Speed Track - A Speed Track set to win

Cast: Dileep, Gajala, Madhu Warrier, Riyaz Khan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Salim Kumar
Direction: Jayasoorya
Music: Deepak Dev
Banner: Varnachithra

Review

The Speed Track was in the filmi news all through the last year for its repeated attempts to get released.

The film which was expected to become a dumb squib is surprising everyone now with an intelligently planned plot, peppy songs, one-liners, a great performance from Dileep and the fine glossy looking package.

The film which looks upon the athletic and sports crazy Malayalee has similar protagonists in the lead who works all around to hurdle over their fates and keep things going.

Debutant director Jayasurya creates a good campus thriller with lot of action, love and comedy in Speed Track.

The Speed Track is a campus story based on a sports college campus. The story as usual is a nominally light affair abuzz with minor incidents, comic faces and melodramatic swells. But there are serious complications too, including a handful of characters facing life-altering decisions.

Dileep takes the lead role as Arjun and Riaz Khan is the anti-hero named Tinu Nalinakshan.

The film opens with Arjun- an athlete with excellent past records, who enrolls as a first year student in the BCM college campus - a sports college which has created champions. He is going through tough times after his father's demise. His aim on joining the sports college is to win the state championship in athletics. Arjun's intentions is to get the Rs 10 Lakhs sponsored price money in the State competition with which he can pay for the medical treatment of his brother Arun, which has to be done in US.

Arjun’s carelessness was the root cause of the accident that happened to Arun, once a member of State Basketball team, which has put the later in the wheel chair. The elder brother since then developed a guilt complex which he wants to get rid, by making his brother walk, once again. That puts him under lot of tension and financial pressure.

In the sports college, Arjun, normally a silent student works hard and impresses everybody including Rahul (Madhu Warrier) and his sister Gouri (Gazala). All except Tinu, who was the unchallenged hero till then, welcomed Ajith’s performances on the track, which puts the later on the backseat.

The defeats on various levels including that for Gauri’s love prompt Tinu to take it on a personal level with Arjun.

Meanwhile Gauri, who already has become a fan of Arjun by then, falls in love with him and helps him even by presenting the new spikes for the races, Rahul who is tipped to win the 400 meter race hands down was then persuaded by Tinu to clash with Arjun.

Gowri is now torn between loyalty to brother and her lover. Tinu is all poised to stop Arjun from winning the championship finals. But Arjun must win the title to make his brother walk. All this leads to the thrilling climax which is picturised like never before, considering the earlier attempts in Malluwood.

Dileep looks composed and surprises everyone with his athlete look. He does Arjun with effortless ease. Gazala as Gouri is a big surprise packet and also looks good. Madhu Warrier, Salimkumar, Prajod and Co are adequate while Riaz Khan does his usual villainish act.

Deepak Dev has given some good melodies, especially the Yesudas song Paatum Paadi. Udit Narayan in Oru Kinnara Gaanam finds it’s hard once again to spell Mallu properly. Jayasurya has picturised all the songs in a trendy manner.

The film is neither profound nor deep in its story telling methods but does lightly touch on serious issues revolving around the temporal nature of sports life in campuses. All crises get neatly and happily resolved in the Adrenalin pumping climax and the film approvingly views all its bourgeois glamour.

Anyhow, Jayasurya must be applauded for his valiant effort to picturise such a sporty subject with good splendor. And the film doesn’t make any showoff of its belated release, too. So, be there to enjoy the race on the Speed Track

Detective - A clueless suspense thriller

Jithu Joseph, the debutant director proves that he is here to stay with his first venture, Detective. Closely following the footsteps of C.B.I. film, the best of the genres in Malayalam, Jithu has tried to be with the original in every possible way as his protagonist walks, talks and dresses and speaks like Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer!

The film which has shaped out into a fast moving investigative thriller has a plenty of twists and suspense till the end. Even though the scripts hold you to your seats most of the time, a little overly dramatic sequences at times makes you yawn a little.

