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| Akku is an experimental thriller in Tamil which is only 90 minutes and features newcomers and has no songs, comedy, or fights- still it works! It has many good twists and turns that will keep you interested and on the edge of your seat. "Akku" is a vowel used to denote pronunciation not natural to Tamil usage, a more popular usage is "Ayudha Ezhuthu", but Mani Ratnam has already made a film with the same title! The debutant director Maamani has been influenced by situational thrillers like "Speed" and "Phone Booth" and he reworks it to suit a big city like Chennai milieu perfectly. If Speed told the story of a cop (Keanu Reeves) who must save the passengers of LA city bus that has a bomb set to explode if the bus goes below 50 MPH, Phone Booth narrates the story of a man trapped in a city public phone booth who picks up a ringing receiver and is told is that if he hangs up, he'll be killed by a sniper bullet! Both these films worked big time with the audiences because they were edge of the seat thrillers for all of their adrenaline-pumping 90 minutes. Maamani has tried something similar with Akku, not anywhere near the tension created by the original Hollywood thrillers but at the same time a bold and daring film for a Tamil viewer. Siva (Ajay) is an IT professional and an orphan who falls in love with Bhanu (Sriji) a chirpy girl whose brother a long haired bearded guy (Rakshai) is a big time terrorist (!!) who is planning to bomb Chennai city! One day Siva and Bhanu elope, but are caught by terrorist big brother. The guy a bomb maker things of a unique way of taking revenge on Siva and also putting his plans to bomb the city. He plants a shoe bomb on Siva and dumps him in the city center and asks him to start running and if he slows down it will explode killing all the people near him! Siva starts running through Chennai city and soon the police led by Asst. Commissioner (Riyaz Khan), bomb squad officer Anu (Anu Hassan) are behind him trying their best to defuse the bomb and save him and the city. How the bomb is defused after a lot of twists and turns is what the rest of the film is about. It is not a great film by any yardstick as the story and screenplay are riddled with anomalies. How come such an efficient force like the Chennai Police had no knowledge of a smart and intelligent terrorist living in the city? The thing about a shoe bomb that will explode if the runner decreases his speed is a bit exaggerated. Does that mean the hero is constantly clocking the same speed throughout his nearly 24 hour run is hard to digest? Still Akku is an attempt at a different type of thriller not seen in Tamil film genre which has human emotions and cinematic heroism to keep the audiences engrossed. Maamani and his cameraman Chittibabu has been able to craft a thriller that will provide maximum tension for the viewers nervously waiting for the final outcome. Verdict- Racy | ||||||||||
AKKU
COLLEGE KUMARAN
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| Straight off the bat, College Kumaran has redeemed Mohanlal’s sagging image to a large extent. All ingredients that go into the superstar’s larger-than-life characterisation has been mixed well and blended with the story to churn out a 165-minute fairly engrossing entertainer. Mohanlal had rocked in college campus stories during the mid 80’s in Sukhamo Devi & Sarvakalasala. The vexing question -- After so many years, how will Mohanlal fit into a college campus milieu? -- has been answered by writer Suresh Poduval and Thulasidas through the film. Mohanlal’s character is made believable by making him Captain Sreekumar, who after completing his short service is back running the canteen at Mahatma College, which at one time was run by his dad who along with his sister perished in mysterious fire, years back. For the students at Mahatma College, he is their beloved Kumarettan, who is in forefront of all campus activities. He is like a big brother to the students and a man who gets things done (a Management Guru?) for the College management consisting of the principal Narendranath (Janardhanan) and manager Shivaraman Nair (Nedumudi Venu) who turns to him, whenever they are in trouble. Meanwhile Madhavi (Vimala Raman), the English professor, thinks he is too big for his boots and resents his popularity among the students. But her hate soon turns to love towards the end when she comes to know who the real Kumarettan is and the sacrifices he has undergone for the students. The villain is Siddharthan (Siddique), an ex-student, a slimy politician and now the Education Minister, who wants his party students to take over the college union, so that he could ultimately take over the management of the college! He successfully frames Kumaran in a police case making him responsible for the death of seven students in a road accident while they were coming back from a study tour. Now