Vishnu G Varrier – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: Do you know that we were looking forward to watching this one in theatre.

Vampire Bat: Yes, but we were very busy at that time.

Vampire Owl: The opinions were still not positive.

Vampire Bat: I still have a Thira feeling about this particular movie.

Vampire Owl: I have watched the trailer and it was really good.

Vampire Bat: And I feel that there is more than what meets the eye here.

Vampire Owl: I have wanted Vineeth Sreenivasan with a thriller again.

Vampire Bat: There is something about that change from the feel-good.

Vampire Owl: Well, feel-good has never been a reality.

Vampire Bat: Humans can create a fake infinite realities and live in the same all the time.

[Gets a kadai paneer dosa and three cups of Ceylon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Dev (Noble Babu Thomas) and Salman (John Kaippallil) were in charge of an undercover operation to capture a notorious terrorist who has been threatening India from Pakistan and other nations, but after going against a direct order, gets in trouble, with former being court-marshalled and latter landing in the hospital for quite some time. After his return home, his girlfriend Sana (Audrey Miriam Henest) meets with an accident, leading her father Abdullah (Johny Antony) taking her away, and Dev is blamed for the incident and prohibited from meeting her again. A disappointed Dev who also has problems with his father Mahendran (Manoj K Jayan), decides to get married, and find love in Tara (Reshma Sebastian) and has a son Ayaan (Nazhan Bin Najmal). One day, they have to travel to a country named Lenarco, for Tara’s international conference. It feels like a happy family trip with the help of Kamal (Kalabhavan Shajohn) who remains their driver for the trips, with places to visit and happy moments to be shared with a tour that came after a long time.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Things seem to go around nicely, but when Dev goes to a night club which also has a brother underneath, he finds Sana there as one of the experienced sex workers displayed for the clients. Confused and disheartened, he chooses her from the display, and she reveals that she was trafficked from India while escaping home in order to find and be with him against the wishes of her father. On the way, she was tracked by a human trafficking gang that kidnapped and trafficked her out of the nation. She was sold, raped and forced into sex work in the organization which runs the most powerful mafia in the land. Andre (Ivan Vukomanovic), a man with high connections and the most powerful group of goons under his control manages the operations. There is no escape for her from there as even the police are in his payroll. A distraught Dev who feels that he could have saved her from this hopeless situation if he had gone after her, decides to save her from the brothel, but it would not be so easy, with his own family at risk in a nation which seems to have less control over its gangs and guns.

The defence of Karam :: We have all waited for a technically polished thriller of international standards, and if you are not watching it despite the same, there is no hope in having more – we remember how much quality could be felt in movies like Ranam and Ivide, which did not have that success that they deserved, and this one gets into that list with ease. The movie is visually stunning, and the fight scenes never feel overdone with no love for that dumb dose of heroism and mass moments. The tension is present throughout the movie, and there are some nicely managed thrilling moments around here. The emotions are really felt here, and there is no shortage of feeling in this world which is dark and has evil hiding underneath. Unlike a few other movies, it does not hesitate to get into that world of chaos and sometimes not checking into that safe side. These kinds of movies should be considered as the true feel-good, and not others that pretend to be so, without any story and keeping on saying the same things again and again to pretend to be feel-good. The release in Amazon Prime Video would surely bring more positive opinions as people would the movie without prejudices.

Positives and negatives :: The movie could have surely used more twists in between and set the whole thing on pure survival mode, and we see that the pace is often lost regarding the attempt to escape. The ending could have also been more classic without what seemed like the deus ex machina which felt not that suitable for the overall tone of the movie. The emotional side despite being there at all times, do not keep up with the overall movie. Then there will always be those people who put negativity in movie in relation to its similarities with Thira, but one has to note that most of them supported Thudarum which was basically Drishyam in a lower quality and unnecessary mass. This movie here is basically an improvement on the technical side compared to Thira, but for some strange reason, people did not seem to go for this one that much. Well, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra was still running strong at that time, and some others had also joined – maybe it was not the right time to have a release for this particular movie.