The highlight of the movie is again Suresh Gopi, this time in a double role. As a simple down-to-earth politician Mohan Kumar, he is comfortable but as his half brother a shrewd intelligent investigative cop, he is smart and keeps us guessing all the way with his new maneuvers.

The story begins with Reshmi, the wife of young politician Mohan Kumar, who is found dead in her own bedroom, presumably killing herself consuming rodenticides. Mohan Kumar is getting ready to contest the coming assembly bye-elections to the state Assembly and considering his mass appeal, his victory is certain. He is considered as an honest leader with integrity. However, when the police arrive on the scene, they get a note from the site written by Reshmi which says that she is committing suicide, not able to cope up with her husband's torture. Following this, the party replaces another youth Kumbalam Jose as the candidate for election and Mohan Kumar is arrested and is send to jail.

The Chief Minister of the state, to whose party Mohan belongs, has high appreciation for the young leader and finds the case unbelievable. Meanwhile Reshmi's father Prabhakaran Thampi, using his influence on the opposition leader, presses for the investigation to be handed over to Shyam Prasad, a brilliant officer known for his quick and meticulous investigative methods. Prabhakaran Thampi believes that it is Mohan who killed his daughter, and feels that if the investigation is not handled properly, Mohan would go scot-free. The opposition also has another reason as Shyama Prasad is actually Mohan's step-brother but hates Mohan because he feels that his birth has brought disgrace on the family.

But Shyam working on his ways with a young team slowly unveils the mystery behind Reshmi's suicide. He finds that it was a calculated cold blooded murder by one of the most intelligent criminal he has came across in his career. How he uncovers the mystery forms the rest of the plot.

Jithu Joseph who has also written the screenplay has made the film an edge-of-the-seat thriller especially in the later half. Only the flaws in the scripts are that the reasons for the murder are not convincing and lack logic even though Jithu has tried to present it believable.

The film whose narrative takes us immersed rather doesn’t give any specific clues to the final lead where you realize the real culprit. Suresh Gopi is again at his strengths filling every frames walking all around in slow motions and is overly active. Sindhu Menon as Reshmi is also ok. Jagathy Sreekumar as Chandrachoodan is his usual comic self.

Saikumar as S.P. James Joseph, Prem Prakash as the Chief Minister, Cochin Haneefa as the opposition leader, Augustine as Mohan's neighbor Thankachchan, Babu Namboothiri as Reshmi's father Prabhakaran Thampi, Baiju as Reshmi's cousin Suresh and Koottikkal Jayachandran as the milk-man Ashokan are all apt in their roles.,

Cinematography by Anandakuttan and editing by P.C. Mohanan suit the subject and the mood of the film. Background scores sometimes go overboard but the theme music for the Detective is impressive. The debutant director has overdone some sequences like the entry shots of Shyama Prasad but these flaws can be overlooked considering the consistency in mood and strength in which he narrates the plot.

Detective is not the very best of the suspenseful films in Malluwood but is definitely worth a watch if you love to be on the guessing act all through.

Mayavi IAS - Shafi does it once again for Mammootty

Given this script to make a film with a Superstar, very few would have attempted to make a try. But, Shafi the young director, has gone all out to deliver a good entertainer. The story which has series of staccato, punctuated episodes and incidents about folk living around a harbor, the film's success lies in no over stretching, which make it run through with enough meat, in flashy and racy narratives.

The film which mark the return of Mammootty into mainstream cinema after doing offbeat ventures for the last few months, is not surprisingly, greeted with celebration by this fan followers. And Shafi who very well expected this to happen has packed this film with all the masala ingredients -- comedy, action, and dance -- to make a definite hit.

Rafi-Mecartin, who has tailored the script, has gone through one that stands at a brim of causalities ala Bhargavacharitham. But this time, the director delivers everything, even the minute attempts to break into chuckles gets results, and all worked in the film's favor.