Kumaran the former army man turns angry and takes on the corrupt system. Thulasidas has packaged the film as a masala entertainer on the lines of 70’s commercial films of Sasikumar or A B Raj. The comedy scenes (Mohanlal, Harisri Asokhan, Sooraj Venjaranmoodu and assorted other comedians), have more slapstick than any real humour. Vimala Raman and Balachandra Menon, who plays a journalist, have no meaty roles. Old family sentiments with a weepy climax song seen last in Prem Nazir-K P Kottarakara type films abound, along with a lot of action scenes mixed with current campus political issues. The film has three songs written by Shibu Chakravarthy and composed by Ouseappachan with Kanakuyilin…. being the pick of the lot, though Snehathin Koodonnu… is also peppy. And finally Thulasidas, Poduval, the producer and people who buy the ticket for the film, knows that such an outdated story that moves at snail pace, at times torturous, will work only if the one-man entertainment troupe called Mohanlal plays the College Kumaran. The film is worth a look only for this most solid of actors, with his impeccable comic timing. Verdict: Time Pass | ||||||||||||||
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SOUND OF BOOT
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| One thing is amply clear by now- the Suresh Gopi- Shaji Kailas team has run out of steam. They have made a film with an idiotic title Sound of Boot(SOB), without a script! It has a hangover of so many of their earlier films, and the suspense element is so predictable, that by interval the story is actually over. The basic problem with SOB is that though Rajesh Jayaraman has been credited with the story and screenplay, it's a stale, far-fetched, loose-end script that irritates the viewers. It lacks the passion, punchlines and twists seen in the earlier films of Suresh and Shaji. And technically for a Shaji Kailas film, SOB is a shoddy work with most of the time with poor lighting. It begins as a bleak dark film set somewhere in the High Ranges of Idukki district and ends that way. Three IG's in Kerala Police- Rowther (Riza Bava), Nambiar (Rajan.P.Dev), Sebastin (Bheeman Reghu) retire on the same day. The same night Rowther is murdered, Nambiar's daughter Meera Nambiar (Honey) a college girl goes missing! SP of Police Siddharth Mahadevan (Suresh Gopi) is asked to investigate. Soon Meera is knocked off allegedly by her lover Rahul (Balu) and her dead body is found in a desolate holiday home run by a suspicious looking Shankaranarayanan (Murali), while her dad is murdered at home. Now Shaji Kailas decides to become Manoj Night Shyamalan by making the audiences see three different versions of what took place through the eyes of Rahul, Shankaranarayanan and the real truth through Siddharth Mahadevan. It turns out that Shankaranarayanan was a fearless journalist who ran a paper many years back during the emergency period that did investigative stories on police brutality in the high ranges. The officers involved were Rowther, Nambiar and Sebastin who brutally raped and killed the crusading journalists' daughter and made his wife lose her senses, his son Rahul grew up in an orphanage. So the father and son are on a revenge spree and their final target is to get Sebastin. Can Siddharth stop the killing? Shaji and Rajesh wanted to say a message that there are so many similar people who lost out their dear ones during the emergency period and no justice or compensation has been paid by the government and those responsible for the emergency excess are still roaming around free. But what the director fails to understand is that "emergency excess" is old hat and it does not strike a chord with today's audiences. Added to that there are no nuances, twists or turns, and no drama in this non-thriller, with only Suresh Gopi bringing some cheer to otherwise a film that will put you into a deep slumber! | ||||||||||
CYCLE
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| By Moviebuzz | ||||||||||||||
| Eureka! Malayalam commercial cinema has atlast found a new Cycle to ride with a set of talented and fresh youngsters. Three cheers to director Johnny Antony, script writer James Albert, and the youth brigade of Vineeth Sreenivasan, Vinu Mohan, Bhama and Sandhya, for riding a winner! Cycle has the right ingredients that go to making it a joy ride- brand new youthful actors with freshness who can carry a show on their tender shoulders, a story and screenplay which is refreshing and racy, peppy music, situational comedy, all this packaged as a family entertainer that will appeal to all ages. All the action takes place in a upmarket shopping mall 'City Centre' in Kochi. Our lead actors are all working in shops in this mall. Meet Roy (Vineeth Sreenivasan), a young man coming from a poor family working 'Kausthubhan Financiers' run by 'Blade' Kausthubhan (Jagathy Sreekumar). His best friend is Sanju (Vinu Mohan) a