Salt N’ Pepper Movie Review: Makes for a very good meal indeed!!!

What do you look for when you sit down to eat a meal at leisure? Is it the quality of the food, the taste, the ambience (if it’s not at home), the service that you get or is it everything put together? Similarly what does one look for in a movie these days? Is it the plot, the writing, the performance of the actors, the presence of known names, the music, the camerawork and other technical details or is it everything put together?  Now what would be your reaction if you got to enjoy a wholesome meal with all the right ingredients and under the right ambience and got the best of the service? Similarly what would be your reaction if you got to watch a movie that has everything that you are looking forward to? Confused? Well please don’t be because there are the kind of questions that are going on in my mind ever since I watched director Aashiq Abu’s ‘Salt N’Pepper’, a Malayalam movie making waves both inside & outside Kerala and warming the hearts of its audience.

On the surface of it the movie is not revolutionary in terms of the story, nor does it boast of any super star and neither is the director’s track record envious (his 1^st and previous film with Mammootty, Daddy Cool didn’t do well commercially). But scratch the surface and you see that there are so many elements that go in favour of the movie. Let’s look into each of these elements a bit more in detail. But before that let’s cast a look at what the movie is all about. Essentially the film is all about how romance plays a role in the life of various people in their life. Kathali Parambil Kalidasan (Lal) is a middle-aged bachelor who works for the State Archeological Department and is a complete foodie. True to his profession he even loves collecting and using antiques at home, to the extent that even his car is a vintage Fiat. Kalidasan has really no regrets about his life and is happy with his ‘Old Monk’ sessions in the evenings accompanied by some wonderful food, often suggested by Kalidasan himself and prepared to his liking by his cook, Babu (Baburaj) who is more or less his man Friday of sorts.

In this idyllic sort of set-up in comes Manu Raghavan (Asif Ali), the nephew of Kalidasan who has come from Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram in search of a job and hence stays at his uncle’s place. Manu is a compulsive flirt and takes life easy. In a lot of ways he is very different in nature when compared to Kalidasan. But soon Manu fits into the routine at Kalidasan’s place and life is peaceful for the trio of Kalidasan, Manu, Babu (and Moopan the silent tribal who is also present with them). Maya (Shweta Menon) is in her mid 30’s and is unmarried. She is a dubbing artist and a foodie herself. Maya stays as a paying guest along with Meenakshi (Mythili) at Mary’s (Kalpana) house, who also runs a beauty parlour in the same premises. In fact Maya, Meenakshi and Mary also together have a wonderful bonding of their own.

One fine day however Kalidasan and Maya’s lives intersect thanks to a wrong phone call. It’s a typical working day and Maya yearns to eat ‘Thattil Kutty Dosa’ and calls up the restaurant to order for the same, only to end up reaching Kalidsan by mistake. Though initially both Kalidasan and Maya have a lot of scorn for each other, they keep talking to each other (egged on by Manu and Meenakshi respectively) and they break the ice when they realize that they do share certain common interests, chiefly food. The friendship over the phone slowly starts assuming the shape of a relationship when Kalidasan lets Maya know the story behind a multi-layered cake called Joan’s Rainbow. As they both meticulously prepare the cake at their respective places, we see their hearts melting just as the cake melts in their mouth.

So there then comes a point when both Maya and Kalidasan decide it’s time to meet and explore if there’s anything further to their relationship. But both become self-conscious of their physical appearances and wonder how the other person will react. Hence both of them end up sending younger substitutes- Meenkashi and Manu to go and do the needful on their behalf. This is where chaos sets in, not just in the lives of Maya and Kalidasan, but also in the lives of Meenakshi and Manu.

How do the principal characters go through the chaotic phase and do they emerge triumphant in their pursuit of love is what the rest of the tale is all about. The movie which comes with the tag line- “Oru Dosa Undakkiya Katha” (The story created by a Dosa) has our taste buds working overtime in the 1st half of the film. Right at the beginning when the rather innovative opening track (during the opening credits) “Chembavu” sung in rustic fashion by Pushpavathy comes on; one witnesses visuals of some of the most popular eating joints in Kerala. There’s more to come as there are constant visuals of either Maya or Babu cooking something or Kalidasan doling out instructions about some recipe to Babu.

