ANDROID KUNJAPPAN -Review (Prime)

As his comedic characters in countless films had started becoming increasingly stale and cringe-worthy – thanks to the writers and his own signature elements – one day, a shocker of an announcement appeared on the telly: Suraj Venjaramoodu wins the National Award for the Best Actor. The surprise didn’t last long though, as his big win was quickly dismissed by public – and the Government, which awarded him with the “Best Comedian” award for that year – and written off as a one-off affair. And then came Action Hero Biju. Though Nivin Pauly played the titular cop, it was Suraj’s cameo appearance that won laurels from all around, and since then, the man has been on a winning streak with his selection of roles, both character and comedic - most notable being Thondimuthalum Drikshakshiyum, Kammattippadam and Theevandi. And 2019 had been very eventful for the actor, with him scoring a hattrick of critically acclaimed roles by the end of the year. Here are my thoughts on the first of them, Android Kunjappan Version 5.25, available on Prime.

Predominantly set in a village in Kannur district with occasional detours to Russia, this sci-fi film lies on the less-explored side of the genre – a grounded, humane and plausible look at whether AI has the potential to replace/be a loved one. Suraj plays Bhaskaran, a grumpy, conservative, tech-averse octogenarian who never gets along with anyone, his own son included, and is not above tricking his son into quitting his many hard-earned jobs just to have him by his side all the time. Soubin plays the disillusioned, yet loving son Subramanian alias Chuppan, torn between his duty as a son and his aspiration. The film begins showing the rather strained relationship between the father and son and subtly changes gears once the latter gets employed in a Russian tech firm and brings home the titular Android during a brief vacation, after many a caretaker calls it quits trying hard to deal with the old man. Naturally, Bhaskaran - who doesn't have even a TV - resents the robot at the first sight, but then gradually warms up to it, thanks to its unconditional loyalty and care. His conservative worldview too starts giving way to rationality, thanks to the machine's consistent learning and supply of wisdom. The bot becomes a favorite among the village folks too, and they start calling it Kunjappan. However,
Things start going out of hand as Bhaskaran stops caring about his son - to the point that he declares "Kunjappan" as his own son to Chuppan - and starts pursuing an old flame... on Facebook with a fake ID. 

Though the plot primarily revolves around the father-son-android relationship dynamics, there are many other characters the film touches upon - like Chuppan's Mallu-Jap girlfriend Hitomi (Kendy Zirdo), his hilariously naïve cousin Prasannan (Saiju Kurup) and an eclectic bevy of villagers who keep commenting on the goings-on. However, the film goes a bit off track whenever Bhaskaran is on his online pursuit for Saudamini, his ex-flame, 

and the final moments do feel a bit rushed. But then again, Suraj shines brightest during those very same moments.

Marked only by a few duds like the Hulk-ripoff Athisayan, the sci-fi genre has never been quite a prolific one in Malayalam cinema. It's in this space, that director Ratheesh Poduval has arrived with his debut feature. Along with exploring the key man-bot relationship, the film is also interested in providing sociopolitical commentary, mainly in the form of the robot's innocent, yet witty and sharp statements (the one about Prasannan's "existence" is a riot). It's also heartening that the film's focus is mainly on the emotional aspects and the humor that arises from having a very advanced robot placed in a very rural atmosphere. Coming to the performances, Suraj reigns over the whole show in his career-best role, making even his co-lead Soubin look like an extended cameo. Not even once would one get the feeling that Bhaskaran is actually being played by an actor in his early forties. That said, Soubin is excellent as Subramanian, the intelligent son who is desperate to make his mark and later, the accomplished son, now desperate to bring his dad back to the real world. His numerous emotional breakdowns are relatable and key to the story being told. The Anurachal-based actress Kendy Zirdo is lovable as Hitomi, who stays by Chuppan's side and provides him emotional support throughout. And yes, the film employs sync sound, so all the her Malayalam lines are the ones painstakingly learnt and admirably delivered by herself. The Mr. Bean of Mollywood, Saiju is both funny and endearing as Prasannan, as are the village folks who are always ready with a one-liner for any situation. The lady who plays one of Bhaskaran's caretakers - post Chuppan's departure to Russia - is a hoot, with her addiction to TV serials (which she watches on her phone) and her banter with the old man. And last but not the least, the Android itself is a fascinating character - realized with the aid of animatronics and the short-statured actor Sooraj with VFX only used for the displays - that wins the audience's hearts too, along with Bhaskaran's over the course of the film. The cinematography and editing are deliberately slow-paced, and songs and score gel well with the narrative without sticking out even once.