The story of the film revolves around a character Mahi (Mammootty), who goes to jail, for money, by owning, up to crimes he did not commit. As usual with the Mammootty heroes, Mahi is also an orphan, but is the sort of person who likes to act in the favor of good when the circumstances demand. He is a character who fights against injustice wherever he sees it, but never takes credit for all the superhuman efforts he makes. He beats up social nuisances in the dark without revealing his identity, thus earning him the name of Mayavi.

After freed from jail as an Independence Day reward, Mahi has much to do, the major commitment is to pay a hefty sum for the brain surgery of a friend's brother. To make it happen, Mahi agrees to take the flak for a yet-to-be committed murder, for shipping company owner and local landlord Surendran, who is in a dirty war of family feuds to eliminate his long term opponents Iyranimuttam family. Earlier he has managed to get rid of seven members of the family by creating a road accident.

Now Surendran and his gang is planning to murder the only son of Iyranimuttam Devaki, Sivasankaran, who is returning from jail on bail after being sentenced for imprisonment for the murder of Surendran's father and their driver. Into this mess arrives Mahi who agrees for an 8 lakh sum for taking the flak of Sivasankaran's murder which is to happen soon.

But things take a big turn soon after Mahi happens to see Indhu, the caretaker of Iyranimuttam family's properties and business in the harbour. Mahi once manages to save her from drowning amidst a boat accident. Realizing the sad fate of the villagers and Indhu's family, Mahi engages in fisticuffs with those who are threatening them and disturbing their lives. As Mayavi's popularity rises with each anonimous attacks, people are on the search for the real hero behind the title. The film which gives no clue for where it leads leaves the viewers engaged till the last minute. Throughout the movie, told in an episodic manner, Mahi alias Mayavi remains the link that connects all the other stories. The other characters appear, vanish and reappear as demanded by the story lines.

Shafi shines again at casting and extracting great performances from his actors. Even though Mammootty looks tired with more dark lines below his eyes, he has brought out another absorbing performance in other lighter shades. He has improved much in his comedy timings and gathers applauses all through the film with deliberate verbal 'mismatching'.

Salimkumar as Shrank, Suraj as Giri, Vijayaraghavan as Surendran and Manoj K Jayan as Balan does a decent job. Gopika impresses with a bigger role than usual and surprisingly suits perfectly with Mammootty while Lalitha, as the angry matriarch, does not have anything new to do than usual.

The pace of the film is what that sets you in with a firmly complicated but engaging storyline. The cast and the crew will have definite say in the proceedings of the film which in all probablities may end the drought of hits for the last few months for Mammootty films

There is not much effort made to make the film look exceptionally good or shoot it differently apart from the editing gimmicks. The songs, a couple of them are good and will climb the ladders of populariy. The background music also by Alex Paul keeps the viewers engaged in the proceedings.

All in all the film is a worth watch, at least for once.

Sketch - Sans outline

Sketch, which promised to provide something new to the regular proceedings of Malluwood with a new director, cinematographer and scriptwriter, has not lived up to the expectations.

You get to see a character straight out of Ramgopal Varma's Sathya or 'D', and this continues till the interval, taking the film on another tangent altogether. The script by writer Kannan Raaman and has only helped in making a hotchpotch of many action-drama films, clumsily put together. The film, in fact, depicts the brutal killings of around 20 characters in a span of two hours!

The characterization of the hero Saiju Kurup is almost reduced to a caricature of what an action hero is supposed to be.

The film's plot revolves around Shiva alias Shiva Hari Iyer, son of leading advocate Parthasarathy Iyer who is a hardened criminal turning over a new leaf. The film opens with how he comes over to the city of Kochi from a silent Agraharam and how he encounters Suleiman to rescue his father’s friend, Koya.