Talking about interesting moments in the film, there’s one too many. Some of the standout moments include the portion where Kalidasan and Babu meet for the first time; the situation is extremely funny and innovative and surprisingly has even gay overtones (which kind of remains for a major part of the film but in a very understated and mild-humorous fashion). Also to be noted is the part during New Year’s Eve when it’s not just the men who are celebrating in their way but we also get to see Maya, Meenakshi and Mary welcoming the New Year by celebrating in style on their rooftop- something very natural and hardly seen in Indian films. Also praiseworthy is the scene when Kalidasan, Babu and Manu are enjoying the ‘Thattil Kutty Dosa’ and Babu enthusiastically exclaims 'Ithivide ondayittu nammal ariyaandu poyallo!’ (in spite of being here we never knew about it)- not only is the reaction spontaneous but also its heartening to see a cook actually relishing the work of another cook. And watch out for the portion when director Aasahiq Abu makes a tongue-in-cheek reference to heroines from outside Kerala being given priority over native Keralites in Malayalam Cinema ( this is done through a brilliant reference to the director’s own previous film- Daddy Cool J ).

Well such are the moments in the film that one can keep writing about it, but I’d rather not spoil the fun for those who are yet to watch the film. The film also boasts of a wonderful music score composed by Bijibal. Apart from the wonderful ‘Chembavu’ (lyrics by Bijibal and Rafeeque Ahamed) in the beginning the other songs include ‘Premikkumbol ‘(sung by P.Jayachandran and Neha Nair, lyrics by Bijibal and Rafeeque Ahamed), a wonderful romantic track that symbolizes the start of something interesting between Kalidasan and Maya. ‘Kaanamullal ‘is another classy romantic track picturised on Meenakshi and Manu and picturised in some wonderful locations captured through the wonderful lens of Shyju Khalid’s camera. And how can one forget the vibrant ‘Aanakallan’, the special music video track by Avial that comes in right at the end of the movie and acts as a wonderful finish to the film.

The film would not have been all that memorable if not for the dialogues by Syam Puskaran and Dileesh Nair, which have the desired level of humour and punch. A special word of mention to Suresh Kollam’s art direction (the antiques used in Kalidasan’s bungalow & the warm hues and colours on display at Maya’s abode are a treat to the eye) and costumes by Sameera Saneesh which are a wonderful blend of style and authenticity. In terms of performances Lal is simply wonderful as Kalidasan the archeologist with a passion for antiques and food. So likeable is he in the film that it makes one feel that probably no one else could do so much justice to the role as he does. Shweta Menon as Maya has equal footing as Lal and doesn’t disappoint at all. She’s one actress who has really climbed up the ladder in Malayalam Cinema and has carved a place for herself. This year with films as diverse as City of God, Rathinirvedam, Salt N’Pepper etc, she’s surely on the right track. Also a word of appreciation for Bhagyalakshmi’s whose voice suits Shweta so well in the film.

Asif Ali is certainly a good prospect among the current set of young actors in Malayalam Cinema and here again he makes good opportunity of the platform provided. Mythili has a good role but looks a bit out of place in most of her scenes. Vijayaraghavan as the senior colleague of Lal with his own romantic story is wonderful and so is the newcomer Ahmed Sidhique as K.T.Mirash, the ‘adviser/scholar’ friend of Asif Ali in the film. But the real surprise in the film is Baburaj, the perennial villain of Malayalam Cinema who steals the thunder with his remarkable performance as Babu the cook. Kalpana has nothing much to do while Dileesh Pothen as the director with a crush on Shweta Menon is hilarious.

But for a film that tickles our gastronomical buds and hooks us completely in the 1^st half, the 2^nd half is a bit of a letdown.  There is no connect to food anymore (unfortunately) and the film slowly meanders its way a bit laboriously as it gets a bit melodramatic. Also the Moopan track (with all the so called thrill elements shown) seems to be totally a side-track that’s irrelevant to the story anyways. If these were taken care of the movie probably would have gone to become an instant classic, but in spite of this the film is more than worth a watch. It’s a film that has its heart in the right place and is fun to watch. As the film hurries a bit to the climax, you still walk away with a broad smile as the film ends on an interesting note with a wonderful exchange of dialogues between Shweta and Lal.

And for someone who is Mumbai based and always thought of Kerala as a place to go & unwind it was amazing to see that there is a lot of “life” beyond the regular in Kerala. Be it in the form of interesting work profiles of the lead characters (archeology, dubbing for films), life styles followed, a trendy Café Coffee Day and Mythili undertaking IELTS coaching –the movie does make me even re-think of Kerala as a place to live and work in.

Go for this feast- I’m sure you’ll find it memorable.