The performers of the soul :: Noble Babu Thomas who made his debut as actor in Helen, comes up with fine work here, and he has written this one too – portrays the character with control, unlike the usual superstars who would overdo such a role for the dumb fans. Ivan Vukomanovic is not a name less known among Keralites, as the head coach of Kerala Blasters, and when he is present on the screen, he maintains a certain quality as the main antagonist. Audrey Miriam Henest feels like a fine find for the industry as she maintains strength not just as the strong lover, but also as the damsel in distress, maintaining the emotions in strength and helplessness without holding back. It might not have been easy playing the same character in different life-changing situations, but she seems to have no trouble in doing the same, and is definitely a talent for the future. Reshma Sebastian, on the other side, comes up with a natural and memorable performance opposite the hero, and she seems to have mastered the role so well. I am sure that we will see her around again. Kalabhavan Shajohn and Baburaj adds quite well too. Johny Antony and Manoj K Jayan got some quick, veteran stuff to do nicely again.

How it finishes :: The movie is surely better than what the critics have been talking about, and it surely scores more than most of the overrated movies of the same genre. It is quite surprising that the audience did not support this movie that much, especially when the quality of the movie is so much, and keeps on an engaging route. The movie has so many good moments to remember, and if you liked Thira from the same director, there is no chance that you will feel the need to like this any less. The feel-good nonsense has been getting on our nerves after that and we needed to get out of them which keeps doing the meaningless for such a long time. Reminding us of Thira, this one deals with human trafficking with an international setting, unlike the usual one, and therefore feels not that close to the usual, but this is something of a grander setting. When a movie thrills and keeps one on the edge of the seat, there is not much more that you need. A technically polished work with ambitions and performances set in a classic world is something one would not miss, even with some problems here and there. This kind of movie surely needs to be appreciated to inspire more of the same kind; for now, do check it out on Amazon Prime Video.

Release date: 25th September 2025
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Vineeth Sreenivasan
Starring: Noble Babu Thomas, Audrey Miriam Henest, Reshma Sebastian, Ivan Vukomanovic, Manoj K Jayan, Baburaj, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Sudev Nair, Vishnu G Varrier, Johny Antony, Shweta Menon, Redin Kingsley, Vineeth Vasudevan, Joji Mundakayam, Nazhan Bin Najmal, John Kaippallil, Basheer Rimmi Singh, Vettai Muthukumar

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: How many officers do you know?

Vampire Bat: Not many vampire officers.

Vampire Owl: We would need to appoint a few.

Vampire Bat: You think that an increase in vampire officers can solve ongoing crisis.

Vampire Owl: I do not see why not. The numbers do matter.

Vampire Bat: Not in all cases, for quality is also needed.

Vampire Owl: You can teach quality to the numbers.

Vampire Bat: There is a limit to what we can teach.

Vampire Owl: Not for the immortals. They have an eternity to learn.

Vampire Bat: There is no eternity that we do not know well enough.

[Gets a vegetable cutlet and three cups of Sikkim tea].

What is the movie about? :: It is seen that CI Joseph Chembola (Jithu Ashraf) commits suicide in Bangalore under the influence of a group of drug addicts and dealers, much to the dismay of the police force. The case does not seem to reach everywhere even though a certain mystery seems to go through the same. A few months later, back in Kerala, former DYSP and demoted into CI R Hari Shankar (Kunchacko Boban) gets back to action in the Aluva Police Station. He has not been himself since the death of his elder daughter Nila Harishankar (Meenakshi Anoop), a case of suicide which had sent him to a long period of depression. He remains very angry, and ready to beat up goons, or anyone who breaks the laws. His wife Geetha Harishankar (Priyamani) and younger daughter Minnu Harishankar (Eithal Evana Sherin) are very much concerned about his behaviour but can do nothing about him.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is then that Chandrababu (Jagadish), a KSRTC Conductor, has a complaint, but this particular problem related to an imitation gold chain seems to have further implications, and gets things more complicated enough to make it personal for Harishankar, contributing to the tension of his friends in the police force including DYSP Shahul Raj (Vaisakh Shankar) and his other friends like Advocate Rekha Chandrasekhar (Muthumani). It seems that these situations will remind him of a few things from the past he does not want to remember and can lead to those kinds of twists that nobody wants to see happening. But it is too late, as Harishankar finds out that Chandrababu’s daughter had replaced the gold chain with an imitation after being sexually exploited by an unknown man to prevent any further blackmailing over her nude video.

