Movie: Bhagyadevatha
Language : Malayalam
Date : 24/04/09
Review:
Thirty minutes in to the second half of the movie, Bhagyadevatha Satyan commits the very same mistake which he has been commiting in all his recent scripts be it RTM,VY or ICV. Till then the story and premises look usual but the script and screenplay are interesting. The predictable twist at the interval also seems mouth watering to some extent. But once it reaches half way mark in the second half he commits the usual folly, he forgets the characters and their justifications, forgets the side actors, forgets everything and moves towards a hugely predicatble cliched, compromised end. There in lies the folly of the script and the movie Bhagyadevatha.
Story and the First Half:
The story is nothing new but still the first half is good and promising. For once you start to feel that the old Satyan is back with the days of MN and AA. Even the predictable twist at interval makes you feel interested about what may come after the interval.
Performances:
Nothing very special. Jayaram is usual. Kanikha could have had a better role provided the characters had taken normal route in second half and heroine should have had the upper hand but that doesn't happen. So she ends up with an average role. Side characters as usual Lalitha is fine along with the grand mother.Naren is blink and miss.
What it could have been :
No sane wife is going to readily accept a character like Jayaram back without any sweet revenge on him. He is a solely money minded Male Chauvanist and once luck is kind on her, he takes a complete U turn to coax her. She readily agrees to provide for his sister's marriage. All looks contrived in the second half. It would have been interesting if Kanikha had put forward some conditions and then make him understand the value of woman hood. This never happens.
Alas the movie just remains a good first half and an oppurtunity lost to say the least.Then there are movies like say IG which have a usual story but rise above average due to inspired performance of the lead (here Suresh gopi). In Bhagyadevatha, there is no such telling performance as well.
Verdict : I will go with 3/5 and Average to Above Average Rating for Bhagyadevatha.
Considering recent Satyan movies (RTM,VY,ICV) this is above average but if taken as a Malayalam movie seperately, then its just Average.
Bhagyadevatha - A lost oppurtunity of what could have been
Movie: 2 Harihar Nagar
Language : Malayalam
Date : 15th April, 2009
Review
Good Memories are probably like our favorite dish that our Moms made back at home. Firstly, just as we would love to have that dish all over again, the same way we cherish to relive the good memories. And secondly, just as that favorite dish would even today have a instant liking in our mind even before we start having it, the same way the good memories would have an instant liking in our mind even before we start reliving them.
This longing to relive the good times and the instant liking are the two factors which the director Lal utilizes to the hilt and comes up with one of the most well directed commercial cinemas in recent times - 2 Harihar Nagar.
Return of the Good Comedy
'2Hariharnagar' starts off when the 4 friends reunite at their den for one of their engagements. What follows is a laugh riot to say the least! The situational comedy is worked out well and the dialogues leave you in splits. For years, we have been suffering with seeing the 'comedy for the sake of comedy' stuff but the true daddies of good comedy are back and how. The first few gags in the airport involving Jagadish and Atlas Ramachandran may seem crass but soon the comedy machine catches speed and what follows up until the interval is complete pure entertainment. I really was trying to recall when was the last time in recent past that I laughed so much in a theatre. Frankly, I have no recent memory!!
The Sweet Formula in Right Mix
In the second half, there is a scene when Mukesh and Siddique break in to fight and for an instance the whole friendship breaks over an important issue. At that poignant moment, I realised that it was the 90s Sidiqque - Lal formula that was being used in the entire movie and it wasn't even being noticed. They used to have a rollicking first half full of pure comedy, building the premises for the second half which concentrated on the story movement completely.They usually used to have the street fight between brothers (God Father) or break up between friends (Kabooliwala) somewhere in the second half as a sentimental moment. And here it was! The perfected formula is repeated all over again with great skill and expertise and you never notice.
The Real Hero
The Real hero of the movie is none other than the director Lal. There is no two ways to that. The opening credits showing the first editions scenes will make u smile for sure.From setting up interesting gags and situational comedy to witty dialogues.From adding a prelude to the famous friendship from the childhood, to one of the best twisted climax, he is in awesome form. From getting competant performances from his aging actors to the palpabale pace of the proceedings in the second half, his single directorial debut is so impressive that it you wouldn't have seen such a debue for a long time.
Performances
I believe that even in the first part, Mukesh's and Jagadish's character are the best developed ones and Ashokan's and Sidiqque's the lesser developed ones. Ashokan though got mileage in first part due to the dialogoue 'Thomaskutty......'.That better development for Jagadish and Mukesh stays almost the same here too. Jagadish and Mukesh put in the best performances in that order.
