like a rather forced addition. The characters are not given the importance that they need, and the hero is just given that push. Many characters just come of nowhere and become part of that world of twists, making us not that interested in them. Even the leading lady is not given that strength and feels misplaced as a character. The other female characters are also not given that much of a background. The emotional depth is not that much there, and the pace is also uneven, often also struggling with the pace. Then the antagonist is also pushed out of nowhere right after a twist.

The performers of the soul :: Tovino Thomas leads the way here in style. When thinking about that one action hero of the industry, he comes first to the mind. We have seen that even with superheroes of Minnal Murali and Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra. Tovino handles this role in a way that we will remember, and gets into the genre really well as expected. Vinay Rai becomes a fine addition around here as he shines in the form of a strong antagonist, someone who aligns with the overall mood of the movie and the twists. Aju Varghese’s serious police role is a joy to watch, and it is to be noted that this time, the character do not follow the stereotypes. Trisha Krishnan comes back to Malayalam after Hey Jude with Nivin Pauly, and here she plays a main character and has just enough to do as the leading actress. Shammi Thilakan and Vishak Nair have some interesting things to do here. Archana Jose Kavi and Gopika Ramesh shine in their comparatively smaller roles, and Nilja K Baby contributes well in a small role too. It was good to see Mandira Bedi around too while Giju John and Sujith Shankar gets the due in the final minutes.

How it finishes :: This one was that opportunity with scope for big heights to become one memorable thriller above many more. Known as The Sketch Artist in Hindi on Jio Hotstar, this one would work better with that particular audience. If you like such stylish thrillers having action, twists, and a lot of ambition behind, this will feel a lot grand, as you remember from movies like Christopher. But that big a plot and well-developed characters would not be there that much for your attention here. Creating characters our of nowhere and using them here and there with twists that sometimes work like boomerang might not be for everyone’s love. But seeing the cast of this movie, you know that the movie will always be capable enough. It is available in Hindi on Amazon Prime Video going by the name, The Sketch Artist, even though one would be wondering why that name even came into picture. Unlike some other movies, this Hindi version is very well-created, and you might wish to have a look at that one.

Release date: 31st December 2024
Running time: 158 minutes
Directed by: Akhil Paul, Anas Khan
Starring: Tovino Thomas, Trisha Krishnan, Vinay Rai, Aju Varghese, Archana Jose Kavi, Sujith Shankar, Nilja K Baby, Giju John, Gopika Ramesh, Shammi Thilakan, Vishak Nair, Major Ravi, Asha Madathil, Mandira Bedi, Arjun Radhakrishnan, Mahima Radhakrishnan, Shinu Shyamalan, Litty Thomas, Vriddhi Vishal, Mohan Thankam, Sethu Lekshmi, Adam Sadiq, Akhil Paul, Anas Khan

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

<<< Click here to go to the previous South Indian film review.

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Christopher

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Tennyson

Vampire Owl: I have only known one Christopher in my life.

Vampire Bat: Are you talking about Christopher Marlowe?

Vampire Owl: I am not sure about University Wits being part of vampire world.

Vampire Bat: The vampires have been secretly part of all universities.

Vampire Owl: There are no vampires who study directly in universities.

Vampire Bat: Well, Dracula Castle is a university affiliated institution.

Vampire Owl: So, vampirism is now accepted as a course?

Vampire Bat: The difference between a curse and a course is lesser these days.

Vampire Owl: I would surely love to see B.A. Vampirism as a course in human universities.

Vampire Bat: Let us make it BSc. Vampirism, as humans only go for science these days.

[Gets a strawberry ice cream cake and three cups of pista ice cream].

What is the movie about? :: Among the police officers of the state, ADGP Christopher Antony (Mammootty) has a special place as one of the most efficient and honest ones. To add to his list of skills, encounter killings is a well-known one. As he finishes off five rich and influential young men for raping and murdering a young lady who was delivering food, he is hailed as a hero of the masses, but due to the pressure from human rights activists and the rich families of the dead youth, there is the order for an investigation against him. Christopher’s ex-wife, Beena Mariam Chacko (Sneha) is also in favour of an investigaion, which is led by ACP Suleksha IPS (Amala Paul). She decides to uncover Christopher’s past to make sure that the process would be easier. She finds out that Christopher’s motive to become a police officer with an interest in encounter killings goes back to childhood when his parents were killed and sister was raped and murdered. He had tried to have his vengeance, but was stopped by a police officer who was in charge, and the cop himself does the encounter of the two men who committed the act of brutality.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: This police officer who brings vigilante justice to the scene becomes his role model. Christopher was trained under the same police officer who also took care of the boy’s rest of the education. With such guidance, Christopher soon clears the civil service exam and becomes an IPS officer. He gets his first posting as an ASP in a village in Madhya Pradesh which was ruled by feudal landlords, and becomes an encounter specialist in a land of brutal murders and rapes. He was aided by SI Muhammed Ismail (Deepak Parambol), who becomes his right-hand man. From there, he begins a new journey, something which becomes headache for many. It seems that Sulekha has more than what meets the eye in front of her. Advocate Amina (Aishwarya Lakshmi) who had become Christpher’s adopted daugher after the death of her biological father Ismail, also meets him with a cause, which would mean more troubles for which there are no easy solutions for Sulekha. More people might die in encounters as long as there will crimes, but will Suleksha bring an end to this as the faith is placed on her?

