Spanish Masala Movie Review

Dileep, Lal Jose and Benny P Nayarambalam get together again in Spanish Masala after their earlier super hit Chanthu Pottu. Lal Jose introduces another foreign lady Daniela Zacherl,in the flick after bringing a Chinese girl in Arabikatha. The story and script are by Benny P Nayarambalam. Spanish Masala is produced by Noushad under the banner of Big Screen .
Charlie(Dileep) goes to Spain to participate in a programme. Charlie gets trapped in Spain, unable to return to India. With no friends, no money and no place to stay, Charlie is desperate. To make matters worse, Charlie spoke only Malayalam. And then like an angel from heaven, Camila(Daniela) comes to Charlies life. Camila is a Spanish lass who was in India with her father Philip Adam,who was the Spanish Amassador to India. She was born in India and having spent a good part of her youth in India, she loved India and things Indian. Most unexpectedly, Camila is fluent in Malayalam. To Charlie’s good fortune, he gets a job in Camila's palace.
Camila had a lover Rahul(Kunchako Boban), was her playmate and childhood friend. When Camila’s family moved out to Spain, the governess accompanied them. However, Rahul was left behind as he was in a boarding school. Rahul, after completing his studies, joins his mother and meets Camila. They renew their friendship which gradually turns in to deep love. Their love is cut shot when Rahul loses his life tragically. Camila withdraws in to herself and spends her time lost in Rahul’s thoughts. And then Charlie enters her life and with his naughtiness and sprightly outlook on life, slowly transforms Camila. She is amused by his witty conversation and his optimism. Funny things happen to her. These hilarious situations are narrated in Spanish Masala.
Dileep is quite comfortable playing what he plays best. And he makes sure that he plays it up to the gallery. Kunchako Boban excels in his role. He is smashing in a part that he chomps up into bits. Daniela Zacherl catches viewers mind with her angelic looks and charm; she is the heart-throb of the show. Biju Menon and Vinayaprasad are adequate. Foreign actors Javier and Clements has done a brilliant job. Vodafone comedy star fame Nelson's one-liners are rib-tickling. Through the role of 'Pappan'(Nelson),a comedian born to Malayalam Cinema. to A host of young stars including many from overseas make their debut in the film. The rest of the cast have done their parts very well.
There are very few film-makers who leave their stamp on every creation of theirs and director Lal Jose is one of them. His films always have a lush and rich feel about them. 'Spanish Masala' too has the same magic. He has done a wonderful job with the newcomer, Spanish actress Daniela Faseri, whose expressions and mannerisms fit the character to a tee. The story thread by Benny. P. Nayarambalam is too predictable, often melodramatic and things happen at a leisurely pace, but there are catchy moments which are very alluring and satisfying. The dialogues were neat, the script was well written and the screenplay was capturing. The breathtaking beauty of Spain has been caught and presented in spectacular style by Lokanathan and needs special mention. Edits by Ranjan Abraham is fine and the music by Vidyasagar suits the mood generally.
We are treated to a mix of humour and romance in the film. 'Spanish Masala' could easily turn out to be the best bet that is available at the mollywood cinemas now. Go for it !
Verdict:Come on folks, Taste it !!

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Padmashree Bharath Doctor. Saroj Kumar Movie Review

“Padmashree Bharath Doctor Saroj Kumar”, which has Sreenivasan playing the caricature of a superstar, hits the theatres today (Jan 14) with fair opening. The movie is directed by Sajin Raaghavan and written by the hero Sreenivasan itself. Under Vaishaka Cynama, Vaishaka Rajan produced it.
The title character 'Saroj Kumar' was originally seen in the 2005 superhit movie ‘Udayananu Thaaram’. In ‘Udayananu Thaaram’, Saroj Kumar, whose original name was Rajappan Thengummoodu, was a junior artiste who played his cards well to become a superstar, by stealing a script written by an assistant director called Udayabhanu. In 'Padmasree Bharath Doctor Saroj Kumar', the superstar is playing every trick in the book to maintain his stardom.
'Padmasree Bharath Doctor Saroj Kumar' is a spoof item on Mollywood and its satirical look at Malayalam cinema is a welcome change to some level. Major kudos to Sreenvasan for even coming up with the idea and then implementing it as it's not easy to work in the Land of Cliches, parody it, and then live to tell the tale.
Some of the most stupid but thoroughly enjoyable moments are Saroj Kumar's introduction scenes and innocent mocking of others stars in Malayalam Cinema, 'without mentioning any one's name' but we know whose that. 'Padmasree Bharath Doctor Saroj Kumar' is a look at the seamy side of film making and machinations in the reel world. The film packs plenty of subtle humour in the first half and ends with a riveting climax. Creating twist in the second half and lack in script ends the movie to an average fare. That's the sorry state of the film.
Sreenivasan steals the show with his superb characterization of a man who is determined to become a hero by hook or by crook. Fahad Fazil is cool and Vineeth Sreenivasan is good. Mamta Mohandas has a non-sticky role and she just adjust to it. Jagathy Sreekumar's 'Pachalam Bhasi' ,Suraj Venjarmoodu and Salim Kumar support the cast with some humour. Mukesh, Apoorva, Shari is just ok.
It is futile to look for logic or substance in Sreenivasan's script. And the director Sajin Raaghavan was honest enough to follow Sreeni's script. Deepak Dev's music is passie especially 'Kesu KESU..' S.Kumar's cinematography and V.Saajan edits hits the mark . 'Saroj Kumar' is a film that wants to be prickly and sparkling with spoofs, but unfortunately it never reaches that level.
'Padmasree Bharath Doctor Saroj Kumar' has nothing great to offer for the viewers and can be watched if you are free without any job or not looking for thought-provoking stuff .