We need to accept that these 4 actors have aged. For the first 30 minutes, many of Mukesh's reactions look plastic to say the least and Jagadish looks excessive in expressions. But soon they fall in to groove. Ashokan gets mileage for stuff that can't be discussed here. And Siddique is perhaps the least worn out of them all. He looks younger of the lot and perhaps the actor who has grown most of the 4 in last 20 years. He does well of what is given to him. Lakshmi Rai looks good and acts ok.
Negatives : But who cares?
The negatives which one can easily overlook are firstly the plastic reaction of the 3 (except Siddique) at many instances. The lack of well conceptualized side characters. The first part had Filomina, Baharathan, Ponnama, Suresh Gopi, and so on. Here its only Appa Hajah and Salim Kumar. The music though looks sound and feels good in the theater somehow looks below standard when you listen independently. I was wondering during the movie that are these the same songs that I hated while listening before? And also some gags (starting ones) are of the crass type.
Must Watch
3 kinds of people who shud watch this for sure.1. Sibi Udayan, Thaha, Shafi and many others who made crass comedy the in thing in Malayalam Cinema. They shud see it to understand what we all love - Pure Good Comedy.2. Amal Neerad - For once to understand that movies are not all about Visuals and Audio but about script.3. Anyone who has good friends and always is longing to relive those moments.
Verdict - 4/5 and 'VERY GOOD' for '2Harihar Nagar'.
'2HariHar Nagar' - Relive the good times!!
Movie : IG.
Language : Malayalam
Date : 3rd April,2009.
Review
Some Actors adorn certain roles the best. And for Suresh Gopi as police officer the same holds absolutely true. You give him a decent script and premises. Provide him with adequate supporting cast. Also add a noteworthy climax twist to a murder mystery. Include some contemporary issues. Some fiery dialogues. And with all the above in place, if Suresh Gopi has a police officer's role, he will carry it with such gumption, élan and precision that it can end up raising an ordinary movie to an engaging one.The above in nut shell is B.Unnikrishnan'and Suresh Gopi's latest outing - IG.
The Joshy Style
I truly believe that Joshy is one of the best directors in malluwood who has shown us how to navigate or present a script well especially for a action/thriller genre. His movies have a special connect with the audiences of kerala. 20-20 was the latest example for the same. In 'IG' B.Unni replicates this style to a good amount of success.The script is well written for most parts and will keep you engaged. Especially during the first half, there is never a boring moment. The second half may not be up to the mark with some lags but still its not seriously boring.There is a Thanks to Joshi mentioned in the starting Titles and I hope that it may be for adopting quite a bit of his style of doing an action movie.
The Director
I think B Unni has done a above decent job directing IG. He has left his impact on many scenes, actor's performances and well shaped roles. He never allows Gopi to get carried away. The supporting cast like for example Rajan P Dev as the CM does a good take on Achumama. Similarly Suresh Gopi's brother (Adayalangal). He is a new guy but has good acting skills. Also the SS Music / Chak De India Girl does decent job. I think the characterizations of many of these roles have been done well. The proceedings are kept with a good pace and a level headed director is always in charge. You get that feeling all the time. What B.Unni needs to get over is his brother sentiments. He keeps repeating that in all his movies.
The Macho Man
Suresh Gopi is cool and suave as Durgaprasad the IG. Even though he can sleep walk through this role but he never gives that feeling. He has put his heart and head in to the role given to him. He looks a bit aged and bulky in some frames with an excessive dye on his mush but he plays his part with such heart and gumption that you feel cheering for him. I think IG will go down as one of his better police movies.
The Climax Twist
I think now we almost have a jounre in thrillers when a twist is in place during the climax. IG is more in lines with Tiger. I cud guess the climax well in to the second half but I am sure that it has been well and convincingly presented. A good one but if the same thing twist in the climax is repeated, it can get to a boring point soon coz you will always expect and know that the twist is coming.The -ves for the movie are that when you walk out of the theatre, you may feel that you didn't see anything new. Its all been there and done that. Its terrorism mixed with a murder mystery and climax twist. But you don't have long speeches on what is good Islam and all that. This in itself is a relief. Dialogues are well written in many parts.The second half wavers a bit but soon is back on track.I feel that its a better effort than many Suresh Gopi police movies. I for once rate it better than his comeback movie 'Bharath Chandran IPS'. But no way close to what we saw in ‘Commisioner ‘and ‘Ekalavyan’.
Someone who should watch IG is Amal Neerad. Not that he should change his style (each director has his own) but it will make him understand how a script needs to be better navigated. A typical mallu audience will like IG better than SAJ, any day, given the choice to rate both.
Verdict - 3/5 and a title 'COMPETANT' for IG.
Above Average Engaging stuff for an evening watch.
Snippet: I think we are witnessing one of the best seasons of Malayalam Cinema after a long time. SAJ, IG being ok one time watch and 2HHN being good, crowds are out in huge huge numbers. Time to rejoice !!