The defence of Christopher :: There is no loss of style in this movie with its investigations. Even though one might feel that it will keep reminding us about Mammootty’s two other stylish movies Abrahamainte Santhathikal and The Great Father, it is safe to say that our film is far above the others in the way it progresses, and related to how it deals with the narrative in relation to a bigger picture which would remain there. It can also boast about using less drama in comparison to Jana Gana Mana which was more or less overdone with its dialogues. This one here is well-shot as a visually superior movie in comparison with many other movies, and the side of investigation mostly stays on track, even though the stylish side often threatens to do more than it was supposed to do. The background music works most of the time, and does even better in relation to the narrative and action. The movie will leave us with something to remember, as it not only has all the looks and style, but it also makes us relate things with real life incidents. Well, making sure that entertainment is guaranteed, becomes one clear target for the movie.

The claws of flaw :: The movie could do better if the focus was shifted from style to substance on a number of occasions, as the scope was so much there. There could have been some interesting twists added in here, and the investigations could have had more surprises and shocks in store too. The opportunities are never completely taken to the advantage. The psychotic sides here are not of enough strength. The ending could have also meant more. It strange that so many movie s begin so well, and continue in a similar way, but ends without being able to add any innovation in there. Well, this is a movie which seemed to have so many resources in store, and such a movie should not have degraded itself into a stylish commoner with extra elements for the blind fans. Such requirements of the fans seem to have kept this movie behind, with a certain amount of lag in the form of slow motion. It does rise above many movies which are lost in slow motion, and that can be considered as a positive. Well, there is nothing less expected here.

The performers of the soul :: As expected, the movie depends on the style and charm of Mammootty to lead the movie towards something better, and that is indeed a fine advantage. There are scenes which seem to be overdone at times involving him in action. There is a little too much of heroism added on here which makes also makes the main character very much like an unstoppable force of nature, which could have been avoided up to an extent. Amala Paul’s police officer role looks pretty good despite some early struggles, and there are times when she elevates the level out of nowhere from what seems to be too usual a thing. Aishwarya Lakshmi gets a small, but interesting role, and same is the case of Sneha who is back in Malayalam movie industry and suits her role really well. Vinay Rai who plays the main antagonist has some fine moments to show the vilainy which is managed in an engaging manner. Sarath Kumar’s cameo role is also something to stay. The work of Dileesh Pothan and Siddique will also be remembered. Shine Tom Chacko plays the one fully negative police officer here without problems. The other women characters played by both Vinitha Koshy and Aditi Ravi might feel small, but are of very much relevance to the proceedings.

How it finishes :: Among the interesting thrillers of our times, this movie has an interesting place, even though not on the expected lines. There was always more to be taken, but with its contents, this one feels enough for a few hours of entertainment. Making a film a worthy investigative thriller along with being appealing to fans is not that easy, and that has been managed with some skill. After all, it is always better to have a police officer as the protagonist rather than the gangsters and crime lords in some other movies made for fans. There have been so many such movies in which have some foolish dialogues and moments to satisfy the dumb fans. Well, this one rising above such tendencies is a thing of happiness. Among all these, the movie has also managed to make so many Bollywood cop movies look so dumb, as they are expected. As this movie repeats, truth just something that is constructed, and goes on to bring final justice to the character victims. Like Grandmaster and Villain, this remains another balanced act from B Unnikrishnan, and another cop recreated nicely out of family tragedies.

Release date: 9th March 2023 (Amazon Prime Video); 9th February 2023 (Theatre)
Running time: 92 minutes
Directed by: B Unnikrishnan
Starring: Mammotty, Amala Paul, Aishwarya Lakshmi, Sneha, Dileesh Pothan, Shine Tom Chacko, Aditi Ravi, Vinitha Koshy, Deepak Parambol, Jinu Joseph, Vinay Rai, R Sarath Kumar, Vasanthi, Vijaykumar Prabhakaran. Manjulan, Rajesh Sharma, Manohari, Keerthana Sreekumar, Ramya Suresh, Shaheen Siddique, Amal Rajdev, Sohan Seenulal,Kalesh Kalakkodu, Nitin Thomas