Movie Reviews

MLA story: A young man is thrown a challenge by his prospective father-in-law. If successful, he gets to marry his lady love, failure would mean giving up on her. Will he succeed? MLA Review: Kalyan (Kalyan Ram) is an easy-going young man who is referred to as MLA (Manchi Lakshanalunna Abbayi) for his good qualities. He falls in love with Indu (Kajal Aggarwal), who turns out to be the managing director of his company. When land belonging to the company is seized by a local goon (Ajay), Kalyan promises to get it back on the condition that Indu accepts his love if he is successful. The latter accepts his condition but after Kalyan retrieves the land, comes a twist in the tale. The action then shifts from an urban backdrop to the village of Veerabhadrapuram where Gadappa (Ravi Kishen), a ruthless politician, has been consistently winning the elections for decades against his arch rival Nagappa (Jayaprakash Reddy) and his family. Why did Kalyan go to Veerabhadrapuram? Is Indu reall...

Rajaratham is the name of a luxury bus that is on its way from Hyderabad to Bengaluru.  Its voice (Rana Daggubati) introduces the audience to its very many oddball or troubled passengers. Abhishek (Nirup Bhandari) and Megha (Avantika Shetty), the collegemates, are two of them.  They end up sitting next to each other in the bus.  It's Abhi's chance to impress his crush, who herself has had a not-so-pleasant relationship with her lover. Vishwa (Tamil actor Arya) is a henchman who works for a politician out to provoke clashes between the Telugus and the Kannadigas over an unfavorable Supreme Court verdict.  Even as this drama builds up, Abhi and Megha continue to bond over unforeseen situations. But then, as fate would have it, Rajaratham itself will have to witness a tragedy as politics of hate strikes at its 'heart'.  But not the spirit, as we shall soon see. Analysis: Touted to be a romantic-comedy, 'Rajaratham' actually turns out to be a road fil...

STORY: Crushes, courtships, fun and frolic in the life of a few first-year engineering students with fruity dreams, lined up over a four-day industrial visit trip form the thread of Aanandam. REVIEW: It’s said that time adds gloss to the past, but say campus days and almost everyone would go ‘those were the best days of my life!’ Even for the crop that has spent the times with stressful periods of academics, unrequited love and self-esteem issues, there would be happy episodes that flashback as their quintessential college times. Aanandam is all about such a chapter, in the life of a few students. Akshay, Kuppy, Gautham, Varun, Diya, Devika and Darsana are classmates, friends and partners in crime. Aanandam tells the tale of an industrial visit they had, alongside the rest of the batch and teachers. The film begins on the beaten track introducing each of the characters as the campus stereotypes - funny guys, Romeos, serious types, and the like. The movie takes a cruise through...

SUDANI FROM NIGERIA STORY: Majeed is a football club manager in Malappuram and while his team plays for the Sevens tournament, one of the foreign players from Nigeria, Samuel, injures his leg. As he is advised a month of rest, Majeed takes Samuel to his home. But, it was just the beginning of a series of mishaps. SUDANI FROM NIGERIA REVIEW: The name Sudani from Nigeria is unique, but it does have a lazy downmarket tinge to it. And when you see the actors featured on its posters, most of whose faces aren’t quite familiar or rank among our top artistes, it’s easy to judge it as a project that might not offer much. All of the impressions are quashed soon after this refreshing sports drama begins and casually moves forward like a neighbourhood tale. This film shows how a story with a strong spine and actors of calibre can still put together a wonderfully entertaining and touching tale. Samuel aka Sudu is an ace striker in Majeed’s Sevens football team, which has many players like h...

Krishna(Nikhil) is a happy go lucky engineering student who spends a mischevious life along with his group of friends. He falls in love with his senior Meera(Simran) and when everything seems to be going fine, a tragic incident changes Krishna’s life upside down. Rest of the story is as to how Krishna manages to solve all his problems and comes out as a successful student and sincere human being. Plus Points : Kiraak Party is Nikhil’s one-man show. It is Nikhil’s emotional performance which clicks for the film. Nikhil is shown in two different shades and the young hero impresses in both his avatars. The way he transforms from a simple guy to a strong student leader is quite good. Nikhil is very good especially in the last fifteen minutes of the film where he showcases diverse emotions. The first half of the film has some decent college fun with good songs keeping things light even though there is not much story. The last 20 minutes of the film is quite emotional and ends th...

IRA STORY: The film revolves around the life of Dr Aryan, who falls prey to a conspiracy and lands himself in a legal trial. Whether he manages to come out of this conundrum forms the rest of the story. IRA REVIEW: At the outset, flashing headlines fill the theatre screen, when Minister Chandy (Alencier Ley), who is accused of being a corrupt and unscrupulous politician, suddenly succumbs to a heart attack. While he was at a hospital only for a regular check-up, news about his unexpected demise infuses the atmosphere with uncertainties, suspicion and speculation. Cop Rajiv (Unni Mukundan) has firmly set his eyes on the minutiae of the case and ventures out on a journey to know more about the person that Dr Aryan was. The film tangentially shows how Dr Aryan (Gokul Suresh) lands himself in Kerala, after he is stung by the desire of seeking a livelihood in his parents’ hometown. In a few days’ time, he manages to find himself a place among the prominent doctors in a hospital. ...