Shiva who already has faced his father's untimely murder, is sent to jail for killing Suleiman. And, as in Sathya, he meets Basheer in jail and after initial abrasions, they become great friends. Basheer helps Shiva to come out of the jail and to become the henchman of Alexandar Nambadan, the politician and local don of the city. He is in constant fight with Chandrasekhara Shetty. Shiva, who actually fears weapons, is forced to become the part of the game. And everything else is predictable, as the film follows Sathya in more ways than one, but with a weak narration. Prasad Yadav has nothing different to offer.

This could have been a better film, even with the plagiarized plot. Sadly though, performance wise, Saiju has very little scope to prove his talent. A talented actor like Sindhu Menon also fails to make an impression. The silver line in the film is the re-recording by Rajamani and occasional visually appealing frames by the cinematograper Deepak.

On the whole, the film disappoints simply because it has not been sketched well.

Rakkilipattu - Another colorful entertainer

While watching a Priyadarshan film after a few years in Malluwood, you realize what is missing in present day Malayalam cinema. Apart from a Notebook’ released few months back, no other film in the recent times has etched out such brilliant colors in the frames. With his favorite art director Sabu Syril, and cinematographer Jeeva the film packs us with a two and a half hour iridescent entertainment all through the proceedings. Be it in capturing the spirit of a punky campus in the first half or the racy thrilling edge in the second half, the master film maker shows why he has grown in name compared with his companions of the times.

Rakkilipattu tells the story of a group of college girls, their florid life in the campus, their inharmonious relations with a few and self steered happenings which take an upper hand in their destiny. Josephine and Radhika Menon are the best of friends, enjoying lives in the campus in every ways. Their only rival is Geetha Damodaran, who is the rather arrogant daughter of a very rich father. Their constant abrasions often create many problems, but in all cases Geetha escapes wrath fee as the staff too favors Geetha being the prominent rich figure of the hostel. And in all related cases, things go mostly against Radhika and Josephine.

The arrival of Malati Menon, Radhika’s aunt who had taken care of her after her parents' death, marks a turn in the events as she is destined to get Radhika married off immediately. Radhika and Josephine want to enjoy their friendship and decide only to get married around the same time. And for that they devise a plot and tell the aunt a cooked up story about Radhika being in love with one Ramesh Nair, a merchant Navy officer who is currently on duty abroad. Malati Menon who believes the story tells the girls that they could wait, till he is back on leave.

And then happens the real twist in the plot as Radhika begins getting calls and letters from an anonymous Ramesh Nair. The two friends bewildered find it hard to realize the logic behind the proceedings. And when they get to know that Ramesh is coming up to their city, they go to meet him at his hotel. But as the meeting doesn't materialize Ramesh is called to meet Radhika at Josephine's hostel room on a night when everyone else would be at the college auditorium attending the anniversary functions. Ramesh comes and is shot dead. Radhika and Josephine are later arrested as they possess a few weapons with them .The film’s plot revolves around the anonymous dead man and the happenings attached with him and how the girls work out the matter in their favor. The film in the latter half turns out into a racy thriller with some well worked out elements of surprise and suspense.

Priyadharsan has managed to narrate the story in his usual pace and don't leave a scene to shift our interests .Jyothika as Josephine and Shrabani Mukherjee as Radhika excels in their roles. Ishitha Arun as Geetha and Tabu as Gayathri Varma, the daring Police Officer also give ample support to the happenings on screen. Mita Vashishta is also worth mentioning as Prema Narayanan, the Superintendent of Police.

The highlights of Rakkilipattu are the songs tuned by Vidyasagar which were the chart toppers. And in the case of visualizing the sequences, you very well know that there are no parallels in Indian cinema. The only thing that you miss is that Priyan brand of humor which cannot be expected when you attempt to tell a racy thriller.

