Tag Archives: Aju Varghese

Oppam Movie Review: Priyadarshan and Mohanalal reassure us…to an Extent

It is a little surprising and also comforting to see a new Malayalam film begin with a scene involving veteran actors like Innocent and Kaviyoor Ponnamma. The introduction to the film begins with a family gathering in the ancestral home and we get to realize that the protagonist who is visually impaired is seen to be the near perfect son of the family, ever sacrificing for his siblings. And if you are wondering if this is going to be the tone for the rest of the film, then let me assure you that there is more to the film than just this aspect. As the protagonist prepares to return back to the city, he goes on to talk to someone on the way and just for a brief moment there is a mention of Kalaripayattu. And wait, there’s more to follow, he goes on to follow that with a semi classical rendition while on the ferry ride back to the city.Continue reading “Oppam Movie Review: Priyadarshan and Mohanalal reassure us…to an Extent”

Jacobinte Swargarajyam Movie Review: The Family That Fights All Odds Together, Stays Together

Let’s admit it, we have all faced adversities in some form or the other, or at least have known people who have faced it. We have also perhaps managed to overcome the same or know people who have been successful in fighting their way back. This is perhaps why we love to watch, or listen to tales of people, who face their crisis head on and emerge a winner. If conveyed in the right manner, there is definitely no way that the tale would not find acceptance. Somewhere down the line we perhaps even look for some inspiration in all these tales, whether we admit it or not. At the very outset there is nothing new that you find in Vineeth Sreenivasan’s latest film as director, JacobinteSwargarajyam. So a family that is prosperous, enterprising and level headed, faces an unexpected calamity, putting a big question mark over their very existence. What’s the crisis that the family faces, how do they handle it and whether they manage to conquer it being the story, now this is something that gives one a sense of déjà vu right?Continue reading “Jacobinte Swargarajyam Movie Review: The Family That Fights All Odds Together, Stays Together”

Two Countries Movie Review: A Breezy Festive Entertainer Which Serves its Purpose

I need to begin this post with an apology; this was to be originally written and published a few weeks ago but got delayed for unavoidable reasons. Nevertheless Two Countries is continuing to play in theatres in Kerala and a few cities outside and I see no reason to delay the review any more. Incidentally the film is still going strong and has now completed 50 days of release in Kerala. Its Telugu remake rights have just been bagged by Bandla Ganesh; perhaps we might see a few more similar announcements over the next few weeks as well. Two Countries was one of the 4 Christmas releases of 2015 and has easily gone on to be the winner, turning to be a positive outing at the box office for everyone concerned with the film. For director Shafi whose previous two films, Venicile Vyapari (2011) and 101 Weddings (2012) turned out to be disappointing, Two Countries has brought him back into the limelight.Continue reading “Two Countries Movie Review: A Breezy Festive Entertainer Which Serves its Purpose”

Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam: Trailer

Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam PosterAfter their successful outing in the form of Punyalan Agarbathis, writer-director Ranjith Sankar and actor Jayasurya join hands once again with the Malayalam film,Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam. Based on a true story,the film is produced by Ranjith Sankar and Jayasurya and features Jayasurya in the lead along with Mukesh, Aju Varghese, Shivatha, Sunil Sukhada, T.G.Ravi,KPAC Lalitha etc.Music is by Bijibal while Vinod Illampally is the DOP and V.Saajan is the editor.Continue reading “Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam: Trailer”

Kunjiramayanam Movie Review: A New Generation Film with an Old World Charm

The 80’s and early 90’s weren’t really a great period for Indian Cinema overall, Hindi Cinema or Bollywood as its more popularly referred to as in particular went through a torrid time those days. But when it came to Malayalam Cinema things were quite different, as it is the 80’s and early 90’s that are always referred to as the golden age of the industry. Of late there has been a proliferation of “new gen” films, films made usually by youngsters, a lot of them focusing on interesting and varied themes, but quite a few of them are also sadly inspired and even copied from various sources. However there are some of the recent Malayalam filmmakers who believe in not just making a good film, but who in some way are also trying to see if they can pay tribute to the golden age of Malayalam cinema, which gets reflected in their output as well. One such filmmaker perhaps is Basil Joseph who has now made a transition from short films to feature films with Kunjiramayanam.Continue reading “Kunjiramayanam Movie Review: A New Generation Film with an Old World Charm”

Kunjiramayanam: Sneak Peek

Kunjiramayanam Poster 2Basil Joseph who started off as a short filmmaker,before assisting Vineeth Sreenivasan on Thira (2013) has now turned director himself with Kunjiramayanam which is being scheduled as an Onam release on 28th August. Written by Deepu Pradeep and produced by Suvin K.Varkey, the film has music by Justin Prabhakaran while Vishnu Sarma is the DOP and Appu N.Bhattathiri is the editor. Kunjiramayanam features Vineeth Sreenivasan along with his brother Dhyan Sreenivasan,the rest of the star cast includes Aju Varghese, Neeraj Madhav, Srinda Ashab, Mamukoya etc. Continue reading “Kunjiramayanam: Sneak Peek”

KL 10 Patthu: Trailer

KL 10 Patthu PosterMuhsin Parari makes his debut as writer-director with the Malayalam movie KL 10 Patthu. Produced by Alexander Mathew & Satheesh Kolam, KL10 Patthu is a North Malabar based film with football as the background.Featuring Unni Mukundan in the lead,the film also features Chandini Sreedharan, Mamukoya, Sreenath Bhasi, Neeraj Madhav etc. Music is by Bijibal while Vishnu Narayanan is the DOP and Manoj is the editor.Continue reading “KL 10 Patthu: Trailer”

Malayalam Movie ‘Lavender’ (2015) and South Korean Movie ‘Daisy’ (2006): Similar or Not?

Lavender Poster 3Thanks to a tweet from Aniruddha Chatterjee we happened to stumble across the trailers of 2 films-the first one being an upcoming Malayalam multistarrer- Lavender and the other one being that of a 2006 Korean film, Daisy. Now how similar would the two films be is anybody’s guess, so do watch both the trailers and decide for yourself.Continue reading “Malayalam Movie ‘Lavender’ (2015) and South Korean Movie ‘Daisy’ (2006): Similar or Not?”

Oru Vadakkan Selfie Movie Review: Youthful Entertainer, but a tad too ambitious

Velaiyilla Pattathari (VIP) was a film which took the youth by storm last year, not just in Tamil Nadu, but all over South India (even its Telugu dubbed version, Raghuvaran B.Tech was a hit). One of the main reasons for the film’s success being the fact that a lot of youngsters, especially engineers could relate to what Dhanush goes through the film. After all not every engineer gets a job; and if one talks of getting a job of his/her liking, it’s only even tougher. Our protagonist in G.Prajith’s debut Malayalam film ‘Oru Vadakkan Selfie’ (A Northern Selfie)-OVS from here on, Umesh (Nivin Pauly) is an engineering student with a backlog of 42 papers to clear.  Umesh represents the typical care free youngster who is least bothered about his studies or his future and thinks that it is his birth right to depend upon his parents. So it is but natural to remember VIP early into the film and at one point Umesh even hums the title song of the film, but all the comparisons end there :). Neither is OVS anything like VIP and neither does Umesh turn out to be Raghuvaran (Dhanush), which is good to be honest. Continue reading “Oru Vadakkan Selfie Movie Review: Youthful Entertainer, but a tad too ambitious”