POOMARAM STORY: The Mahatma Gandhi University Youth Festival kicks off and two rival colleges are putting in all that they have got to win the champion’s trophy. In the course of the fest, a few things go awry due to unexpected turn of events. How will the organisers turn it around? POOMARAM REVIEW: Action Hero Biju, Abrid Shine’s previous film, was a beautiful album strung together with pictures from the various situations that emerge in a police station. Similarly, Poomaram is also an album, flipping through the pages of which you can take a glimpse into the multitude of moods and moments at a college youth festival. Most of the frames brim with nostalgia and the raw energy that fill up such a space of art and culture. Some of them excite the viewer and some don’t. The traditional ‘rivals’ of the Mahatma Gandhi Youth Festival, Maharajas College and St Teresa College (sic), leave no stone unturned to ensure that they emerge champions at the event. Preparations are on in full ...

3 Storeys Story: The film weaves together three stories set in a Mumbai chawl.While the first narrative involves a businessman looking for accommodation in Mumbai who eventually zeroes in on a house that’s overpriced, the second one revolves around a wife dealing with an abusive and alcoholic husband.The third story narrates the tale of forbidden love --- where a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy fall for each other. 3 Storeys Review: Debutant director Arjun Mukerjee’s 3 Storeys attempts to shatter the perception that the inhabitants of a regular Mumbai chawl live seemingly staid lives. Each story ends with a delicious twist, throwing light on human frailties and also lays bare the circumstances, which often go against human wishes and desires. In fact, the screenplay doesn’t shy away from making the point that life can’t be viewed through rose-tinted glasses and reality is often a bitter pill to swallow. Renuka Shahane as an elderly Christian lady living alone and quoting an exorbi...

STORY: Fashion designer Sethu gets acquainted to Anand when they start working together on a project. Sethu introduces him to his love interest Nanda and the trio soon become friends, only to eventually change the equation between themselves. REVIEW: Tales of love triangles, set in the world of fashion and advertisement industry, is a tried and tested formula that raked in a lot of moolah at the box office across film industries in the 90s. Director Ajith C Logesh’s Charminar has a similar premise. Sethu (Ashwin Kumar), a fashion designer, gets acquainted to Anand (Hemant Menon), an ad film maker and the duo work together on a project. During the course of their friendship, Sethu introduces his girlfriend Nanda (Harshika Poonacha) to Anand. Little do they know that their equations with each other are all set to change. The two lead actors are also its rare positives. Ashwin Kumar effortlessly impressed the audience through his debut Malayalam film Jacobinte Swargrajyam. Whil...

DIL JUUNGLEE STORY: Koroli aka Koro (Taapsee Pannu), a rich girl from London falls for an aspiring Bollywood actor from Delhi, Sumit (Saqib Saleem). The two are about to elope but fate has other plans. DIL JUUNGLEE REVIEW: Review: Koro, who harboured dreams of becoming a romantic novelist some day, reunites with Sumit seven years later in London. We soon discover that the girl has had a glam makeover and is now engaged to business tycoon Jai Singh Rathore. Sumit continues to be a struggling actor and roams around with a loud ‘Lajpat wali’ Ayesha, who claims to be his love interest. What transpires when Koro and Sumit’s paths collide, forms the story. Taapsee Pannu and Saqib Saleem are fine actors and have the ability to keep you engaged, even when their film is perhaps the most cliched romantic drama of the century. Not only is this love story unconvincing; ironically, this hackneyed tale ends up reinstating the gender, class and cultural stereotypes, much against its intent o...

THOLI PREMA STORY: Aaditya (Varun Tej) is an impulsive individual who takes decisions spontaneously and is unafraid to speak his mind. The love of his life Varsha (Raashi Khanna) is his extreme opposite — she chooses not to let her emotions control her actions or words. Will these two differing individuals ever make their relationship work? THOLI PREMA REVIEW: ‘Tholi Prema’ is a new-age millennial romance reflecting on the various twists and turns Aaditya (Varun Tej) and Varsha (Raashi Khanna)’s relationship takes through various years. There are no specific evil villains opposing their love and there’s no such thing as perfection in their relationship. Aadi and Varsha are our everyday youngsters, struggling to make their relationship work and trying to understand where it all goes wrong. Aadi first sees Varsha on a train right after he finishes high school and is attracted to how she looks. The duo spends some time together and it’s not long before Varsha begins to have feeli...

Debutant director Prajesh Sen’s Captain narrates the life of former Indian football captain V P Sathyan. Though he was a fabulous footballer on the field, injuries did cut his career short and that led the hero to a state of depression. Sathyan (Jayasurya) had just one passion in life and that was the game of football. He was a brilliant defender and had led the Kerala team which won the Santosh trophy in 1992, after a gap of 19 years. He played for Kerala Police but had to face some setbacks from certain higher officers during that tenure. He played for other clubs too and became a coach later on. Though he was the captain of the Indian football team, Sathyan was seriously affected as a result of a nagging leg injury. The story is not just about his achievements and tensions on the field, but also about his family. His wife Anitha (Anu Sithara) stood as a pillar of support when he went through difficult times. Their moments together have been handled in a matured way and c...