Thoovalkattu - Long list of dissappointments

Cast: Manoj K Jayan,Lakshmi Gopalaswami,Jagadeesh,Indrans,Sai Kumar,Bindu Panicker

Director: Venu B Nair

The lead role played by Manoj K Jayan is that of Sundaran, who is a living contradiction to his name. Quite an unattractive person, Sundaran has managed to win over the hearts of many in his village, but especially two - Devu (Lekshmi Gopalaswami) whom he is betrothed to, and Hajiyar (Saikumar) who is less of an employee and more of an elder brother to him.

Thoovalkaattu mixes up a little bit of everything possible in its tale. There is Hajiyar's daughter who gets involved with a terrorist who underlines that Islam is not about terrorism. The hardcore radicals that she confronts don't seem to care though, and blows up a mansion. Terrorism is real bad, and so are the graphics used in the film.

With terrorists hell bent on wreaking havoc all over, could the snakes be left far behind? Yeah, I know it's pretty confusing, but that's how it goes. Devu tells us that snakes could be quite dangerous, especially when it comes to young girls who roam about at nights. There could be this one serpent lying in wait for you in his hole, and if he falls in love with you, you are done for life.

Devu learns it the hard way, and it takes just one rainy night for the snake to cast his lustful eyes on her. The whole thing is quite tragic, and I don't mean the film alone. So is the script as well as the sad, miserable story. It requires a very special determination to sit through this movie with Lekshmi Gopalaswami slithering around, literally.

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Thoovalkattu - Long list of disappointments

Venu B Nair's 'Thoovalkaattu' is a strange film in that in its deliberate attempts to be different, it tells a story that is plainly weird. It starts off somewhere, heads neither here nor there and ends up being nowhere.

Ringtone - An alarm before an imminent risk

Banner: Panchajanyam Cine Creations

Cast: Suresh Gopi, Bala, Dhanyath, Rajan P Dev, Saikumar, Anoop Chnadran, Kiran Raj, Meha Nair

Direction: Ajmal

Music: Shaan

Forced to make a story, we can figure out that the film revolves around Krishna (Bala), who is escaping from the police for attacking them in public, in an attempt to save his mother who was lathi charged. Amidst his escapades while travelling in a truck, he meets Meera (Megna Nair). The truck meets with an accident amidst the journey and they land up as the guest of the tuck owner who instantly concludes that both are lovers who have eloped. After the expected song sequences and running around trees, arrives the super cop Ninan Koshy (Suresh Gopi) and Naxalite twist in the story, attached to the lovers.

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Ringtone - An alarm before an imminent risk

There is nothing in the movie that deserves any special mention. The story looks confused without any direction and continuity, but tries to tell a lot of recent issues and finds links between Naxals in Andhra, to the land acquisition and associated problems in a Kerala village. The direction side is mayhem with every department working below benchmarks of a decent thriller. Suresh Gopi looks painfully disabled to carry the movie on his shoulders. Young actor Bala fits into the role, which lacks any depth. Saikumar, Megha ,Anoop Chandran and Rajan P Dev find it hard to suit themselves in their non demanding characters. The technical side of the movie is also below average. All in all, this ‘Ringtone’ is quite irritating affair, which forces you to change for any other instantly.

Mummy And Me - Is a passable fare

Banner: Jithin Arts

Cast: Mukesh, Urvashi, Kunchakko Boban, Archana Kavi, Anoop Menon, Sudheesh, Janardhanan, Jeevan, Arun

Direction: Jithu Joseph

Production: Joy Thomas Sakthikulangara

Music: Sejo John

The movie has Urvashy as Clara, the ''mummy'' and Archana Kavi (‘Neelathamara’ fame) as Jewel the daughter, with two opposite characters mostly due to their generation gaps. While Clara is an imposing mother who wants her daughter to listen to and follow her in every ways, Jewel is more a new generation college girl roaming all round in her bicycle, with earphones plugged on. She likes the companions of internet than anyone in her home. Rahul (Kunchacko Boban) is Jewel's senior in college, the son of Thomas and Mary, the family friends of Joseph and Clara. Though Rahul is also a single child, he shows more maturity and doesn’t like to expose his love that he has for Jewel. Often he plays the role of her guardian in college and gets involved in all kind of fisticuffs with other college rowdies.

