Cast: Skanda (Suraj), Ramesh Pisharody, Manikuttan, Ayilya, Vani, Jayasurya, Jagathy Sreekumar, Saikumar, P.Sreekumar, Boban Alummoodan, T.G.Ravi, Sreejith Ravi, Augustine, Mala Aravindan, Bindu Panicker, Maya Viswanath, Deepika

Director: V K Prakash

Lyrics: Vayalar Sharath Chandra Varma

Cinematography: R. Ganesh

Editing: Mahesh Narayanan

Art Direction: Bawa

Screenplay: S.N. Swamy

Story Writer: S.N. Swamy


Yawning plot holes, a convoluted finale and an attractive twist that sadly belongs somewhere else - V K Prakash's Positive suffers from an overdo of characters that are all too regular, and shocks that are all too strained.

Raju (Suraj) is a musician engineer who runs a band with three of his bosom pals, the tomboyish Winnie (Vani Kishore), the slightly wacky Udayan (Maikuttan) and the merry Cherry (Ramesh Pisharody). A chance encounter with Jyothi (Ayilya) soon leads to a short-lived romance. Raju is totally devastated when Jyothi disappears without a trace, and when she resurfaces a few months later, he finds himself accused of nothing short of homicide.

It so happens, that repeatedly fed on an assortment of murder mysteries time and again, the viewer these days has quite a fascinating ability to latch on to the most unsuspecting character as the likely murderer. And hence, having crossed out the list of potential suspects, it's not long before we zero in on the wrongdoer and wait for the plot to work out in accordance with our conclusion. It's here that Positive goes all jumpy and uncertain. For, in its attempt to put up a relatively surprising culprit, the film concocts a lame tale that simply refuses to gel and that stands out like an awfully sore thumb.

S N Swamy goes a bit wobbly with the jigsaw pieces this time around. The local Hitchcock does come up with an exciting premise and he is cautious to leave the leading cues all over the place to keep us perplexed to the hilt. So we get busy with the scratching, and it sadly turns out that there's nothing much beneath except some cooked-up gag that leaves you with a discontented sigh. Much like an Agatha Christie having a migraine, the Officer-in-charge Aniyan (Jayasurya) goes about tossing about the minor plot particulars that are almost pointless.

Here is a director who has left us awestruck repeatedly, with a technical brilliance that's often unmatched. Positive is no exception and competently propped up by outstanding cinematography (Ganesh), Prakash comes up with a visually dazzling product. The highly impressive VFX team behind that awesome song that regrettably comes in at the most inappropriate moment deserves a huge round of applause as well. And I suppose the musical backdrop is indeed excuse enough to bring in Alex Paul's lilting tunes into a supposedly edge-of-the-seat thriller.

It's a risky proposition indeed to go ahead with a whodunit these days, especially since the conventions and clichés that drive the genre forward have become all too apparent. It fundamentally comes down to a grappling mind game between the author and the spectator; as the tale wavers between the credible and the totally improbable as in Positive, the latter comes up trumps.

I am appalled by the way the writing has failed Prakash in all his movies till date, except the decisively special Freaky Chakra. Which is a shame really, for backed up by a solid script the man could essentially do miracles on screen.

Rupesh Paul as a writer and a short film maker has been exceptional in his creative expressions. His debut short film venture “The Temptation Between My Legs” was even denied a Censor Board Certificate. Rupesh is now landing into feature films with an experimental cinema, when no one dares to experiment in Mollywood industry. Titled “My Mother's Laptop” and produced under the banner of Mother Movies, the movie is based on a short story ''Parudheesa Nashtam'' by Subhash Chandran. ‘Laptop’ is said to be a path breaking film which takes a different view on human relationships, exploring the dichotomies of human mind.

The movie tells the story of an unwed mother who punishes herself by denying posthumous rituals to the father of her son. She keeps his ashes in an urn without performing rites so that he does not get access to heaven. Her only son Ravi, a theatre artist, more a vagabond, moves around leaving his mother alone, in search of mental balance. Ravi's strong passion for the theatre makes him a world renowned artist, who travels to far away countries across the globe and performs at all places.

A descendant of non marital relations, Ravi nurses feelings of guilt and contempt. Payal, a kolkatta born orphaned girl from his troupe develops a liking for Ravi who pressurize him to comeback to his mother. She shares a very different kind of relationship with Ravi and wants to join him on his trip home when he travels to Kerala to meet his mother. After thirty long years, Ravi now plans for comeback, with newer plans for his mother. The story takes a different turn as on the eve of his return, his mother drifts into a coma. Increasingly guilty of his belated appearance, Ravi now starts caressing and caring his mother like never before, the feeling for that desolate laptop of his mother and the need to pay back makes him hysterical. Ravi's personal tragedy is layered against the background of a Special Economic Zone that is expected to leave thousands of people displaced. The film also tackles many issues including the numbness that has crept into human relationships, in the recent times.