All said, Android Kunjappan Ver. 5.25 has definitely made an impact in the industry in terms of quality and BO performance, and more importantly, the benchmark has been set for the often dormant sci-fi genre here.

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HARA-KIRI (Japan) - Blu-Ray Review

Hara-Kiri, Masaki Kobayashi's unflinchingly scathing satire on the Samurai code of honor stars Tatsuya Nakadai as Hanshiro, a ronin (masterless warrior) who arrives at a Lord's palace in order to commit the titular act of ritual suicide. The Lord's counselor and the housekeepers have had way too many such cases, which were ultimately shams to extort money from the lord so that no blood would spill on his courtyard. So naturally, the counselor tries to warn the samurai by recounting the fate of the one who came before him. However, Hanshiro never budges and insists on having the ritual performed, though he has a few demands of his own in order to have it done. And it turns out that Hanshiro has come there with some ulterior motives which would slowly, but surely threaten to strip the whole concept of Samurai honor into what turns out to be nothing more than a web of hypocrisy, prejudice and naked lies. Also told in flashbacks is the tale of what leads Hanshiro to take such an extreme step.

The acting is fantastic throughout, headlined by Nakadai as Hanshiro - the ronin who stares at the face of death with defiance - and Rentarō Mikuni as Lord Saito, the ruler who appears stern but reasonable at first, only to be gradually reduced to a puerile piece of shit by the ronin's revelations. Also, the film boasts of impeccable use of visual language all along the runtime, starting off in ultra-wide angles and with smooth dolly movements, and subtly constricting the field of view from there by means of close-ups and zooms which only gradually increase in number, culminating in utter chaos at the end. And yes, the storytelling is brutal and unforgiving when it comes to depicting poverty and hypocrisy.

Criterion hits a home run with the video transfer of its Blu-ray release, in that it does full justice to the intentions of the director and the cinematographer. This is an absolutely fantastic B&W presentation devoid of any artifacts and rich in grain. The LPCM Mono track is robust and clean - maybe the best mono track I've heard till date. The release is a bit light on extras by Criterion standards, but that's okay. There's also a booklet with essays on the film as well as the Blu-ray release credits.

JALLIKATTU - Review (Prime)

Got to watch Jallikattu at last, on Amazon Prime.

Clocking in at 95 minutes - at least 10 minutes of which go for the requisite special thanks, logos and credits - the film has the now-certified-auteur Lijo Jose Pellissery (LJP) unleashing a relentless assault on the senses with the help of his military-grade team, special mention going for his uber-athletic cinematographer Girish Gangadharan.

Opening with Prashant Pillai's eerily rhythmic juxtaposition of clock ticks and sudden wake-up breaths, the film starts with just another day in the village passing by, with almost everyone stopping at Varkey's meat shop, for beef counts as part of the village-folks' staple diet. However, just as the sun is about to rise the next day, that day's buffalo just barely escapes the edge of Varkey's knife and runs off. Panic ensues, torches and haystacks get lit... and the title fades in. Needless to say, the tension gets ramped up in no time, and the stage gets set for all-out chaos with the frenzied beast running amok and the even more frenzied humans hot on its tail, each clamouring for his** share of the now-prized meat.