The scheme of daily fights at home between the mother and daughter concerning Jewels' dress codes to hair setting styles makes Joseph (Mukesh) to play the referee between the ever feuding home mates. To prevent Jewel from spending more time outside home mostly on internet, Joseph presents Jewel with a PC. She immediately finds a chat friend in an anonymous 'Ameer' who starts reforming Jewel like anything into such an extent that she eventually falls in love with him, even without seeing him. The film goes on to tell how the parents with the aid of a psychologist try ways to get over the newer crisis that their daughter has got into.

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Mummy And Me - Is a passable fare

The USP of the movie is a simple, uncomplicated and identifiable story. But what could've been narrated in a concise format is stretched so much that it starts to test the patience of the viewer. What could have been an interesting cinematic experience, gets into a preachy tone with the arrival of a psychologist (Anoop Menon) who appears in every third sequences in the later half, to dig out his explorations into the case. The screenplay relies on the same old tricks and the same old situations, but the director manages to make you smile at times, without the aid of any comedians in sidetracks, but with the witty, well timed dialogues. Especially towards the second hour, the pacing of the film gets slower, and the big problem with the movie here is that you just don't feel the pains of those whose life has gone upside down. The lack of onscreen camaraderie between the characters played by the lead players is another major pitfall in the presentations.

Sathyan has a winner in ‘Katha Thudarum’

Banner: Trueline Cinema

Cast: Jayaram, Mamtha, K P A C Lalitha, Innocent, Mumukkoya, Lakshmi Priya.

Direction: Sathyan Anthikkad

Production: Thankachan Emmanuel

Music: Illayaraja

A touching narrative about self made decisions that ultimately decides life and its moments ‘Katha Thudarum’ has Mamtha Mohandas as Vidhyalakshmi, a Brahmin girl who dares to start his life with a keyboard player Shanavas Ahamed (Asif Ali), despite the objections from both of their families, apparently due to their caste differences. Life was all that smooth for Vidhya till one rainy night when Shanavas sets off to buy mangoes for their beautiful young daughter Laya (Baby Anikha) and got killed by a misled quotation group.

As the young lady and his cute daughter is left in a busy city, helpless with no one to care, they tryout their ways to catch up with life but with very little success, until she meets an auto driver Preman (Jayaram). This straight forward man takes her to his reticent colony, with a lot of well mannered people living in unpretentious situations. And every Sathyan regulars like Innocent, K P A C Lalitha, Mamukoya, Lakshmi Priya and Chembil Ashokan are their in the colony taking on some satirical caricatures who turnout to become inspirations for Vidhya, who ultimately restarts her studies and turn a new leaf in life.

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Katha Thudarum - Sathyan has a winner in ‘Katha Thudarum’

Director Sathyan Anthikkad in his fifty's movie ‘Kathu Thudarum’ has come up with an offering that is a bit atop of his regular melodrama formula flicks. He is here, amidst an engaging storyline with a layer of social satire sprinkled through almost every scene, without taking that preachy line of his previous movies like ‘Innathe Chinthavishayam’.

Pokkiri Raja - Is a masala fiesta

Cast: Mammootty, Prithviraj, Shriya Saran, Nedumudi Venu, Suraj Venjaaramoodu, Siddhique

Direction: Vaishakh Abraham

Production: Tomichan Mulakupadam

Music: Jassie Gift

‘Pokkiri Raja’ is the story of two brothers, Raja and Surya, the sons of Madhavan Nair, a teacher with a very good reputation. But family feud, especially between Madhavan Nair’s Kunnathu family and the rival Puthiyara family, leads to some unexpected developments and Raja gets arrested for murder, of course one that he did not commit.

This and subsequent developments lead to the straining of relationships between Madhavan Nair and Raja, who then leaves home (after serving his term at the juvenile home) and reaches Madurai, where he becomes a ‘goonda’. He grows up to become ‘Pokkiri’ Raja, a goonda with his own way. In the meantime Surya also grows up as a tough guy. Madhavan Nair fears that Surya too may follow Raja’s path and become a goonda. Hence he sends Surya to Ernakulam, to stay with Surya’s sister Rugmini and brother-in-law Sugunan, who is a sub-inspector. Surya lands in trouble after he falls in love with Ashwathi, who is the daughter of City Police Commissioner Rajendra Babu. It’s then that Pokkiri Raja turns up and things take a new turn.

