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/

Kerala Cafe- Do Step In Here for a While

After a fairly satisfying Pazhassi Raja the next Malayalam movie that I was looking forward to was Kerala Cafe for a variety of reasons. For one the movie is an anthology of short films made by 10 different directors with separate cast and crew. The cast comprises of most of the well known names in Malayalam cinema and also has a fair number of younger actors as well. Also the directors are all part of the current new generation of filmmakers who have already made waves with their movies or have recently embarked on their cinematic journey. Holding all the strings together is Renjith, the man referred to as the “chief architect” behind this project.
The movie basically is about 10 different short films, all of which have one common connection- “Kerala Cafe “, a railway cafeteria in one of the busy railway stations in Kerala. All the stories in some way or the other are connected to the café & finally they are bound together in the café itself in a very unassuming manner. So let me begin my journey of revisiting Kerala Café-
1.Nostalgia- Directed by M.Padmakumar, this short film is the first one in the series and it talks about a character (Dileep) who is an NRI in Dubai and is typically facing a conflict of thoughts. While in Dubai he is shown in a nostalgic mood while catching up with friends and talking about Kerala. But when he visits Kerala with his wife (Navya Nair) and kids his real sense of reasoning takes over. It is clear that he is there only to make money and doesn’t care for family or friends either. This is certainly not a great start to the movie primarily because there’s nothing too novel about the plot of this short film. Not a bad attempt but not something that certainly calls for your attention.
2.Island Express- Directed by Shankar Ramakrishnan, this one probably has the most number of characters and also the most number of stars (Prithviraj, Jaysurya, Rahman etc). Based on the gruesome Perumon Train tragedy of 1988, this one starts as a very hazy, disjointed and confusing film. But slowly as the missing links get filled you realize that there is certainly a charm to the whole short film. I liked the last scene in particular which was shot on a bridge.
3.Lalitham Hiranmayam- Directed by Shaji Kailash, this one talks about a man (Suresh Gopi) who is torn between his wife ( Jyothirmayi ) and his mistress ( Dhanya Mary Varghese ). Though the topic of infidelity is handled reasonably well, the sequence of events as they unfold and also the characterization makes it look very ordinary.
4.Mrityunjayam- Directed by Uday Ananthan, this one stands out from the rest of the short films – not because it’s the best of them all. But because it’s a horror film and doesn’t really fit into the construct of the anthology. Its all about a so called haunted house that’s under the care of a Tirumeni (who else but Thilakan) and one day a T.V crew arrives there headed by Fahadh Fasil to check out the place. It’s a kind of misfit in the movie- probably intended just to show some variety.
5.Happy Journey- Directed by Anjali Menon, this one certainly draws our attention due to the simple plot that’s well told and for the brilliance of Jagathy Sreekumar. Jagathy plays a middle aged insurance surveyor with a lecherous eye. During a bus journey from Ernakulam to Calicut he comes across an attractive young girl (Nithya Menon ) who frightens him by revealing that she’s a terrorist with a bomb on board the bus. With the suspense enhancing the interest levels, this one is a pleasure to watch.
6.Aviraamam- Directed by B.Unnikrishnan, this one talks about the effects of recession on a happy family. Siddique is an I.T entrepreneur and one day sends off his wife ( Shweta Menon ) and children for a vacation to his in- laws place. He doesn’t want to go with them since he knows that he’s very badly caught in a debt trap and can’t figure out a way to get away from it and so decides to do the inevitable. It’s a fairly ordinary story but thankfully the performances from both Siddique and Shweta elevate the proceedings considerably.
7.Off-season- Directed by Shyamaprasad, this one is the only light hearted story among the entire anthology. Suraj Venjaramood plays a tourist guide in Kovalam who one day meets a couple from Portugal. Thinking that this is his big ticket he showers attention on them only to know that they are penniless themselves . This short film helps in kind of bringing up some funny moments in an otherwise serious anthology of short films here.
8.Magal- Directed by Revathy is a serious social commentary on issues like poverty, adoption and prostitution all in a single short film. While most part of the film remains quite average the ending more than compensates, making it quite a heart touching short film.
9.Bridges- Directed by Anwar Rasheed, this is probably the best among the entire lot. It starts off as something hardly impressive- a boy in Fort Cochin has sneaked in a kitten at home which his father disapproves off. On the other hand there is a poor family somewhere in the rural hinterland not far away from Cochin. Here the husband and wife ( Salim Kumar and Kalpana ) keep squabbling over Salim’s old mother ( Shantha Devi ) who is almost blind and difficult to look after. Some stunning visuals by Suresh Rajan ( DOP ), brilliant performances and a very well executed closing shot makes this a treat to watch.
10.Puram Kazchakal- Directed by Lal Jose this is about a bus journey where Sreenivasan the narrator is traveling from Valparai to Chalakudy and in between there’s a mysterious man (Mammootty) who boards the bus and is perennially impatient and so is ridiculed by the others on board. While the narrator was busy lost in his thoughts about the girl whom he had lost, he is rudely shaken up when the reason behind Mammootty’s irritating behaviour unfolds in a brilliant manner. This one does great justice to the presence of powerhouses of talent like Mammootty and Sreenivasan.
The movie works overall to a reasonably extent not just because quite a few of the short films are indeed redeeming and well shot. Of course these short films, the cast and crew do help in the overall process, but there are a few other redeeming features seen in this project. To start with the entire team has believed in the concept of coming up with an interesting anthology of short films and they have managed to come up with something that meets the objective reasonably well.
It has also allowed some of the directors to experiment and do something away from what they have been doing conventionally. Like Anwar Rasheed who has made a mark by making blockbusters like Rajamanikam, Chota Mumbai and Annan Thampi has made something completely refreshing with his short film (Bridges) over here. Shaji Kailash is known again to make large than life movies like Commissioner, Narasimham, The King etc and this time he has chosen to make an emotional family subject. Shyama Prasad who is well known for his unusually different choice of subjects for his movies has tried his hand at making a very light hearted feel good short film over here.
The project has also allowed directors to focus on issues close to their heart (Revathy- Magal) or think out of the box (Shankar Ramakrishnan- Island Express). Also the movie has brought in a balance of both experienced artistes and those who are fairly new. As an experiment the movie certainly does put in a reasonably commendable show. It’s nice to see the work of so many talented actors and technicians being brought together on a common platform like this. I wish that there are more such attempts made in Malayalam Cinema. For those who are going to cry hoarse by asking why are we celebrating even some small attempts to make something decent- I just have this to say- Kerala Cafe is in no way a modern classic, but certainly an interesting experiment. And such experiments definitely need all the encouragement.
And of course before I conclude I would certainly like to congratulate Renjith in particular for conceiving the entire project and bringing on board the entire team to showcase Kerala Cafe in front of us.

Originally posted in PFC- check it out here- http://tinyurl.com/yg8qq7d