** his - because all the hers have already wisely shut themselves in their houses.

Nope, Jallikattu - despite the very warm welcome it had received globally - is definitely not LJP's Magnum Opus. That crown still firmly sits atop the very meditative and mellow Ee.Ma.You, followed by, maybe, City of God, his second film. And in comparison to both those films, Jallikattu ends up being way too kinetic and crazed - not to mention a tad  pretentious, especially towards the end - in its storytelling, with little in terms of character development or performances to boast about. Now, part of this may be due to the fact that the whole film was redubbed in order to conform to its U/A rating here, as the original version that premiered in Toronto - rated 18A - had reportedly been rich in colorful lingo, most of it inadmissible even for an 'A' rating in India. How else can one explain the outrageously funny scene where the so-called nature lover breaks into an angry rant - totally silent, except for the chirping of birds in the vicinity - while the rest of the group looks on with varying degrees of bewilderment?

What the film lacks in terms of performances, it more than makes up for it with the technical grandeur on display. As mentioned above, the DP - who had previously worked with LJP on Angamaly Diaries - is constantly on the run here, stopping only for very brief respites. However, his work shines - both figuratively and literally - the most after the nightfall, when the torches come in en masse and that well is reached. LJP's partner-in-crime Prashant Pillai comes up with a score, solely made up of acapella and minimalist percussion. Certain cues from the score even serve as audio transitions that precede the intense and chaotic moments. Editor Deepu Joseph, unlike his work in Ee.Ma.You, goes in for quick and abrupt cuts, yet manages to maintain the rhythm throughout. The very intricate and busy soundscape - originally mixed in Atmos, and presented in Dolby 5.1 on Prime - complements the frenetic visuals, courtesy of Ranganath Ravee, another LJP regular. And finally, the animatronics and VFX departments deserve kudos for bringing that buffalo onto the screen.

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AYYAPPANUM KOSHIYUM - Theatrical Review

Fresh off the success of Driving Licence which he wrote, Sachy reunites with Prithviraj for his sophomore directorial venture AK: Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Ayyappan & Koshy). Also in the lead is Biju Menon, with whom both Sachy and Prithvi had worked with in the former’s debut directorial, the Lakshadweep-set Anarkali. However, unlike Anarkali where the two played friends, AK has them having their sights trained at each other’s throats.

The film begins with a very drunk Koshi Kurian (Prithviraj), getting arrested at Attappadi, a liquor-free zone, en route to Ooty. And the SHO who registers the arrest happens to be SI Ayyappan Nair (Biju Menon), who is due for retirement in another year and having a spotless service record. The former pledges vengeance against the latter, and what gets started as the result of a petty temper tantrum thrown by an entitled a-hole, soon snowballs into a much bigger affair with significant sociopolitical impacts, thanks to the machinations of Kurian John (Director-actor Ranjith, who co-produced the film), the ex-politician Dad of Koshy who considers himself an apex predator with an unquestionable right to devour the less privileged. And yes, apart from being the entitled brat, the retired soldier Koshy also happens to be an overgrown man-child with major daddy issues that prevent him from doing what’s right. Ayyappan, on the other hand, is the dutiful cop who forever remains respectful towards the system, but is forced to wake up the dormant monster within, when push has finally come to shove.

Like Driving Licence, AK too focuses on the two leads and their never-ending attempts to one-up each other. However, what primarily sets the two films poles apart are the motives and the milieu. In DL, the setting is completely urban, and the tussle is nothing more than a battle of bruised egos caused due to communication gap and misunderstanding. On the other hand, AK’s geography is as rural as it gets, and of course, it is Koshy who, purely out of jealousy and spite, sparks the fire. What truly makes AK superior to DL though, is that it is a very politically charged affair and does touch upon quite a few sensitive topics – the choice of location itself, for starters - without shoving those down the audience’s throats. And AK would perhaps be the very first film where the ages-old feudal anti-hero vs the cop cliché gets flipped: for a change, the cop here is heroic and rational (and so are his colleagues), and the anti-hero – essentially, Prithviraj reprising his character from Thanthonni – happens to be downright villainous, that is until certain realizations start dawning upon him.