taxi-driver's son who is bitter about life as he a aspiring fast bowler was denied a place in the Kerala Ranji cricket team and works in a electronic shop in the mall. Marvel Travels is another establishment which functions in the same complex, opposite Kausthubhan Financiers where Johnny's dream girl Annie (Bhama) works. Roy has developed a liking for Annie. Meenakshi (Sandhya), who is the daughter of Kausthubhan, is a frequent visitor to the mall who is mad about Sanju, who has no time for her! On a New Year eve, life takes a new twist for the buddies as they are forced to loot from Kausthubhan Financiers to save Annie's brother. They loot nearly Rs 2 crore and have Kausthubhan and his brothers-in-law (Sai Kumar, Cochin Haneefa, Sadique) hot on their heels, as they cannot go to the police as the entire amount is black. The chase begins leading to more twists, and finally natural justice prevails. The director brings about the message part of the film by highlighting the importance of team spirit, ethics and sacrifice to the core, which is the films emotional core that works with the audiences. The writer and director have been able to conceive a slickly packaged comedy caper with a bit of suspense. Mercifully the film keeps to its track and does not aspire to be anything more than a fluffy entertainer. Vineeth Sreenivasan is a scream and holds the film together. He is super energetic and has good comedy timing. His body language, dialogue delivery and style are a xerox of his father Sreenivasan. Singing his own songs, with gleeful, no holds barred abandon, he hops, skips and jumps his way into the audience's heart. Vinu with his smashing good looks, impressive dialogue delivery is equal foil to Vineeth and their on-screen chemistry makes the film work Bhama is coy and just ok, while Sandhya in the limited role given to her is sparkling and bubbly. All the others in the supporting cast like Jagathy, Murali, Sai Kumar, Haneefa, Shammi Thilakan are adequate for the roles assigned to them. The camera of Shaji and his takings are first class giving the film a racy feel to it. Another highlight is Majo's music with the Singapore picturised song among the three being the pick of the lot. On the whole everything has blended well to make a neat 2 hours 15 minutes racy entertainer, that will keep you engrossed. | ||||||||||||||
JUBILEE - Fails to impress
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 Whenever we are offered a movie with a sizeable debutant line up in its cast or crew, we become very much enthusiastic to point out what they do to make a movie worth watching. But, of late, at least for a year, we have been witnessing a lot of films from debut hands, made without any sense or logic, or with any integrity or sincerity to make it an entertaining one. ‘Jubilee' is also one such movie, that doesn't offer you much. It can even to be rated average. ‘Jubilee’ proclaims in its posters that it is ''a family celebration''. An absolute key to making a family film like this ''work'' is in the storytelling, the deftness in making the audience feel the characters that they often find in their real lives and make them wonder about its clever narratives .(sometimes even from a regular plot) .’Jubilee' fails miserably to get us caught up in it to the point we experience it with the characters. Rather it develops into an average movie that doesn't necessarily care if the viewers are involved in the proceedings, on screen. The large joint family, headed by eighty year old Thomas Kora, is the scene of action in this drama that involves the youngest son Joji, popularly called as Jubilee, as he was born after the jubilee of this father. A man of perspicacious principles and punctuality, Kora has two sons and three daughters. An automobile engineer by profession, Joji is also a specialist in motor cycle races, but an immature adult who can't keep serious relationships, taking life as it comes. He has got his gang of friends ranging from Isho who is a coffin dealer (deftly played by Jagathy ) to Sheikh (who runs a pampers shop near ladies hostel) and Anandhakuttan (Salimkumar). Joji also faces a little problems from his dominating acerbic, self centered sister in law and his brother anto, a hen-pecked husband who are trying ways to snatch the entire possession of the English bungalow , in which the whole family are staying now.  