Verdict: Average.

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Nanban Movie Review

“Nanban”, directed by Shankar is a remake of the Hindi blockbuster movie “3 Idiots” starring Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi and heroine Kareena Kapoor. In tamil version Ilayathalapathy Vijay, Jeeva, Sreekanth and Illena in main leads. Like all of director Shankar's films, the scale and canvas of 'Nanban' is huge.
Panjavan Pari Velan (Vijay), Senthil (Jeeva) and Venkat Ramakrishnan (Srikanth) are close friends and they study together for Engineering. But that is as far as the common interests go! The three of them come from different backgrounds and they have their own distinct styles and different aims. Pari is keen to learn the subject and apply it in day to day life rather than memorise with the aim of writing the examination. Unfortunately as it often happens, the professors seem to prefer those who repeat like a parrot and score high marks. Professor Virumaandi Sandhanam aka Virus (Sathyaraj) adores Srivastan aka Silencer (Sathyan) exactly for the same reason. As the three boys think and act differently, they earn the displeasure and wrath of Professor Santhanam. To make matters more intriguing, Pari falls in love with Riya (Ileana), a medical student, who happens to be Professor Santhanm’s daughter as well. As the story moves along, the professor starts realizing the true characters of the boys. The boys after completing their course, start on their careers and their journey in life is traced in Nanban.
Vijay has done a fantastic job as Pari, a role quite unlike his usual roles and his fans are surely going to be thrilled. Jeeva and Srikanth have also performed very creditably in their respective roles and the most satisfying feature is the way the three jelled together making it look so natural. Sathyaraj as the Professor gave another memorable performance while Sathyan as Srivastan did a commendable job and gave a boost to his career. Ileana as Vijay’s love looks very stunning and attractive and handled her role comfortably. She is very graceful in the dance sequences as well. S J Suryah and Anuya have done a good cameo appearances.
No praise would be enough for director Shankar whose creative talents are obvious when you watch “Nanban”. Every small detail has been meticulously looked in to and one could hardly find any flaw. And like his earlier films, this one will surely receive rave reviews from the audience.
Hit maker Shankar chooses his 10th film as a remake of Blockbuster bollywood flick. And he depict the new version with his own touch which gives viewers a fresh feel. Shankar know just when to throw in that emotional low, after a comical high. He know when the song is most appropriate. And when melodrama will do just fine. Hatsoff Shankar to recreate a blockbuster to another Blockbuster. Music by Harris Jayaraj is spectacular as usual and his numbers, especially 'Aska Laska..' and 'Irukkaana..' are worth mentioning.The Shankar - Harris Jayaraj duo had created magic with their film ‘Anniyan’and the history repeats. Manoj Paramahamsa’s camera work is fabulous and some of the scenes are breathtaking. Editing by Anthony is also notable.
The movie can termed to be another runaway success from the Vijay stable. "Nanban" is a must watch flick because of some scenes and for the friendship that begins abruptly, but keeps growing through the film until a surprise at the end. Nanban has the sparking performances, the interesting pairing, a few fun moments and overall Shankar plus Vijay impact.
Verdict: Wholesome Entertainer.

