Bhaktha janangalude sredhaku - good in parts

Probably there wouldn't have been a better time for the release of a film like this which deals with much discussed human-god craze .
the films revolves around sumangala played by kavya madavan , a house wife running a small hotel who struggles to meet the two ends of life . the major hurdle in her life is  her alcoholic  husband (irshaad) who makes their life miserable with his drinking habbit .

things reach a saturation point when she takes on the avatar of a human god just to bring back her husband to normalcy but  at a later stage due to circumstances she is forced to become a full time god . what follows is the repercussions she has to face and how she gets back her life .



firstly a huge round of applause for renjith who has been credited with the story of the film which is highly relevant , debatable and had the potential to molded as a classic but what lets down is a inconsistent screenplay  which borders between sheer brilliance and mediocrity . there are quite a few scenes which hook you to the film like the one where the kid goes missing from bar but then there are others which might put you off and it is this oscillation in script which make you feel that it could have been better.
then there are enough loop holes which should have been given due care while handling a subject like this

film is modeled as a social satire and most topical issues have been checked through. the human god syndrome in our educated society have been given a critical take which is commendable but what the film lacks is the right humor especially when it is touted as a black humor .


director priyanandan has treated the subject the as a commercial product and have not given a arty feel  . though  made with lots of sincerity and maturity , on a overall look it lack enough grip to be applauded as a great effort as few scenes are poorly executed .

with the subject being simple there is no much scope for cinematography  and that it does is to capture some scenes  while BGM  is mostly effective.

coming to performances kavya madavan has given a awesome performance esp as the house wife . from emotional scenes to anger outbursts she strikes right note and is extremely natural . undoubtedly one of her best . while irshaad in a quite substantial role is just about ok . a little more effectiveness in drunken scenes would have been fine . it was a relief to see kalabavan mani in a natural role of a cunning uncle . the rest of the cast doesn't have anything to talk about


with a authentic plot this film could have been a classic had all the metrics meet but is definitely a work to be appreciated .


rating :  3.5/ 5

ko- delicious entertainer

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Q cinemas - screen 4 ( the most sexy screen in kochi ..must go )





when you are in the movie hall to watch a tamil film few things are taken for granted . a larger than life hero kicking the butts single handedly and all that gags followed . so when jeeva , a photo journalist does over the top jumpo ride to click a bunch of bank abductors you might suspect a fiasco in the offing but then soon director KV anand puts you back on track .

Students taking on politicos have been a topical matter for many directors and it's commercialized version includes maniratnam's slightly under rated aayitha ezhuthu and mahesh babu's telugu dud sainikudu but here things work out pretty well making the right noise .

Ko is smartly packed as despite having a huge political undercurrent with some on your face takes on present day politics which includes cash politics and the kota rao's illegal marriage to a teenager , it never goes on preachy mode and assures the viewer that it is essentially a commercial pot boiler and still you get connected to the core theme .


The screenplay of ko is well knitted with ample scope of every masala ingredient you say , whether it's the triangular love of jeeva , kudos for taking a role which is not a typically made for a tamil hero ,- pia delightfully viberant , and karthika nair - a breathe of fresh air amidst bleached mumbai imports , suspense elements , once in a while funny gigs or extremely beautifully canned songs stuffed amazingly with no compulsion. also writers have maintained the right tempo all over with most scenes in office being casual and chick and the bonding of all characters in ultra cool mode.

among the actors ajmal and pia scores .
ajmal has delivered a commendable job bringing the right emotions to the character while pia simply gives a lovable performance . jeeva does his job well while karthika sans any newbie syndrome is appreciable . prakash raj in a not so major role is obviously good .


Ko is lavishly shot in a huge canvas which brings on many wow moments . the election campaigning episode is remarkable while couple of songs offer breath taking visuals .