Veettilekulla Vazhi (The Way Home) Movie Review: An interesting journey with road blocks

That Prithviraj, the most popular Malayalam actor currently in the younger brigade is trying hard to fill the shoes of Mammootty & Mohanlal is very clear from the kind of work he has been doing off late. He has been trying to maintain a delicate balance between the more popular or “mass appeal” movies likeThanthonni, Pokiri Raja or Anwar and the more artistic and serious films likePunyam Aham, Thalappavu, Manjadikuru, Thirakkatha etc. At the same time he has continued to have releases in Tamil cinema with movies like Ninaithale Inikkum and Raavanan of late. He even marked his entry into Telugu Cinema this year with Police Police. With Punyam Aham not really turning out the way it could have been I had almost thought Prithviraj has gone back to focusing more on the popular films & that’s when I got an opportunity to watch his unreleased film ‘Veettilekulla Vazhi’ at this years edition of Mumbai Film Festival ( MAMI 2010 ).

Dr. Biju the director of Veettilekulla Vazhi (The Way Home- VV from hereon) is a homeopath physician turned filmmaker & has made interesting films like Saira and Raman earlier. Considering his earlier works and the kind of actors Dr.Biju had worked with earlier it was quite a surprise to me as to how he managed to draft Prithvi into the film. I did get my answer after watching the film. This film was the opening film in the Indian Frames section at MAMI and thus most of the team members associated with the film turned up for the premiere of the film including Dr. Biju & Prithviraj. As I watched the film a lot of questions popped up in my head about the film, some of which got answered before the film ended and some which still remain unanswered. To start with there is one point I’d like to stress about VV. For those who think this is just another Malayalam film, let me clarify that this is a true Pan Indian film.

VV starts with a doctor (Prithviraj) in Delhi attending to a critically ill patient Rashida ( Lakshmipriya ). Knowing that the doctor is also a malayalee and for some other unexplained reason of comfort, Rashida confides to the doctor that she is a member of a suicide squad of the notorious ‘Indian Jihadi’ group. She also tells him that she has a 5 year old son and wants the doctor to trace her son who is somewhere holed up in Kerala and unite him with his father. The father is revealed to be none other than Abdul Zuban Tariq, the dreaded leader of Indian Jehadi. After making the request to the doctor, Rashida dies and now the doctor faces an emotional turmoil and is not sure what he needs to do. We then find out that the doctor has had a haunting past behind him. He lost his wife and five year old son in a bomb blast in Delhi a few years ago and is yet to come to terms with the loss.

Prithvi and Master Govardhan during the shoot

After some initial hesitation the doctor finally decides to fulfill the last wish of Rashida and thus lands up in Kerala and finds the boy under the care of a teacher (Dhanya Mary Varghese). Then the doctor and the boy begin the long and difficult journey to meet the father of the boy, Abdul Zuban Tariq. From thereon it becomes a road movie as the doctor and the boy traverse across states and across various places like Jodhpur, Pushkar, Ladakh etc. All through this journey there is a silent bond established between the boy & the doctor. They also meet a lot of interesting people during the journey and also have to risk their lives as their lives get entwined with the terrorist network. So the story has a lot of soul-searching, conveys a lot of emotions and all along becomes a journey of all sorts.

In terms of the story telling Dr.Biju does a fair job as you are taken into the journey with the doctor and the boy. Some of the characters are also well depicted in the movie and that’s also something that Dr.Biju can be appreciated for.M.J.Radhakrishnan’s camera work does ample justice to the brilliant locales of Kerala, Rajasthan & Ladakh.Ramesh Narayanan’s use of the BG score is effective as well. Talking about the performances Prithviraj does reasonable justice to the role of the doctor and fairly underplays the character. Master Govardhan as the boy in search of his father is very natural and effective. Indrajith impresses in a small cameo as Razzak the friend and comrade of Abdul Zuban Tariq. Now let me clarify as to why I said VV is a pan-Indian film at the very beginning.

First and foremost the film scores by taking us through various locations in India like Delhi, Kerala, Jaipur, Ladakh etc and staying true to the surroundings. The characters are natural and look and speak the way they ought to do. Unlike a lot of films these days where authenticity goes for a toss VV addresses it fairly well. Also the movie isn’t a full fledged Malayalam movie in terms of the language spoken in the film. Nearly 25-30 % of the dialogues are in Hindi and there is a lot of Tamil as well. Considering all this I’d say that in terms of wanting to show the film as a Pan-Indian film, the team has been reasonably successful. But there are certain situations where you laugh & feel why they were needed. Also considering it’s not an out & out commercial film, Dr.Biju could have done well to avoid the kind of spoon feeding that’s visible in certain sequences (since the movie is yet to release it doesn’t make sense to discuss scenes in detail).