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Asuravithu Movie Review

In 2002, A K Sajan made “Stop Violence” starring Prithviraj as Sathaan. The film gave a different perception to Prithvi’s acting and rings a tone in Malayalee’s memory even now. After ten years, A.K Sajan has come out with a sequel and named it “Asuravithu”.
Asif Ali as Don Bosco, Sathaan’s son deserted by his mother is brought up by Baburaj, a priest. Abbaji(Vijayaraghavan), whose son circle inspector Stephen was killed along with Sathan, is a Don in the Kochi underworld and is a constant menace to Don Bosco. Aware of this threat, Baburaj takes care of him and Don joins a seminary to become a priest. Meanwhile Marty, played by Samvrutha Sunil, who has her own boat and does the job of the conductor as well, and who has an uncanny knack of drawing sketches of suspects to help police, falls in love with Don Bosco. Don Bosco, who is by nature a soft spoken and kind person, accidentally witnesses the gruesome murder of a customs official and in spite of threats from the underworld, refuses to change his testimony. As a result, he gets severely beaten up the incident leads to further confrontation with the mafia gangs and Abbaji. The life of the warm-hearted and tender Don Bosco is transformed forever.
As a sequel to “Stop Violence”, the movie fails to generate the same thrill and anticipation in the audience. A K Sajan, one feels, could have done better, especially with some scenes which looked rather silly and ridiculous. And as often happens in Malayalam films, the director finds it hard to maintain the same tempo in the second half. However he has to be commented on his effort and has succeeded to a large extend in connecting the two stories.
For Asif Ali, this was a great opportunity to show his versatility and it must be said that he has succeeded to a large extent. Asif has to go a long way to look mean and menacing and yet he has taken the role in his stride. Setting aside the physical part, one can say that his acting was lucid and effective. However, it is highly unimaginative on the part of the director to make the hero look as if he is living in some European country and not in the stifling hot Kochi. Others in the cast have done a reasonable job in general though Samvritha must be mentioned for her sprightly acting. I M Vijayan, the football hero, has a small role which he carries off effortlessly. Baburaj bags more claps from audience than the hero gets. Vijayaraghavan did the role of 'Abbaji',but the point is that its nothing near to his 'Stephen police'. Samvritha Sunil, Lena, Siddique, Jiya Irani, Maqbool Salman and rest of cast were just passie.
In technical aspects like camera, editing and action scenes, turn highlights of the film. But the script lacks its punch. However, it has to be seen how the audience receive the movie and the acting of Asif Ali who I feel has let a golden chance slip through his fingers. The films contains some style - packed scenes, but sometimes dilutes the theme and makes us feel that there is not enough substance in the story. Even the quality of the sound is very poor. Overall Asuravithu, fails to grip .
Verdict: Below Average.

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Vellari Pravinte Changaathi Movie Review

Vellaripravinte Changathi Review

 

 Call it reminiscence, retrospection or recollection, but Malayalam Cinema seems to be living in the past these days. We had remakes of old films, stories set in the past and stories dwelling in to the history of cinema. The latest to join the band wagon is 'Vellaripravinte Changathi' directed by Akku Akbar with Dileep, Kavya Madhavan and Manoj K Jayan in the lead.
Manikunju (Indrajith), whose father Augustine Joseph(Ramu) used to be a director, goes to Chennai to try his luck in films and to resurrect his father’s dreams. In the process, he stumbles in to an old print of a film which his father had directed thirty years back titled “Vellaripravinte Changathi”. Manikunju shows the copy to Lal Release who, having been impressed by the movie and the vision of the directror, agrees to take up the distribution of the film.
The preview of the film is shown and we, the audience, watch it as a movie within a movie. It is the story of Ravi(Dilip) and Sulekha(Kavya Madhavan) who are in love but whose romance is bound to end in tragedy. As the film reaches it’s climax, Manikunju realizes suddenly that the film is left incomplete because the acting pair in the movie, Shajahan(Dilip) and Mary Varghese(Kavya Madhavan) were in love with each other in real life as well and they had run away on the final day of the shooting without leaving a trace. Though the film is released after thirty years fulfilling his father,s hopes, Manikunju was curious to know the fate of the lovers who had disappeared.
The story is promising, and there is enough suspense to hold the interest of the viewer but ultimately, the film fails to deliver. There are distinct and different periods and moods in the movie which demand disparate levels of acting from the artists and if these levels do not compliment each other, even if one part fails to deliver, the whole film would be let down. In fact, it is fair to say that the film inside the film fares much better and the director Augustine Joseph’s (Ramu), directorial talents and his vision and far-sightedness are shown in favourable light. Unfortunately, the real movie trundles along the expected lines , without any surprise, any twists, and at the end, the feeling is one of disappointment.
Credit should be given to director Akku Akbar and story writer G.S.Anil for trying to depart from the beaten track but somehow they have failed to convince the audience. Vipin Mohan and Sameer Huq, the cinematographers have done a good job and music by Mohan Sithara is nostalgic to say the least.
Barring some sub-standard mimicry and bizarre make-up towards the end, Dileep has delivered. Kavya Madhavan is too predictable and repetitive and fails to act according to the times. Others in the casting, Manoj K Jayan, Indrajith, Sai Kumar, Vijayaraghavan, Ramu and Mamukoya, Anil Murali, Seenath have done justice to their roles.
The director has done a lot of home work which is evident when you watch the movie. But for all his hard work, there is a lack of perfection which is saddening.
Verdict: Average.

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