Even though it’s 170 minutes long, the film whizzes by without a moment of lag, thanks to the engaging performances and the evenly paced editing, courtesy of the veteran Ranjan Abraham. Also crucial to the thrills and the chills is the thumping background score by Jakes Bejoy, who fuses Attappadi’s native tribal beats with sparse studio arrangements. He imbues the same sensibility to his three songs – placed appropriately – in the film.The cinematography by now-three-film-old Sudeep Elamon effortlessly captures the beauty and rawness of the locality as well as the people. The big climactic brawl is as brutally realistic as it should be (but within the limits of ‘U’ rating), considering the fact that this is where the almost 3-hour long build up leads the audience to. And after Anjaam Pathiraa, the Sound Factor guys Sree Shankar and Vishnu Govind go in for the kill with yet another cracker of a Dolby Atmos mix, this time a very relentless and rustic one.

Apart from the two sparring leads, AK also boasts of a bevy of strong supporting players in the cast. Anil Nedumangad, who had already proven his mettle as the despicable baddie in Kammattipaadam, gets to shine here as CI Sathish, Ayyappan’s immediate superior who, while being supportive of Ayyappan, tries his best to contain the very explosive situations arising out of the tiff. And so do the other actors playing Ayyappan’s subordinates, with special mention to the ones who play Jessie and Sujith. Ranjith looks mean as hell playing Kurian John, but his performance comes across as a little bit theatrical, with unwanted emphasis on dramatic pauses in dialogues. While Anna Rajan is okay as Koshy’s docile wife, it is Gauri Nanda who makes quite an impact as Kannamma, Ayyappan’s much younger wife, hailing from a tribal family and rebellious enough to be branded a Maoist. Also making an impression is Ramesh Kottayam as Kumaran, Koshy’s fiercely loyal driver, who secretly loathes the guy’s wayward ways. However, the film could have opted for someone else to portray the DYSP character.

And onto AK themselves: Prithviraj hasn’t shied away from portraying baddies in the past, and here too, he plays what essentially is the villain of the story. However, in what seems to be a brutal deconstruction of his bygone “massy” roles, he manages to make the punchline-spouting Koshy gradually reduce himself into a punchline, by turning him vulnerable, and having his defenses stripped off in the course of the film. On the other hand, Biju Menon deftly underplays Ayyappan, the affable cop eventually made hostile by the circumstances (and Koshy), who prefers brute force to mere words. Majority of the film has the duo facing off each other, contributing to the film's biggest gasps as well as laughs.

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TRANCE - Theatrical Review

Let me state the very obvious: Fahadh Faasil is a frickin’ chameleon. And the actor gets his finest hour in the form of Trance, director Anwar Rasheed’s long-gestating project written by debutant Vincent Vadakkan. The film itself deserves kudos for tackling a very controversial subject – as evidenced by CBFC’s now-bypassed mandate to cut around 17 minutes – and is bound to create ripples in the days to come.

Kicking off on a rather low note in Kanyakumari, the film follows Viju Prasad, a motivational trainer struggling to make ends meet, yet persistent in dreaming big. However, after a shocking turn of events, he relocates to Mumbai, where he gets to meet two shady business tycoons. The duo offer him a chance to make it big, and thus the atheistic Viju Prasad becomes Pastor Joshua Carlton, the Miracle Worker capable of healing any ailment - be it fever or cancer - with the power of prayers (as well as Hollywood-grade theatrics). Of course, the “patients” happen to be professionally trained actors, strategically planted in the thousands-strong crowds for the pastor to pick and “heal”. And yes, within the blink of an eye, Pastor JC - pun very much intended, and alluded to within the film -  forms a cult of his own across the globe, amassing billions along the way. But, as with every other shady deal, the faith-healing business too involves the devil himself, and thus begins Viju’s descent into paranoia. 