It’s also commendable to see Prithviraj taking on the responsibility of sub-titling of the film as well. That in a way indicates the kind of importance he has assigned to this project. At times you also feel that the movie is trying to shock you just for effect and that’s something I don’t really feel was required. When I look back now & reflect over the film I do realize that there’s some depth that is associated with the journey shown in the film. It’s just that the depth takes its own sweet time to reveal itself to you. Is it great cinema in the end? Definitely not, but is it an attempt to be relished and remembered- yes indeed.

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/veettilekulla-vazhi-the-way-home-movie-review-an-interesting-journey-with-roadblocks/

Trailer

Kandahar Movie Review: A Wasted Opportunity

Warning- Spoiler Alert

Writer-Director Major Ravi shot into prominence with his very first feature filmKeertichakra which came out in 2006. With an Army background and having worked with people likePriyadarshan, Kamal Haasan, Rajkumar Santoshi and Maniratnam, Major Ravi made his intentions clear that he preferred to make films with an Army background, a milieu that he was very familiar with. Keertichakra was a bilingual (the Tamil version Aran was partly dubbed and partly re-shot) and the Malayalam version did fairly well and was noticed. Major Ravi then went on to make a docu-drama styled film- Mission 90 Days based on the Rajiv Gandhi murder investigation. After the setback of his 2nd film Major Ravi revived the character of Major Mahadevan (Mohanalal) from Keertichakra and made his 3rd film – Kurukshetra.

Ever since Kurukshetra came out Major Ravi has been in the news with various stories doing the rounds about his next film- Kandahar, based on the 1999 plane hijacking. Starting with talks of Major Ravi bringing out the magical jodi of Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal, something that Kamal Haasan then subsequently denied ( they eventually acted together in Unnaipol Oruvan ). Later on the film again came into the news when Amitabh Bachchan was mentioned as having signed the film, a fact which then got confirmed. After this there was a mention of Surya having also been brought on board but this then didn’t work out. Finally then the film took off with the major cast comprising of Mohanlal, Amitabh Bachchan and Ganesh Venkatraman.

Produced by Suresh C. Nair (under Zoe Estebe Moviez) and Mohanlal himself (under Pranavam Arts International), there seemed to be a deliberate attempt to showcase grandness about the film. With the trailer of the film getting unveiled, I started having an uneasy feeling about the film. The trailer even bought back the memories of RGV Ki Aag, a movie where AB Sr and Lal ettan had worked together previously, with a disastrous result of course. Nevertheless since I genuinely admire and respect both the actors I still decided to look up to the film. Thanks to the star cast (especially Amitabh Bachchan- Mohanlal combination) the film managed to get a wide distribution. With the release date (16th Dec, 2010) being timed ideally at the start of the Christmas holidays, the film managed an impressive release both inside Kerala and outside the state.

Ok I realize that I am yet to talk about the plot of the film and the reason is that there is hardly much to say in terms of the film’s plot. But still going ahead I’d say that Kandahar is all about Suryanath Sharma (Ganesh Venkatraman), a firebrand youth who lives in Ooty with his father, Lokanath Sharma ( Amitabh Bachchan ) a retired teacher. Surya’s mother (Sumalatha) is no more. Surya is a typical careless youngster and his father is worried about Surya’s future. Major Mahadevan ( Mohanlal )comes across Surya in an unlikely situation and decides to help him join the army. A parallel track shows a Muslim youth (a friend of Surya) who is misled and made to join a terrorist outfit in Afghanistan. Both the tracks converge when the terrorist outfit decides to hijack a plane from India and bring it to Kandahar to demand the release of their leader, who is in prison in India. No prizes for guessing that Major Mahadevan and his team including Surya decide to go on a rescue mission on board the flight.

If I were to analyze the film and look at what worked and what didn’t work then it becomes an extremely difficult task for me. For, I seriously don’t know what actually works in favor of the film. First of all I’d like to mention that Major Ravi has taken the audience (and probably some of the cast and crew also) for a long ride. For a film titled Kandahar and supposed to be based on the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814, you realize that its hardly the last 20 odd minutes or so of the film that is actually dealing with the actual hijacking. And even the way the rescue mission has been narrated will make you either cry with pain or laugh unnecessarily (depending on how you perceive it). The way Major Mahadevan & his team of NSG commandos easily enter the flight and tackle the situation has to be seen to be believed. It makes me wonder how Major Ravi, an army veteran can be so casual about the whole thing.