The movie is said to sensitively delve into the nature of human relationships, yearnings and disappointments that destiny makes in the deserted lives of it believers. Suresh Gopi who has become synonymous with action films for a year, attempts a different role playing Ravi. Gopi was much hooked by this story, which he feels is "innovative and will bring out another facet in my acting.”He is altogether in a different getup playing an aged character with heavy beard. Padmapriya play Payal, the drama actress. Shwetha Menon will play the mother of Ravi in a dual get up of a lady at her thirties and sixties. She has to play two different stages in the character's life and this character is expected to be very different from any character that she has done till date. The cast also includes Urmila Unni, Madhuben and Harikrishnan

Indu Mnon pens the screenplay for the movie, based on the story by Subhash Candran. 'My Mother's Laptop' will feature seven songs written by Rafiq Ahamed and set to music by famous carnatic musician Sreevatsan J Menon, which are already noted for its differences from the regularly heard numbers. The movie cinematographed by V Vinod, is edited by Vijayakumar.

'Laptop' had worked on a sound and music design even before it went to shoot. The film also uses the best of the tone filters and Digital intermediate effects to achieve the desired excellence in visuals.

The director assures that his film will be loved by all who cherish goodness and love.

“I am confident of the outcome, from which I can say that ‘Laptop’ will be a unique film that you never ever had witnessed in Malayalam. We are already getting offers from abroad. We also plan to do the festival circuits’’ says Rupesh Paul who plans to release the movie with 45 prints all across Kerala.

Cast: Suhasini, Biju Menon, Sudheesh, Irshad, Thilakan, M.R.Gopakumar, Indrans, Sreeraman, C.K.Babu, Ramya, Praveena, Zeenath, Nilambur Ayisha, Shanta Devi, Baby Keerthana .

Director: T V Chandran

Producer: Aryaadan Shaukath

Lyrics: Gireesh Puthencherry

Cinematography: M.J. Radhakrishnan

Editing: Beena Paul

Screenplay: T.V. Chandran

Story Writer: Aryaadan Shaukath












Vilaapangalkkappuram deals with a very sensitive issue, and being made by T.V. Chandran, it will obviously be presented in a very sensitive manner, going by the earlier films of this well-acclaimed director, like Ponthan Maada, Danny, Susannah, Paadam Onnu, Oru Vilaapam etc.

Vilaapangalkkappuram has as its main character a young girl named Sahira, who flees from Gujarat after the communal riots and reaches Kerala. Sahira, who is in an extremely traumatic condition, is under treatment in a hospital under the supervision of Dr. Mercy Verghese and Dr. Gopinath. Sahira soon becomes news and people from all walks of life, including politicians, religious leaders and social activists take interest in her issue, most of them with an axe to grind of their own. Nobody however, tries to understand her real plight, her mental agony or the insurmountable problems she is faced with - except perhaps Dr. Mercy and Dr. Gopinath.

Veyil fame Priyanka becomes Sahira while Suhasini does the role of Dr. Mercy. Biju Menon is Dr. Gopinath. Aryaadan Shaukath, who had earlier produced Paadam Onnu, Oru Vilaapam and Deivanaamaththil, both of which won wide acclaim, produces Vilaapangalkkappuram under the banner of Clear Images. He also pens the story. The film is being shot in Kerala and in Gujarat.

Cast: Kalabhavan Mani, Sindhu Menon,Jagathy, Anand, Boban Alummoodan, Salim Kumar, Machan Varghese, Narayanankutty, Subair, Irshad, Jose, Bijukuttan, Ponnamma Babu, Kulapulli Leela, Seema G. Nair,
Review:

Director: Akbar Jose

Producer: Cinema Company

Lyrics: Kaithapram, Bappu Veliparambu

Cinematography: Vipin Mohan

Editing: Ranjan Abraham

Andavan is as formulaic an action flick as has ever graced the silver screen. It's in reality a series of pointless fights, murders, verbal aggression and plenty of bloodshed frantically on the hunt for an interesting storyline.

Andavan (Kalabhavan Mani), the demigod of a slum by day, turns a burglar by night. He certainly isn't your petty thief roaming around the dark streets; rather he's hell bent on making mincemeat of moneybag Panicker's (Jagathy Sreekumar) life and repeatedly robs him, much to the local cops' disgrace. Sub Inspector Sreerekha (Sindhu Menon), determined to nail Andavan down, gets caught in a tussle between the two, before eventually falling head over heels in love with the disarming thug.

So there is another slum, and another slum-saver. Yet another biggie baddie, and yet another suave lady cop destined to lock-and-lose-horns with the savior. There is the ganja dealer, and the dejected hooker. The street kids are right there, and so are the depressed drunkards. Every possible chestnut is right there in place, and Rajesh Jayaraman's chronicle of a revenge sadly refuses to look beyond the obvious.