But then this one is also not free from flaws . one can't stop wondering whether all this young guns getting into politics and making changes is far from reality but anna hazzare movement is yet to dip in and we have seen how many of us took it so seriously giving space for a young revolution .
also how come these journos with there no time to sleep work hours manage to look all dolled up and draped in 6 yards in office ...yawn .
a barka dutt look ala preity zinta in lakshya would have been more apt but hey isn't it a tamil biggie and heroine looking her best is a given ...excused .

also the finale jump of jeeva is kind of ..ahem ok


overall the crispy screenplay , overtly scintillating visuals and fabulous story line clubbed with all commercial mix makes KO a perfect summer outing .


rating : 3.95 / 5

city of god is darring

Off late too many malayalam films have focused kochi as a subject like the new age multiplex hindi films have treated mumbai . though one among them city of god is fresh , gritty and raw which is slick and boasts of some fine performances .


parallel story telling is quite a new age thing at the same time tricky as it might not yield the desired result and confuse the audience . one disastrous example was salaam e ishq and even a maverick mani ratnam could not make it work in aayitha ezhuthu . so for a one film old director lijo this was a definitely a challenging stuff in which he succeeded to a larger extent .


despite having half a dozen lead characters it is the city kochi that grabs prime attention in the film  which is  big and bad .
all the characters in one way or the other gives a check on varying shades of the city.

indrajith in the immensely likable role of velu plays a coolie worker who has a soft spot for parimalam (parvathy in a fantastic role ). together the duo represents the tamil migratory population of kochi seen in places like vaathiruthy .

then we have prithviraj with his ever grinning face playing goonda jyothi lal also close friend of sony ( guess rajan p dev's son) , a business tycoon and producer .

rima kallingal is a popular actress surya prabha with a dirty past who lives in a starry bubble but in real is a victim of domestic violence and casting couch while shewtha menon plays a menacing women seeking revenge for the murder of her riche rich hubby .


how all these characters are interlinked and culminate at a point is what the film is all about .

film is layered with each episode and even before you get over what you see there will a different set on screen which might be confusing initially but once you know what exactly is happening film becomes engaging .
each and every scene is connected to one another and it also goes rewind mode many a times which might take you for a ride . couple of high voltage action scenes are quite pumping .


indrajith and parvathy have well etched out roles and they have done full justice to it . indran is superb and his romantic antics will bring the house down . also he proves his range with wide spectrum of emotions flowing .
parvathy is superlative and depicts right amount of energy for the role .

rima maintains the gloomy shade of role and delivers a good performance . prithvi have a unidimensional role with limited scope . shewtha in a not a lengthy role is quite apt while rohini is superb .

cinematography is slick while usage of songs for narration is appreciable . had the screen play been more crisp in the second half then the film would have been more engrossing .

hats off to director lijo for making a out of the box cinema in malayalam though his west influence is quite evident .

city of gods is a experimental cinema in many ways and is definitely something which needs to appreciated . but then it's also not your pop corn fum film with usual dose of comedy , songs and light hearted romance .


i will go with a 3.5/5 above average rating for this piece of cinema which indeed is a one step ahead in malayalam .

CHINA TOWN - REVIEW

With a array of leading stars and a director duo famous for mindless comedies , china town carried pretty much good expectation but the film to make it light fails to deliver .
china town based in goa is a casino paradise . starting off in a flash back mode it shows four friends boozing and celebrating and then gets brutally killed by gowda , a under world don played by ghajini fame pradeep rawat .

Years later one among the four returns to goa with a mission to find out three boys of his friends and hand over the casino and his daughter .
enters mohan lal whose ultimate dream is to be a don , jayaram desperately seeking money and a skirt chaser , dileep .


first half is more of the three reaching goa and getting the things set . on comparison this part is watchable as it manages to evoke some genuine laugh but too bad it's too little . it's the second half which proves to be a nightmare with film getting bit serious and everything just goes beyond control . every actor screams their lungs out in the name of comedy and one shouldn't be poked fun if they complain head ache .

the screenplay of the film has too many loop holes what with songs , action , comedy and sentiments popping up all out of the blue with out in any particular order . the script displays the fact that our writers are running short of ideas at alarming rate otherwise how would one justify cut-copy-paste pattern followed blindly .

mohan lal and jayaram trying to make dileep react when on wheel chair is a straight lift from vinayan's anuraga kottaram which incidentally had dileep enacting the scene . then there are regular gigs like twisting dialogues which have been done to death from punjabi house days .


mohanlal's role surprisingly doesn't provide much comedy in this so-called comic film but then he of course is projected as the central protagonist .if not for that odd wig , utterly idiotic introduction scene after christian brothers and eye soaring heavy dance with over sized look , he has done his part well. jayaram is passable with a funny wig and dileep though over the top many a times is likable . suraj repeats his act and smells of a turn over couldn't be ignored and yes .. the heroines as usual they have nothing to do .songs of jassie gift are just fine may be and the production values are tacky .