As for the writing, it’s clearly evident that there was no proper script written in the first place (making me wonder how Amitabh Bachchan and Mohanlal agreed to do this film). Situations take place with a lot of convenience, but nothing comes out of it. For example when you see the parallel tale of Surya going to the Army and his friend joining a terrorist outfit, you think of films like Anjathey by Mysskin where there is a lot of conflict between the friends when their paths cross each other. Here nothing like it happens. In fact Surya’s friend gets killed in an encounter with the NSG Commando’s and all that Surya tells Major Mahadevan is that “I know him, he was my friend”. Surya is shown to be a brash, careless youth and is made to join the Army. This reminds you of Lakshya, but then while the audience could connect to Hrithik Roshan’s character, Surya’s character portrayed by Ganesh Venkatraman comes across as dull and uninspiring.

A lot of characters are present in the film but you seriously wonder why some of them are in the film in the first place. The only character who really comes across as natural and effective is that of the Muslim youth’s widowed mother portrayed effectively by KPAC Lalitha. Regarding Amitabh Bachchan’s presence in the film and the hype about his Malayalam debut, well most of his dialogues are in Hindi and English. The length of his role wasn’t a problem for me since it was known that he has a cameo in the film. But his role is nothing special enough that calls for his requirement. Mohanlal also looks visibly uncomfortable in a lot of scenes and it’s a surprise considering he’s portraying the character of Major Mahadevan for the 3rd time. The much touted scenes between Mohanlal and Amitabh also lack the intensity that could have easily been there if there was an earnest attempt made, again a failure on part of Major Ravi.

Ganesh Venkatraman who actually is the so called hero of the film looks a complete misfit in the role. When his character is that of a cool youth who is supposed to be well versed in Hindi,Malayalam, English and Tamil, why would you dub his voice with someone who speaks Hindi and English with such a bad accent? It comes across as very glaring especially when Ganesh is talking to AB Sr who of course speaks impeccable Hindi and English. The film has 3-4 songs (music by Shamir Tandon), all of them in Hindi but was there a need to have an item number in a discotheque? Which then makes me ask a question to Mohanalal- sir why would you want to produce this film and revive your home banner- Pranavam Arts International with this dud of a film? Pranavam Arts has been noted in the past for making many acclaimed films like His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, Kamaladalam, Kaalapani, Vanaprastham etc and to come back with a film like this is baffling to say the least.

All in all with stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Mohanlal and a subject like Kandahar hijacking Major Ravi could have gone ahead and delivered a far better movie than what has actually been made. So it’s a terrible loss of opportunity indeed, something that Major Ravi can never undo. For those wanting to see a film on the Kandahar hijacking, films like Zameen by Rohit Shetty ( Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan ) or even Yeh Dil Aashiqana by Kuku Kohli are far better to watch than this pain of a film. As for Mohanlal and his Pranavam Arts International, its better to re-watch some of their old films than watching this one. A few hours after watching Kandahar I watched His Highness Abdullah once again by co-incidence and slightly felt better

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/kandahar-movie-review-a-wasted-opportunity/

August 15 Movie Review : Death of a director and writer

There was a time when nearly every film of director Shaji Kailash was pronounced a blockbuster even before it released. He was among the most successful filmmakers in Malayalam Cinema especially in the 90’s. With a plethora of hits like Thalasthanam, Ekalavyan, Commissioner, The King, Aaram Thamburan, Narasimham, Shaji was indeed in demand among producers for a long time. S.N.Swamy is another well-known name in the history of Malayalam Cinema. Swamy has been the screenwriter for blockbuster movies like the CBI Diarykurippu Series, Irupatham Nootrandu, Moonam Mura, August 1, Naduvazhikal etc. So when Shaji Kailash and S.N.Swamy came up with a plan to work on the sequel to August 1, a popular action-thriller directed by Sibi Malayil, written by S.N.Swamy himself and starring Mammootty in the lead, it must have sounded so wonderful right?

Well the answer is a yes and a no. Yes because it would have been great to see all these big names unite and deliver an interesting sequel to a wonderful movie. But it’s also a no because of late both Shaji Kailash and S.N.Swamy seem to have kind of lost their magic touch. Shaji Kailash without his firebrand writers- Renji Panicker and Ranjithhas been feeling handicapped and his recent misadventures like Drona 2010, Red Chillies, Sound of Boot, Ali Bhaietc have only gone on to illustrate the same. Same is the case with S.N.Swamy when you compare his recent works like Janakan, Sagar Alias Jacky, Rahasya Police, Positive etc. Added to this is the fact that August 1 was a taut action-thriller based on the popular book, The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth ( which also generated a movie of the same name based on it ).