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Pokkiri Raja - Is a masala fiesta

Debutant director Vysakh presents in ‘Pokkiri Raja’ nothing less that ‘double bonanza’ for lovers of mainstream Malayalam Cinema. Bringing together Mammootty and Prithviraj in equally important roles, he strives to successfully appease and satiate die-hard fans of both these actors in a film that’s colourful, entertaining and above all, loud.

Alexander the Great

Banner: Anugraha Cine Arts

Cast: Mohanlal, Siddhique, Jagathy, Innocnet, Saikumar and Ganesh

Direction: Murali Nagavally

Production: V B K Menon

Music: M.G. Sreekumar

Manoj Varma aka Manu, who is the son of Pratapa Varma, has his business in Dubai. But everything is going wrong for him and his business. He is in deep financial crisis. It’s then that his mother advises him to go seek the help of his father. Manu goes to meet his father Pratapa Varma, who has been living away from them, after having parted ways with Manu’s mother. Pratapa Varma lives with his siblings and other relatives. Manu meets him and returns. Soon afterwards Pratapa Varma passes away. His eager relatives await the reading out of his will, which however disappoints them. Pratapa Varma has given the major share of his property to Alexander Varma, who’s his son too, born to a woman in Mumbai. The clauses in the will are such that it’s almost important for everyone else to get rid of Alexander. Manu decides to go to Mumbai and seek out Alexander and then get him to sign on documents giving his share to Manu, of course by resorting to cheating and unfair means. He meets Alexander’s mother, gets her signature and then makes inquiries about Alex. He is told that Alex was first jailed for murder and is now in a mental asylum. Manu, his uncle Krishnan and his lover Bismitha go to meet Alex at the mental asylum. Alexander is very much an interesting character. With the doctor’s consent, Manu takes Alex with him and sets off, determined to get the papers signed by him. But the trip with Alex turns to be revelation for Manu.

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Alexander The Great - Is good

If Murali Nagavalli’s debut venture ‘Wanted’ had too many loose ends that did more harm than good to the film, his second film ‘Alexander The Great’ stands out as a well-directed, excellently scripted and good film that touches chords in your heart.

T D Dasan Standard VI B

Banner: Priest deluxe Movie Dome

Cast: Biju Menon, Jagadheesh, Sreehari, Suresh Krissna, Vatsala Menon, Gayathri, Mala, Indrans, Baby Alex Paul, Baby Tina Rose

Direction: Mohan Raghavan

Production: Paul Vadakkumcherry and Paul Valikodath

Music: Rafeeq Ahamed, Sreevatsan J Menon

The movie has debutant Alexander as T D Dasan, who lives with his mother Chandrika (Shwetha Menon) in a sleepy village near Chittur in Palakkad. Chandrika who is deserted by her husband Diwakaran long back, works in a local matchstick factory and is struggling to get both ends meet. One day, while searching for something in his mother's trunk box, Dasan gets an address of his dad who walked out of their house when he was a year old. Dasan immediately writes one letter to this address explaining all his woes and pains for not being with his father. The letter reaches Keystone Villa to where it was addressed and where Dasan's father Diwakaran was working as a driver.

But as of now, the house is inhabited by an ad filmmaker named Nandan (Biju Menon), who lives there with his only daughter Ammu (Teena Rose), a little prodigy and a short story writer. She gets affected by the innocence of Dasan's lines and starts writing replies to Dasan, as if they were written by his dad. The reply to Dasan comes to him as every sort of blessing, an only chance of reconnecting to his father .But very soon the myths, surrounding the village and coincidences were to take his story to a different turn.

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T D Dasan Standard VI B - Is a real treat

The soft social commentary that runs all along, addressing the anti-coal war to the social forestry promotions that never take a preachy tone, is the highlight of the movie. The marvellous direction coupled with sensitive writing makes Mohan Raghavan, the most impressive debut in recent times. The director gloriously continues his experiments with narratives allowing the ad maker Nandhan to think wild around the frame of the letter addressed to a long gone father.