As seen above, Viju Prasad a.k.a Joshua Carlton is there, front and center, throughout the film, and watching Fahadh perform as this very complex character, one can’t help but be transfixed, lost in…  the trance. The actor gets his own Scarface here - with cocaine replaced by a much deadlier drug: religion - but unlike the consistently LOUUUD Pacino, he opts for a very layered, physical performance that ranges all the way from the subtle to the gallery-pleasing (yet keeping the loudness in check). Quoting one of the film’s characters: “If you call this acting, then this fella deserves the biggest of all the awards.”

And coming to Anwar Rasheed himself: anyone who has watched only his commercial potboilers - Rajamanikyam, Chotta Mumbai, Annan Thambi and of course, Ustad Hotel - would be in for quite a few shocks with this one, as he operates entirely out of his perceived comfort zone here. Unlike those previous films, Trance doesn’t aim to please the crowds with broad comedy, “mass” elements or feel-good drama, instead opting for visual storytelling and a matter-of-fact tone to explore the psyche of its protagonist. Yes, the film clocks in a bit too long at 170 minutes and the post-interval block does briefly test one’s patience, but the way he deftly keeps his target audience engaged for the most part is commendable, especially considering the fact that there was no bound script in place. By the way, those who have watched his shorts - the anthology segments Bridge (from Kerala Café) and Aami (from 5 Sundarikal) - wouldn’t be as surprised, since Trance is indeed a feature-length extension of the storytelling sensibilities used in those. 

Coming to the cast,  Trance boasts of a terrific supporting ensemble, complete with numerous familiar faces making cameo appearances. Apart from Fahadh himself, the only character who is present throughout the film would be Avarachan, the ruthless mentor to Viju Prasad and later, the scheming manager to Pastor JC, and Dileesh Pothen has all the right notes hit for this very puzzling character. Nazriya, a.k.a. Mrs. Fahadh appears post interval as the hard-drinking pothead Esther Lopez, obviously a far cry from the bubbly girls she has portrayed till date. However, the character, despite the actress’ spirited performance, seems shoehorned in, and does serve as a speedbreaker in the narrative when it briefly shifts to her POV. Gautham Menon makes an assured debut in Malayalam as Solomon, the primary antagonist, along with Chemban Vinod who plays Isaac, his partner. Vinayakan, Sreenath Bhasi and Soubin Shahir play memorable characters who, despite their limited presence, significantly impact the narrative at several junctures. 

Stepping away from the director’s chair and back into solely wielding the camera after a long time, cinematographer Amal Neerad holds his horses and initially opts for a muted and earthy tone, only to gradually replace it with his trademark neon-lit style before going all-out psychedelic, just as Pastor JC’s evolution is complete. The various lighting, framing and lensing choices he makes throughout the film are bold and hitherto unseen, at least in Malayalam cinema.  Adding to the richness is Resul Pookutty’s all-encompassing and occasionally disorienting sound design, best experienced in its original Dolby Atmos mix. Jackson Vijayan’s songs mostly serve as part of the score, though ”Jaalame” is used brilliantly as the backdrop for Pastor JC’s stage debut. Sushin Shyam and Jackson Vijayan team up to lend further grandeur to the trance, in the form of their astounding background score. The film’s edited by Praveen Prabhakar in sync with its theme, though the film starts dragging quite a bit post the intermission. Last but not the least, those massive and kinetic sermon sequences deserve special mention, for they are incredibly complex to pull off sans any hitch, and everyone involved - the director, the DP, the sound man, the stunt coordinator, the lead and of course, the appropriately hysterical junior artistes - should take a bow for achieving the impossible.

All said and done, Anwar Rasheed and his team deserve credit for going for an uncompromisingly experimental and satirical take on a gravely serious subject, and for extracting what happens to be the career-best performance from its much-celebrated leading man. Even more kudos for Mr. Rasheed for pouring his own money to bring his passion project to fruition, considering its very polarizing subject and treatment.

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