It's noteworthy that in films like Andavan, when the focus shifts a bit too much towards the superman, the woman invariably gets crushed beneath the machismo. This is a film that suffers from a testosterone overflow and it never stops till it has got its point across straight. So you have an alarmingly disproportionate henchman 'proving the facts' to the lady police officer and a superior male officer stating in plain terms as to where women need to 'draw the line'. Well, I guess it simply suffices to say that it looks and sounds pretty gross.

After the promising Swarnam, Mani abruptly shifts into the reverse gear with Andavan. He is back in the Ben Johnson, the Ravanan or the Rakshakan league-of-rogue-men and puts up an electrifying act, though for the umpteenth time. Sindhu Menon looks all set to take up the long abandoned Vani Vishwanath throne, and throws in an effortless performance that's quite, err... arresting. I need to specifically mention that marvelous actress Seema G Nair, who is a true revelation in a couple of otherwise odd scenes.

Despite having languished in the cans for about a couple of years, Andavan doesn't have an aged feel to it. There aren't any jitters or awkward jerks. Vipin Das does no wonders with his camera though; it's all quite plain and downright basic. The action sequences are quite crisp and keep an otherwise limping film pushing along. There is the mandatory Mani song of course that's quite customary, and that whizzed past my head in a blur.

Suffice it to say that Andavan should have been doused long before it reached its finish. It's an unsurprising and quite predictable piece of film making that tries to glorify one-man vigilant justice and miserably fails.

Cast: Mukesh, Padmapriya, Urvashi, Jagathy

Director: Venu Nagavally

Lyrics: O N V Kurup

Cast: Prithwiraj, Bhama, Mammooty [Guest role as Super Star], Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Salim Kumar, Kalabhavan Mani, Prachot, Jagadish, Suraj Venjaramood, Govindan Kutty, Balachandran Chullikad

Director: Vipin Prabhakar

Cinematography: Vipin Mohan

Cast: Indrajith, Gopika, Jagathy Sreekumar, Suraaj Venjaramoodu, Mamookoya, Bijukuttan, Santhosh Jogi, Janardhanan, Manianpillai Raju, K.T.S.Padannayil, Kiran Raj. Manka Mahesh

Director: Rajesh , Faizal

Lyrics: Jofi Tharakan

Cinematography: Velraj

Editing: Arun

Art Direction: Gokuldass

Screenplay: Ramesh Madhav
Malabar Wedding has all the exuberance, vigor and cheer of a nuptial event. Upbeat, unpredictable and real lighthearted Malabar Wedding is a modest film that spells change in a season of lackadaisical endeavors.

Manukuttan (Indrajith) is the ring leader of a prankster band that specializes in Sora Kalyanam, a unique Malabar tradition before an actual wedding that makes mincemeat of the prospective groom through playful antics and good humored jaunts. Manu knows hence, that its payback time for his former victims when he gets engaged to Smitha (Gopika) and the countdown to D-Day begins. Smitha has been ferociously battling with a few demons from her past and the Sora Kalyanam ends up having more dire consequences than the droll gang anticipates.

The director duo Rajesh - Faisal have the reins held tight with this comic caper that never really runs out of steam. There is very little humor in Malabar Wedding that appears contrived or forced. The hilarity associated with the film has a remarkable simplicity writ all over it, that's reminiscent of some of the best comedies of the nineties. It's a comedy, not in the revolting, sugary, sickening sense that we have been fast getting used to. It's neat, smart and credits its audience with enough intelligence to play along and have a few satisfying laughs that are totally gratifying.

Malabar Wedding deftly marks the indisputable arrival of Indrajith the actor. He makes his striking presence impressively felt and moves ahead in leaps and bounds with a refreshing performance. Surprisingly he seems to be on familiar ground since his comic timing has been a matter of much speculation. Equally adept in the witty and poignant scenes, this is one his premium performances till date. Gopika is a true delight to watch; she looks drop dead dazzling and lends an intense credibility to her character.
She proves her fine facility yet again, with an impeccable performance in a role that is quite vital though not in any way truly demanding of her acting prowess.

Malabar Wedding banks heavily on a host of actors who unleash a comic riot on screen. Backed by the incredible talents of rather a huge range of actors as Suraj Venjarammood, Mamukkoya, Bijukuttan, Maniyan Pillai Raju, Anoop Chnadran and Janardhanan, this is probably one of the funniest casts in a Malayalam movie in recent times.

The central backdrop of Malabar Wedding is reason enough for celebration in that it is sweet, likeable and consistently engaging. And it works exceedingly well even with several tale tracks simultaneously at work. There's indeed a cleverness to this taut script by Ramesh Madhav that neatly holds these tales together and yet efficiently manages to flit across them with a sharp expertise.

Malabar Wedding is an appealing film, if not exactly revolutionary. A delightful romantic comedy made with the right doses of wit and style, this is a charming film that actually deserves to win.