Rakkilipattu is definitely a watchable film for its narrative styles and splendor, rarely seen in recent day Malluwood cinema which has to compromise a lot in making, frames and sequences due to its restricted budgets. At least an occasional outing like this will definitely refresh the regulars in cinema halls who are tied down into stories of family feuds, logic less humor and rows over ancestral properties.

Changathy Poocha - Another regular fare

Changathy Poocha marks the entry of another director into filmdom, preferably in the long tried lines. Churning out another low budget comedy fare, S.P.Mahesh just played safe. It tells the story of two aged brothers Sreedharan Nair, who is also the Kunnathor Panchayat President and Raman Nair, the opposition leader who are constantly at loggerheads owing differences in opinion regarding ancestral property. But everyone in their family including Sreedharan Nair's daughter Priya and Raman Nair’s daughter Sreedevi are close to each other, sharing every part of their family fun.

The news about the return of their sister Bhanumathi, who had been away for years, creates shock to Raman Nair especially because Bhanumathi's share of the property is at present under his control and even the house he is living in rightfully belongs to her.

The other news to follow was that Bhanumathi's son on their way back proposes to marry one of his cousins, Priya or Sreedevi. Raman Nair expects that if Bhanumathi's son married Priya, Sreedharan Nair's daughter, he wouldn’t be thrown out from the house. So with the aid of Purushottaman Nair, who is Raman Nair's manager, they come up with a solution. They plans the entry of someone else as a hired lover who could be made to fall in love with Priya and thus to create more tension for Sreedharan Nair, even before the arrival of Bhanumathi and her son.

According to this deed arrives Sivankutty, who is entrusted with the job of making Priya fall in love with him. So that Raman Nair could score a win over Sreedharan Nair. Sivan is actually the brother-in-law of Purushottaman Nair and owes a large amount of money to many people, who are constantly after him. Sivankutty takes up the 'job' to solve his financial problems. A mix-up takes place as Sivan who was to fall in love with Priya (Remya Nambisan), Sreedharan Nair's daughter accidentally falls for Sridevi (Radhika), Raman Nair's daughter! It is this confusion built for more merriment as in' Aniyan bava chettan bava'! What happens then on forms the rest of the story.

The story which makes us feel the nth recycle of all funny films of Malluwood gives enough scope for humor. But every attempt by scenarist and the director don't break into laughter.

Jayasurya is impressive as Sivankutty, while Radhika and Remya too are worth mentioning. Nedumudi Venu as Sreedharan Nair and Jagathy Sreekumar as Raman Nair are in their usual selves. Salim Kumar as Sivankutty's friend Rajappan, Sudheesh as Sivankutty's other friend Kunjunni is ok. Harisri Ashokan is his very own comic self as Aishwaryan, who is Sreedevi's cousin and is eager working out to marry her.

The songs are average. Shani Khader, who penned the story and debuted in the scripts with this film, he gives you the crass comedy. The only silver lining is veteran Vipin Mohan’s camera which has beautifully etched out the rural landscape of Kerala.

The debutant director S.P. Mahesh has to try any thing new next time, if he has to stay in the race. If you opt for a regular fare in Malluwood, this may prove enough, sometimes.

Inspector Garud - Dileep is back, in style

He won't hesitate in making a quick buck, even if it involves bending the conscience as per convenience. And even a little ambition will never go unresolved as opportunism pays him always. He is ready to play, manipulate and try every dirty trick in the book. These are the beliefs that came to our mind about the main protagonist of Johny Antony’s latest Inspector Garud...

Hold on, we are not going to let off the guy with a feeling of disinterest. Instead we are forced to love the hero even if he deals with the ugliness of avarice and overdrive with characteristic mischievous humor. That is the success of this movie, very well branded ala the director's earlier ventures.

The film has rich production values, good family sentiments, beautifully shot songs compared to Malluwood standards and of course, well-choreographed clean enjoyable comedy all through. The film will most certainly satisfy Dileep's innumerable fans, who are eagerly looking forward to this film after the debacle of his recent releases like the Don and Chakkaramuthu.