screen play is to be blamed for this fiasco as it is more like home bred dog let out in public road like fully puzzled on which direction to follow . the worst part of comedy is that if it fails to tick then it becomes tedious to sit through .

like the stars kept on saying in the promotions they didn't feel like doing a film as it was more of picnic . yep ..they were right . lack of seriousness was evident in the films script .

and what was the sumo wrestler and idea star singer gang doing in the film.

my pick ....movies

2010



T D DASAN

definitely best among the lot. a underrated gem missed out by many .
a refreshing plot with simplistic yet effective direction clubbed with awesome
canning of rural locale and much likable performances esp from lead child actors .
did i miss out the haunting BGM n one melodious song .

Clicks

                                                               a evening in kochi

                                      
early morning sight of red fort from chandini chowk

caged : from kodanadu mini zoo in kerala

INDUSTRY KIDS OF MALAYALAM CINEMA

Unlike bollywood  and other south indian industries malayalam cinema is known to be hostile to industry kids. they approve actors only if they are talented and is  not much bothered about the blood lines of actors. that explains why superstars of malayalam films doesn't promote their kids and they have to make it of their own.



 Some star kids who failed to click.

prem  nazir

SHANAWAS


He is the son of late legendary ever green hero prem nazir.
shanawas started his career as a actor in the late 70ies. though the exact details of his debut film is not available , as per imdb his first film was prema geethanghal (1981). He acted in more than a dozen films as hero. at that time malayalam industry was being invaded by a bunch of youngsters including current senior superstars mammooty and mohanlal . Many felt being the son of prem nazir will give him a upper hand to others . but shanawas was not as  good looking ( nazir is still considered to the most handsome hero ever) or charismatic as his father . most of his films flopped and he was forced to quit. years later he tried to make a comeback of sorts in the first half of 2000s . he played a not so important role in kaliyodam which had siddique as hero. but films were not just his cup of tea and he soon switched to tv serials . even their he couldn't work any magic and soon vanished from screens.

sheela

GEORGE



The first numero uno actress of malayalam cinema sheel's son also had a  brief stint in films. he was launched with the film 5 star  hospital directed by thaha in the late 90ies . in the film he played a aspiring singer and was casted opposite kaveri . the film went unnoticed and so was the hero. he later acted in few tamil tv serials but was never successful .

K P UMMAR'S SON


Not many knows that ummar who was one of the popular actor in the late 50ies and 60ies has a son who was also a actor. details of his personal life or films are not available  but his debut film was released in early 80ies  and it was young love story between a rich boy and a poor girl. the only known name from the film is actor bheeman raghu who played heroine's brother in the film. whatever the fate of the film was this star kid never got a second chance .

ANU SASI


Seema was the glamour queen of malayalam cinema in 70ies and is married to famous film maker i v sasi. their daughter has acted in 2 films. she was one of the female leads in symphony(2003) which was directed by her father. the film was a utter flop and we never saw anu again. she has also done a tamil film kaadhal dot com which was one of the early films of actor prassana.  even in tamil industry her fate was no different .

SAJI SOMAN


M G soman was one of the top hero in 70ies . his son saji acted in the film stop violence (2002) directed by a k saajan which had prithviraj playing the hero. his another film was thilakam which had jomol playing his wife. after this film went unnoticed saji simply vanished from the screens .

JISHNU RAGHAVAN



He is the son of actor raghavan who has acted in quite a few films in late70 and 80 era. his son was one of the 2 lead actors in kamal's superhit nammal(2002). post this film jishnu did few other films as hero like parayam and valathotu tirinjhal nalamathe veedu, both with bhavana ,choonda, freedom. all of them turned out to be big flops and jishnu's career started sinking . his last straw for survival was chakaramuthu directed by late writer - directer lohitadas in which he played villan. that was his last screen appearance and now he focused in his software company.

SIDDARATH BHARATHAN


He is the son of late legendary film maker bharathan and popular actress kpac lalitha. he was the other hero of nammal. after the super success of nammal he acted in few lead roles like kakka karumban,ennitum(actress kaniha's actual debut film) and youth festival with bhavana . he was last seen in lal jose directed rasikan as dileep's friend . for the past few years he has been assisting top directer priyadarshan and is now all set for his directorial debut mithram starring rithu fame asif ali as hero.

