Filmophilia

Halfway into  Jomonte Suvisheshangal , what occupies the audience’s mind is not the story, not the actors, not their performances, nor the treatment. It’s a sense of having experienced this before. It’s too recent, too fresh in memory to be termed ‘déjà vu’. And, then it strikes you. This is the Sathyan Anthikkad version of what you have seen in the similarly named  Jacobinte Swargarajyam , hardly a year ago. A rich businessman, an aimless son, business collapse, son suddenly turns responsible and set things right — the skeleton remains same in both cases. You just need to wait till the interval for this skeleton to tumble out of the closet, of course clad in the traditional Anthikkad clothing of ‘mundu’ and ‘shirt’, which all his protagonists end up wearing. Dulquer Salman too gets to wear it, but only after obliging his fans with flashy clothes and a Harley Davidson ride. In his latest outing, Sathyan Anthikkad takes us to the insanely happy home of the rich businessma...

Vellimoonga director Jibu Jacob’s Munthirivallikal Thalirkumbol has a down-to-earth protagonist – a panchayat secretary named Ullahanan (Mohanlal) who is so bogged down by the daily grind that he is oblivious to extract happiness out of his life. However, a college reunion takes him back to a few decades, wanting him to fall in love again. And as he does, he finds excitement and renewed vigour to enjoy everything he took for granted in his life – his wife, children, friends and job.  Mohanlal does a 180 degree after his previous release  Pulimurugan  with this movie, showing how versatile he can be. The first half hour has the actor in his subdued best as he goes through the motions. Once he rekindles his excitement, the entire persona onscreen gets a makeover and the fluidity with which he carries off the role makes it enjoyable to watch. Meena, as Ullahanan’s wife Annieamma, shines as the homemaker who wants more from life. The chemistry between the leading duo mak...