Anyways due to the love for August 1, the faith in Mammootty , the unstinted hope that Shaji and Swamy would pull it off and also for the fact that I had nothing else to watch over the weekend, I had no other go but to watch August 15. There’s nothing much in terms of the story/concept if case you have already seen August 1. The older movie dealt with a young CM thrust into power (Sukumaran) who through his work gets very popular with the people but also earns the wrath of his detractors who then decide to get him eliminated and take the help of a trained assassin (Capt.Raju) and its upto Dy.S.P Perumal ( Mammootty ) to solve all the knots and bring the story to an interesting climax. The film was an adrenaline rush and proved to be very commercially successful too.

August 15 begins with the C.M of Kerala, V.G.Sadasivan (Nedumudi Venu trying hard to carry off as V.S.Achuthanandan) suffering a cardiac arrest, throwing the official machinery into a state of chaos. It’s then discovered that the cardiac arrest wasn’t a natural occurrence and was probably induced by a poison administered somehow. This sends the top police brass into a tizzy and then the onus is on Perumal (Mammootty) once again to handle the case and look at solving the mystery in his own characteristic style. This in a nutshell friends is what the story is. To a casual observer who is not well versed with Malayalam Cinema or Kerala politics, the film is likely to just come across as a film, which though touted as an action- thriller, has hardly any thrills on offer.

But for someone who has been following Malayalam Cinema and/ or is well versed with Kerala Politics the pain is increased two-fold. Not only is the story a pale copy of the original, the treatment is amateurish and extremely archaic. The way events unfold so leisurely can even get on your nerves at times. The identity of the assassin and the people behind his entry is revealed very early into the film. With that being the case then enough care must have been taken to ensure that the audience is otherwise kept spellbound by what ensues after that. Sadly nothing like that happens. You can go out for a snack, a smoke ( if in a single screen ), to make that long call back to your girlfriend/boyfriend ( don’t even think of making this a date movie ) or whatever else you want to do and still come back and feel that you haven’t missed out on anything.

And what do you take out when you leave the auditorium after you finish the movie? Well most likely it would be the fact that the film actually tries to end up being a propaganda vehicle for the current LDF Government in Kerala. With constant references to the Communist Ideology, a top cop proud to be more of a “comrade” than a cop, references to the so called conflict between the present C.M and his party secretary and of course the constant back ground ‘lal salaam’ theme all go on to wear out your patience. When Sai Kumar is trying to talk about how it’s the party that’s more important than individuals and that he has only respect for the C.M, you can actually feel that the audience has had enough and the catcalls are justified. That in a nutshell summarizes what’s wrong with the movie.

What was Shaji Kailash thinking when he wanted to show the involvement of the Cyber-Cell in the film? Well the unit functions not like a smart, state of the art technical support wing of the police as it should be but rather as some cheap call-centre. The constant reference to Wikipedia while showing Mammootty researching about poison on the internet is also unknowingly funny.If there is anything worth talking about in the film then it is nothing other than the way Mammootty has been presented. He looks extremely fit and dashing and is very much the ideal cop as required for the role. But then does it mean that that you must continue to show him in slow motion shots throughout the film?

Siddique is decent but then he’s no match to Captain Raju in the older movie who really carried out the role of Gomes the assassin with a lot more panache. Among the supporting cast veterans like Madhu, Nedumudi Venu, Thalaivasal Vijay etc carry out their roles as usual. Lalu Alex is completely natural in the role of the ADGP who is jealous of his colleagues, but at some point of time even his antics begin to wear you out. There is no scope for romance in the movie (thankfully) and hence the two heroines – Shweta Menon and Meghana Raj have nothing much to do in the film. All said and done August 15 is another reminder that one if cannot match the heights of a landmark film ( forget exceeding it ) then its better not to tamper with it with a plan of making a sequel or a prequel. If their last few movies weren’t enough then this one is more than enough to strongly suggest that Shaji Kailash and S.N.Swamy should gracefully retire and refrain from inflicting such films on us. What’s in store for them in the future? Only time will tell of course, till then lets wait and watch.

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/august-15-movie-review-death-of-a-director-and-writer/