Aditya J – Google

Being rated as one of the best Indian films of 2021, I expected this to be a great watch. I wouldn't deny that the subject was a strong one, and patriarchy is quite a relevant topic that has to be addressed even in the modern era. However, I was appalled by the fact how utterly bad this film was! As the film begins, for a long while the only thing we see is food being prepared by the women and the cleaning done by them after the eating - over and over. I mean yes, I get it, we are witnessing a traditional household with an outdated mindset, where women do all the household work, but something that seemed like a build-up to convey a profound message in the latter part of the film, slowly transitioned into disparaging traditional religious customs and rituals, despite the writer and director trying their best to make it as intricate and subtle as possible. Despite not being a religious person, I was cringing throughout the last half an hour of the film because of its attempt to belittle a group's right to believe in faith and its traditions while implying a major part of the protagonist's problems being a causal effect of that rather than the actual patriarchy.

How often do you see in a superhero movie that the first face-off between the superhero and the supervillain is when both are wearing lungis, with their faces covered in a cloth, while they run in their slippers? This was one of the awe moments I had while watching, that the writers truly pushed the boundaries of a conventional superhero film template, and still successfully pulled off an original and in my opinion, the best Indian superhero film. One of the biggest surprises was how brilliantly the antagonist was crafted. While he was layered and complex, he gradually transforms into a villain who had a believable motivation. Even though the first half of the film had majorly to do with the world-building, and the dynamics the characters shared with each other, I didn't find it slow and dragging at all because of the coherency in writing. It's in fact one of the strengths of the film that successfully captivated me as a viewer. It's fun and light-hearted for the most part but gets unapologetically dark at times. It's often been criticized for the substandard VFX, however, I could easily ignore it, as the film still delivers on point without making its presence felt thanks to its quality screenplay, cinematography, editing, and direction overshadowing the VFX by miles. All in all, it surely exceeded my expectations. It has negligible superhero cliches. And I must say, what a great film!

I decided to watch this film when I was extremely impressed with a few other films of this era especially starring Mohanlal such as Kireedam, Ulladakam etc. I did not have great expectations because firstly, it was of a romantic genre (most films I find cheesy and lame), and secondly, it was from the 1980s set in Kerala, a culture I was quite unfamiliar with (being a millennial Malayali raised in North). However, this film has left a deep impression on me that'll stay for a very long time. It's an art that was created with utmost sincerity and pouring a lot of heart into it. References to rain, love, and connection that Jayan and Clara had, and the BGM score felt like poetry. The characters were completely organic and convincing. Various aspects of the screenplay and character building such as the mystery associated with Clara, the uneasiness of Jayan, and the innocence of Radha were crafted with perfection and hooked me throughout their journey towards an emotional climax. The subtle metaphysical element of feeling an eternal connection that Jayan has before meeting Clara and the way he references and verbalizes this, later on, was maybe one of the preeminent reasons that it eventually has become a cult. I hope to see that contemporary films learn to express the characters and story with earnestness at the same level as this film has to offer. It truly was a glorious era.

Since a lot of negative ratings were given based on Farhan Akhtars political views, I think it'll be fair from my side to give it a high rating. People don't have the basic sense to keep art and a persons personal opinions separate. Indians are stooping to such low levels that a person can't have his own opinions and if it by any chance doesn't conform to others then he'll be shunned and ostracized. So there you go, I support a persons right to free expression and the entitlement to have his own opinions and beliefs.

Kireedam and Chenkol are essentially tragedies of the character Sethu Madhavan. I watched Kireedam around 3 years ago and I felt the main merit of the film was the strong acting of the leading cast i.e. Mohal Lal and Thilakan. While in Kiredam, I disliked the Thilakan's character, even though he played it brilliantly and felt if he had more empathy towards his son and had better decision making, Sethu's life might have been saved from a tragedy (There is not even a single instance he patiently listens to his son, made me think what kind of father is he?). Since the film was meant to be a tragedy, I think it could have been done in a better way by tweaking/adding on other aspects. That's another discussion, in this review I'd mainly focus on Chenkol. Chenkol introduces many new characters and most of them are simply bad. Especially Kireekadan Antony who was supposed to be formidable had a disappointing screen presence and K Jose's illegitimate wife and children being added to the story were quite underwhelming. While I disliked Thilakan's character in Kireedam for being too stubborn and overly idealistic, it came as a cringe when in this film he pimps his own daughter. What happened to his ideals and principles he had previously? It felt incoherent writing of the character. Considering his character arc, he might have sold his belongings and be homeless rather than pimping. The love angle between Sethu and K Jose's daughter felt completely inorganic and unconvincing. There are several places throughout the film where I felt writing and the dialogues were quite shabby. Overall, this film felt a bit forceful and carved out to point towards a tragic climax, so that the audience will sustain the overwhelming emotions they had for Sethu in the previous film and continue sympathizing with him. It's only Mohanlal's acting that managed to keep me hooked throughout the film, or else it's quite a below-average one.

The film began by setting up a great premise. I was excited to see a clash between two classes of society and how it will unfold later on. The main curiosity I had was how the protagonist belonging to a weaker and the oppressed lower class will counterattack the clear stronger opponent. The film seemed to have a realistic tone and a coherent storyline at the beginning. It turns out the protagonist had a long, dragging, and lame backstory that how strong and dangerous he used to be in the past. All he had to do was to channel his old "nature" and unleash his concealed strength that he could effortlessly beat hundreds of goons. A meek, honest villager transformed into a dreadful "Asuran" in no time. How convenient? A premise that seemed realistic and had the potential to present a realistic situation going on in perhaps several villages in our country, was turned into a cliche action-drama, which didn't feel true to itself.

This is the best film ever made. The detailed review I had in my mind might have been a little cliche', but I want to begin speaking about the ones who criticize the film for being "boring", "slow" or complaining about its length, etc, and yes, I believe everyone is entitled to have an opinion about anything. But if you genuinely love good cinema, saying Godfather is a bad or overrated film is like being a music lover and saying Beethoven or Mozart is overrated or that their music is simply bad. Basically, you have to admit to yourself that you cant appreciate good cinema and then you may keep your opinion. The problem is most people are so used to fast-paced films such as action films or series like Money Heist etc, that it's extremely tough to hold their attention span for even less than five minutes unless something "interesting" or a "twist" happens throughout the film.

This film has got to have one of the finest screenplays I have seen in a very long time. Lou, played by Jake Gyllenhaal deserves a place among the best anti-heroes on screen. The story sheds light on the part of the world, shown through the lens of the TV news industry where there is no place for morals, and in order to move ahead, you got to be an unapologetic a***le. That's where sociopaths like Lou, who not only just blend in this type of system but also know how to maneuver their way up to the top. As a viewer, you are stuck in awe that how could you even root for such an immoral character and that's exactly the merit of this brilliant piece of writing. The film wins in every aspect such as the cinematography and the background score. It's highly underrated and clearly deserves a lot more recognition.