Cinema, Karam, Kapi

Vysakh's Khalifa: Part 1 is a gold-smuggling gangster saga that arrives with swagger, a big score and a bigger secret in its last act. It is the first of a two-part story, and you can feel the makers saving their best card for later. Mambarakkal Aamir Ali (Prithviraj Sukumaran), is heir to a vast gold-trading empire stretching across the Middle East, London, Nepal and Kerala. His father Younus (Renji Panicker) never wanted this life for him, and Aamir himself never planned to walk into it.  The first half takes its time with his love life, his family and the circumstances that slowly pull him back into the family business. His grandfather's smuggling legacy once worried even Mrs, Indira Gandhi, and that bloodline hangs over every frame. Then the film changes gears. Harris Basheer (Neil Nitin Mukesh), making his Malayalam debut, emerges as Aamir's foil, while Seittuji (Suresh Oberoi) brings quiet weight as his mentor.  Indrans and Shammi Thilakan add their familiar presenc...

  Set in the midst of a resort in Idukki, the film is all about the 11 men and women and the 12th man who uncovers a murder mystery. Jeetu Joseph, who made the classic Drishyam (Malayalam & Hindi) and Papanasam (in Tamil) is now back with his favourite hero Mohan Lal, The crew, obviously 11 of them, have given a terrific performance with each of them playing a significant role from the word go till the end. Sidharth is engaged to Aarathy and they decide to throw a bachelor’s party to Sid’s classmates – 10 of them. Interestingly, but for one, all other are married within the group, so that makes 4 couples. Banker Sam and his wife Merin are a happy couple. Dr. Nayan and her husband Jithesh are not the perfect match, but they continue to navigate this relationship that is a marriage. Annie & Zacharia are about to become parents and decide to announce the big news at the party the next day. Shiny & Mathew are a couple who have their own excesses. Shiny borrows money from fr...

If the Mallus world over rever Mohanlal as one of the greatest actors of all time, it is not without a reason. The Malayalam film industry's Superstar has once again proven to his critics, why this adulation is justified. From Kaalapani (Hindi) to Marakkar, Mohanlal + Director Priyadarshan combination has worked out well from the critical acclaim point of view. Apparently, the first discussion about Marakkar happened between the duo on the sets of Kaalapani, which was about two prisoners in the infamous Andaman Jail and how they end up there after being captured by the British, try to break out several times and eventually get killed. The film featured Tamil Actor Prabhu as well alongside Mohan Lal and won several accolades and critical acclaim. But Marakkar was shelved back then due to potentially high budgets. The Malayalam film industry is perhaps, one of the most underserved yet deserving piece of art with no more than 500+ screens for exhibition on date in the state of Kerala....