The film opens on a terrorist gang trying to make an unlawful shipment of arms, realizing the danger of unloading it in Chennai shores decides to take it to Cochin. There they get a trusted Aide in chettiyar who helps them to store them in the house of a vagabound, Lonappan in a crowded market place. Lonappan who misuses one of the weapons against his daily boozing shop gets into trouble and gets nabbed by police who realizes that the big seizure of arms is in the cards if they search Lonappan's house. They go on for a raid but the residents of the market revisit them.

Chettiyar with the help of a state minister suspends the circle inspector on duty and posts notorious C.I. Madhavan Kutty to help them to transport out the weapons from the market. Madhavan Kutty agrees on a high price and with little crookedness, shift the arms in a truck, thereby becoming a trusted aide of chettiyar and his son, who are the local crime syndicate.

Madhavan Kutty who always had wild dreams of becoming a police officer was ready to risk anything to achieve that. When an opportunity came to him, he didn't look back, sold everything he inherited, paid fifteen lakhs as bribe and joined the force as an inspector. But what made him the most talked about inspector in the post was that he managed to collect back as bribery what he spent for obtaining his job within four months of his posting. Such was his character - A man who grabs anything that interests him, at any cost--that is why he was called Garud, Inspector Garud.

Once Madhavan Kutty, ill behaves with Sethu Lakshmi, not knowing that she is the sub-collector. She take up the issue to the women's commission and the C I has to seek mercy in public, but Madhavan Kutty take it as an insult and decides to teach her a lesson. Somehow it enters his head that only by making her his wife, he can ill behave with Sethu and thereby degrace her in public. And at the same time Sethu Lakshmi's only brother got nabbed on a heroine case.

Madhavan Kutty find this an opportunity and ask the sub collector to marry him, if she wants her brother freed from any cases. Thinking of the disgrace that her family is soon into, she agrees to marry Madhavan Kutty. There are a whole lot of laughs, and lots of interesting moments between the two, but things are soon going to turn sour for the C.I as he is not going to win every battle. What was in the store for the C I was something terrible that is going to change his life for ever. The film then follows in lighter vein how the corrupt inspector turns to good ways due to a plenty of social reasons.

Post interval, it is time to bring out the issues -- a second half is a little drag compared to the pre-intermission fun. But it is also the time for the audience to discover that Johnny Antony has grown to elevating heights than his previous films. The second half showcased his finesse in story telling with moving narratives, yet humorous. Full marks to director and scriptwriters Sibi K Thomas - Uday Krishna for not letting the proceedings turn heavy. The film is fresh in treatment and storytelling.

The film certainly doesn't disappoint, even if it doesn't match the expectations, if you are with something high. The ethics of the characters in the film could be of a questionable nature, had it been taken too seriously. But that is exactly what Johny Antony steers clear of. He makes a light joke out of everyone and everything.

This is a Dileep film that registers him in a new getup, lives the role, conveying the right amount of mischief and keeping his infectious laughter till the very end. He reiterates his status of a crowd pulling star and steals the show with a designer-made role.

Kavya, in his fifteenth appearance with Dileep, passes musters in a serious role. Kochu Premen, Harishree Ashokan and Salimkumar did manage to create that needed chuckles in regular intervals. Lalu Alex, Innocent, Aishwarya, Saadiq, Anand, Vijayaraghavan, Shammy Thilakan and Kalabhavan Shajon also appear in other important roles in the film. Wisely enough, none of the actors take themselves or the film too seriously, and even if that is an effort, it works in the film's favor.

The songs by Alex Paul-Vayalar Sharath are average fare, but P Sukumar in camera and Ranjan Abraham’s editing has definitely organized this into a racy entertainer. This is the movie that was made for that ever widening category/genre called 'time pass.'

A tasty enough confection but don't expect more nutritional value but one can definitely digest this.