As Kora Sahib is planning to marry off Sisily, the only daughter of his eldest daughter, who died years ago, Anto and his wife wisely, tries to unsettle their father’s plans. Making adjustments gets tough for everybody, But in no time Joji part his ugly ways to become a more mature youngster looking for better opportunities in life, than to go after for his silly dreams. At this point of time, Joji faces an allegation of a murder of a young girl and is soon detained for questioning by Crime Branch. Everyone from his friends to the family members ditches him after the related incidents. Joji , now left with the only support from his father tries to pop out of the problems. Can Joji get over the troubles and save the family from a break down, forms the second half of the movie. The story of 'Jubilee' by the director himself doesn’t have any originality and has many similarities to the many movies that we had been with, in the past. The movie pretends to be a family story but the director keeps that theme on the surface and brings in a bit of love story with unwanted song sequences, and even tries for a bit of a thriller menu, which spoils the whole thing, resulting in a silly movie with a silly theme. Saiju Kurup as Joji tries to do justice to his role, but is handicapped by the pathetic ludicrous plot ... Innocent as Kora Sayip is also in his usual self. Manasa as Angel, has nothing to do in an eye candy appearance. None of the characters in the film make any attempt to be appealing, resulting in a debilitating family drama that is disturbing than engaging. Some of the characters in the movie are a total waste. With no sequencing that would make your pulse race or make you look forward to what was going to happen, the film's plot moves out of focus .Very few scenes are done quite imaginatively by the director Gee George, who gives us a feel that he was forced to complete the movie in a shoe string budget. The highlights of the film that deserves mention are the cinematography by MJ Radhakrishanan, who made good use of the locales at peer made and the songs set to music by the débutante Shyam Dharman. ‘Aaranu nee' and ‘Sharike sharike' both sung by Vineeth Sreenivasan are pick among the four songs of which some are visualized aptly. The film that gets completed in little less than two hours too looks sloppy and dragging as if edited by a blind person. 'Jubilee' is another movie that may not suit your general purpose of getting entertained. It is a movie that rarely works. |
SHALABAM - It doesn't have much to say about
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 Salabham doesn't belong to any genre. Not even to the genre which challenges the established genres. Perhaps it can be called, rather force-fit into, a "menofilm", which never shaped up into one category at any circuit. At the most it only has the steam that can be pressed into a thirty-minute short film. Without much to say, this old fashioned film doesn't offer anything engrossing in all the ninety minutes. In fact, the film has labored to reach the ninety-minute mark with a couple of songs, which are totally unwanted. The movie has a plot which is thinner than the wings of Salabham, a butterfly. It's about the journey of a young girl into a delayed womanhood or puberty. The myths about late menstruation passed down by mothers, aunts, storytellers and community leaders from generations to generation, form the backdrop of the story.  In the movie, Meera, living with her single mother, suffers from developmental disorders. She finds it difficult to cope up with the delay in attaining womanhood. The friends of her age, incoming proposals for marriage and the neighbors… all aggravate her agony. She desires to be like others, desires to fly like a butterfly. But she can't. She keeps all the menacing sorrows to herself, creating emotional turmoil. The narrative makes it a point to keep the actual problem subdued; dragging the proceedings further and it takes some time to move forward in the first half. There is an attempt to keep this suspense alive, but this too falls flat. With nothing more to offer in the storyline in the later half, the viewers are left to wait until the girl attains puberty, for the film to sign off. Maadambu in the screenplay couldn't reach out to what was expected from such a film, with a rarest plot while director Suresh Palancherry shows his sparkles of directorial abilities in a few sequences. The other highlight of the film is the acting departments, majority consisting of relatively fresh faces who lived up to the demands of the characterizations. Remya Nambeeshan also fares better in the title role as Meera. Infact it is her best on screen performance , till date. Another special applause must go to Deepankuran for the careful background scoring and to cinematographer M J Radhakrishnan who is sure to excel in any given conditions. It is really pathetic that such a talented cinematographer, who has proved himself in more than fifty films, is never offered one big film in which he can work with out any budgeting compromises. In regular intervals, a song written and set to music by Kaithapram pops up, to fill the screen time. Altogether there are four songs in this ninety minute fare. With too many unnecessary songs and no single clear cut comments on the topic, the very purpose why this movie was made stands void. It cannot be a shame for the audience, not to be in the cinema halls to witness such outdated plot lines. |