And what complicates things further within chaos? :: As Harishankar asks Chandrababu and his daughter to file a POCSO case as she is a minor, she responds by committing suicide and Chandrababu blames Harishankar for the same. As media also blames him, he is taken off the case but decides to keep searching for answers. He meets ASI Thomas (Manoj KU) who was in prison for the murder of the man who sexually exploited his daughter, and it is revealed that it was Harishankar who murdered the man, and Thomas only took the blame on himself as his daughter was also drugged and raped by the same person. Harishankar is unable to connect the links, but on the same night, Thomas is visited by Christy Savio (Vishak Nair), Celine Joan (Leya Mammen), Anna Louis (Aishwarya Raj) and Sathya Mithiran (Vishnu G Varrier), who claim to have studied with his daughter. But soon, it would seem that they have other intensions – where would this lead Harishankar with a new twist?

The defence of Officer on Duty :: It can be seen that Officer on Duty is one movie that stands tall with its realistic approach and some wonderful performances, led by Kunchako Boban himself in a role we do not usually see him working with. He remains solid within the movie as the police officer on a mission. Jagadish’s return to serious roles like he did in Garudan, Neru etc once again leaves us with something to remember. Vishak Nair’s entry into the antagonistic role feels like something that we would remember for a very long time. Among the rest, it is the debutant Aishwarya Raj who impresses like no other, and the sinister feeling that her character provides has no match among female villains of our industry. Leya Mammen matches the evil up to an extent, even though the character is focused more on an emotional vengeance. Priyamani and Meenakshi Anoop have less to do but manages to be of significance.

Positives and negatives :: The ending might feel forced but is justified well enough to finish the whole thing. It might not feel as something entirely new, but with the technical superiority, it scores like no other. The presence of some strong and interesting antagonists keeps the movie get to an even higher level. The movie also leaves as message against drug abuse, something which have been in the main news and having all schools and colleges forced to do some awareness campaign against the substance abuse which has been turning into bigger problems. Even though there are clear antagonists, it is to be known that the true villain is the drug abuse itself. This might be one of those movies which can be shown during drug awareness campaigns in parts. This is also that kind of a movie which deserves a sequel.

How it finishes :: It is not that easy to find a performance-driven thriller like this one. We still had some fine investigative thrillers last year in the form of Ozler, Anveshippin Kandethum, Thalavan, Anand Sreebala and others which have kept us very much interested in more. This year, we have this particular flick which follows the fine seriousness of Rekhachithram with ease. This year also needs to be a year of the thrillers, as Malayalam cinema has always provided the best of them. The world needs its Memories and other movies with imperfect and troubled police officers. The quality of thrillers like this one will stay with us for long for sure. The movie does seem to have come to the OTT too early, and one wonders if it is the release of Lucifer 2: Empuraan that led to that early entry to the theatres of home.

Release date: 20th February 2025 (Theatre); 20th March 2025 (Netflix)
Running time: 137 minutes
Directed by: Jithu Ashraf
Starring: Kunchacko Boban, Vishak Nair, Jagadish, Priyamani, Aishwarya Raj, Leya Mammen, Meenakshi Anoop, Amit Eapen, Eithal Evana Sherin, Vaisakh Shankar, Vishnu G Varrier, Srikant Murali, Manoj K U, Ramzan Muhammed, Arun Raj, Jithu Ashraf