UMA SHANKARI


She is the daughter of yesteryear actress sumitra , famous for her film neelaponman with prem nazir. uma was one of the two heroines along with samyuktha varma in sundar das directed kuberan starring dileep. she then acted in couple of other films like vasantha malika with mukesh but never clicked .
she has also done few tamil films but her career never took off . after quitting fiilms she married a software engineer based in banglore and is now settled there .

PRANATHI



Remember one of the two lead ladies in jayaraj's trend setting hit 4 the people along with gopika??
well she is the daughter of actor jose who was the urban romantic hero of 70ies. pranathi acted as narin's sister in this film but unfortunately she didn't featured in any of the popular songs of jassie gift and she was completely sidelined from the film's success. after that she acted in a tamil film gambeeran as sarath kumar's wife. pranathi failed to click and she was thrown out of the industry.

MANASA


she was the heroine of prithviraj in khakee and also played a tv journo in calcutta news . she is the daughter of yesteryear vamp actress kanaka durga. manasa is a flop actress and is now married to another flop tamil actor vikranth( super star vijay's cousin brother).

SHANTANU BHAGYARAJ



This could count as the  worst debut of the decade . shantanu is the son of former actress poornima jayaram and famous tamil director bhagyaraj. he played the lead in anjel john which was a desi version of jim carry's bruce almighty with mohan lal playing the angel . the film tanked and shantanu vanished without any trace. he was also acted in a tamil film sakkara kati which had music by  A R rehman . now bhagyaraj is planning to relaunch his son with a new film.

SARNYA BHAGYARAJ



She is the sister of shantanu . sarnya was launched by her father with the film paarijatham which was also prithviraj's first film as a hero in tamil. In malayalam she has acted in photographer with mohan lal. interestingly her mother poornima also started her career in malayalam with lal starrer manjil virinjha pookal.



















And it's not just son's and daughter's .
star siblings , grand kids , nephews and  nieces of  successful stars ,directors and  producers  have always been carving  for a niche in the industry .

prem nawas with actress ambika

PREM NAWAZ


He is the brother of prem nazir . as per wiki pedia it was prem nawaz who first entered the industry but he couldn't reap success as a actor. he acted in about a dozen films with the then prominent stars like sharadha  and later turned producer . he has distinction of acting in the first ever colour film in malayalam - kandam vetchu kottu.




PREM KISHORE


He is last actor from nazir clan . prem kishore is the son prem nawaz. he acted in two hugely forgettable films vacation( k k haridas direction starring suhasini and lalu alex) and taskara puthran. since then their is no news from this actor .

kottarakara

VINU MOHAN


lohitadas launched vinu mohan in 2007 with his film nivedyam along with bhama. though he was a part of some successful films like cycle , he is yet to achieve stardom. vino is the grandson of late legendary actor kottarakara sreedharan nair and nephew of actor sai kumar.

right in blue

IBRAHIM KUTTY



Super star mammooty's younger brother  tried to follow the foot steps of his ikka in his middle aged days. ibrahim kutty has acted in few TV serials the most notable being peythu ozhiyathe directed by k k rajeev in which he played the son-in-law of thilakan and jaya bharathi.

MUNNA


This young guy made his debut with gauri shankaram opp kavya madhavan.  he didn't taste success as a actor but now he is a part of maniratnam's much talked about ravana . munna is the nephew of yesteryear actress jaya bharathi.

SHANU AKA FAHAD FAZIL



Remember shanu the boy with choclate looks ??
he is the son of veteran directer fazil. he had a disastrous launch in 2002 with his father directed kai ethum doorathu  which also had mammooty in a extended cameo . after the film bombed shanu disappeared mysteriously and resurfaced only last year in a impressive role in kerala cafe's mrithyunjayam . he was recently seen in mammooty's pramani but acting doesn't seem to be his thing. he is now planning to assist his father in upcoming films.

MADHU WARRIOR


His sister manju warrior is probably the most versatile actress ever in malayalam but madhu is clearly unfit for films. he made his debut with a film tittled campus and then did few sundry supporting roles . when the actor in him failed he turned producer with brother-in-law dileep starrer swa-le.