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“How do you know there won’t be another murder?” asks a media person to police officer Derick Abraham (Mammootty). And he responds, “I am sure that my dad’s name is Abraham.” Debutant Shaji Padoor’s Abrahaminte Santhathikal is a tale of two brothers of the same blood and character. Derick is a successful police officer who is the final word in every investigation. He handles even the toughest of cases that deal with tough criminals. When it comes to duty, no obstacle – be it relationships or sentiments - can stop him. Fast forward three years and we see another Derick - a drunkard who has lost all hope in life, shattered by the fact that his brother Philip (Anson Paul) refuses to meet him in the prison, saying he is no one to him. What went behind the arrest of Philip and why he hates his elder brother makes the movie. The film sees a Mammootty who acts his age. The scriptwriter Haneef Adeni has beautifully crafted a screenplay which not only has all the elements of M...

Written and directed by Vijayakumar KG, Muthalaq is a logically disjoint and heavily melodramatic narrative that blatantly sentimentalizes ‘triple talaq’. The film has a mostly unfamiliar cast, like Varghese Moyalan and Rasheed Ponnani. Most of the actors are from theatre background, and are not over the ‘drama hangover’ yet. Neena Kurup and Geetha Vijayan are the few familiar faces with previous movie experience in the cast. But even their experiences have scarcely helped them in this film. The songs and the background score seem archaic and are distracting to say the least. The low budget locales, dimly lit frames and the breathy dialogue delivery all make you wish you had a fast forward button in the theatre. The film opens with a song sequence in Varanasi as an aged, desolate man takes part in his ablutions according to Hindu rites. Soon, it shifts to an ashram where Amina comes seeking something/someone. There on, Amina a Christian orphan, raised as a Muslim by a ...

Every Malayalam film lover knows that this movie is named after the dialogue by the legendary Jagathy Sreekumar, which he delivered with mastery in the film Melepparambil Aanveedu. The film begins with a tribute to the great actor and his dialogue, but in reality, the very existence of this movie tarnishes his legacy and this dialogue. With a rag-tag script and story that borrows heavily, and really poorly, from many other movies, the film does not engage or entertain at any point. The director sneaks in some plot points only to forget it in the next scene. Made at a shoestring budget, this film has Rahul Madhav and newcomer Shravya in the lead with veterans Madhu, Rizabawa and Neena Kurup in supporting roles. While the hero and the seniors try to do justice to their talent, the heroine does not leave a mark at all. This movie is a serious blip in the portfolio of Rahul who is trying to establish himself as a solo hero. It is surprising that while quality films langu...

Ranjith Sankar's Njan Marykutty might or might not be the first Malayalam movie to have a transperson as the main character, but it surely is the first to treat such a character with dignity and respect. Marykutty (Jayasurya) was born a man, but aspires to be, and dresses, like a woman. She is in the process of a sex change, which, the character, informs, is no overnight process though. Marykutty's greatest wish is to join the police force, and she has a loyal circle of friends in support, but obstacles are many, in terms of the red tape involved, and society in general in the form of a police officer played by Joju George. Marykutty is sensitive by nature but determined to fight it out and refuses to take the insults and humiliation thrown her way - more often than not, she is referred to as 'that thing'. However, it's the hostility from her own family that causes real heartache for Marykutty, something she is determined to overcome as well. The t...

On the surface, the storyline of Indraganti Mohana Krishna's 'Sammohanam' is as stereotypical as love stories go. A guy who hates cinema meets a superstar and falls for her. Despite being a big star, the woman’s real side is shown, sans make-up and starry airs. And our hero has complete access to her. Just when you think a romance is brewing, it all comes crashing down. But in Sammohanam, the lines between reality and fantasy are often blurred - and much like the lead pair's romance, a promising entertainer comes crashing down. Vijay (Sudheer Babu) is a cartoonist who sketches for children’s books. He looks down upon cinema and thinks it’s a fake world with fake people in it, and constantly argues with his father (Naresh), whose lifelong dream is to act in films. As fate would have it, shooting for a major film takes place in their house. The lead actress Sameera (Aditi Rao Hydari) is one of the biggest superstars in the industry, but she has a weakne...

When the cast and crew list features names like Jayendra Panchapakesan – who has hundreds of ad films to his name, PC Sreeram – who has wielded the camera for Mani Ratnam for some of his most famous films, Sharreth – whose music for the film was appreciated much before the film’s release and a versatile Tamannaah and Kalyan Ram in lead roles, nothing less than cinematic magic is expected. Subha, the name used by the writing partnership of D Suresh and AN Balakrishnan, also wrote this one with Jayendra, with their previous collaboration being ‘180’. However, what is delivered to the audience are endless random scenes that are supposed to make one believe in the magic of destiny. Maybe it would even work, if only they stitched together well! Meera (Tamannaah) is the happy-go-lucky girl who’s told the good news that she has passed her exams on her fourth attempt just when she comes across a picture of Varun (Kalyan Ram). Believing him to be her lucky charm and in poss...

Kishore (Sathya), the protagonist of Ennodu Nee Irundhal, is supposed to be the sensitive, socially responsible type. He delays a project that his boss (Ajay Rathnam), the MD of a real estate company, wants to close at the earliest just because he doesn't want to cheat people. He makes a scrapbook of cuttings of crime reports from newspapers. He falls in love with Pooja (Manasa), a rich girl, just because she acts friendly towards him. And he gets heartbroken when he Pooja friend-zones him. And he becomes a vigilante when he starts getting calls from her. Where is all this headed to? Is this a romantic drama, a vigilante movie or a psycho thriller, or all of the above?   There are some films that get made just because their makers had the resources to make one. These are the films where film making competence isn't the most important criteria. Ennodu Nee Irundhal belongs in this list. The performances of the leads clearly suggest that these are actors wouldn...