Spirit

Its a movie which transfer a message to the society. The base character Raghunandan was handled by Mohanlal very nicely. The movie having a dramatic touch. In Kerala we need this type of movies. That will help the people to think about themselves. Poverty is base issue in India, but the alcohol usage is very high compare to all developed and developing countries. So the movie giving most wonderful message to the people in kerala. In every celebration kerala is swimming in alcohol. That is not a good thing. Indian had a good traditional civilization. So we are responsible for keeping that good civilization. Here the spirit come with full spirit. Nice work by Renjit.

Saw this an hour after seeing 'Thattaththin Marayaththu'. The difference in maturity was quickly evident as was the striking cinematography.

Set in high society, Mohanlal plays a successful TV show conductor who is chronically alcoholic.He has been extremely convincing in his performance.

It was a very ambitious project from Ranjith. Alcoholism is a very wide spread problem in Kerala. There is a lot of potential in the subject.If he can get to some of the root causes and expose the menace in a convincing manner, he can exert influence on the society.But the movie has not lived up to such standards in content but the choice of effort was right.

The execution is masterful for most part. However, the portion where the TV show peeps into the home of a plumber stood out ugly in the script.The plumber going for de- alcoholising does not excuse this.To make matters even worse,the hidden cam even shows the closet.From then on, the movie failed. After showing the changed plumber, mohanlal as the show host advices his TV audience and us the cinema audience on de-alcoholism.Very un-subtle.I would be truly surprised if the movie has convinced alcoholics to de-drink - very unlikely.Nobody gets fooled here - somebody deep within you has to be fooled emotionally for you to stop drinking. Lal stopped drinking when his friend dies in his hands. The viewer faces nothing at all.

The songs of the movie on the other hand are perfect. Excellent poetry . Excellent music. Excellent rendition. Touches you deeply and lingers on.

Cinematography is excellent too.The movie is a great watch.The high points are music , cinematography, mohanlal, short but excellent performance by Tilakan and the failure point is that I don't see the movie exerting influence on alcoholics.

Mohanlal stars as Raghunandan, a narcissistic genius and philosopher who hosts a show called 'Show the Spirit', where he uncovers and unmasks political and authority figures through well crafted interviews, with the help of thoroughly researched background checks.

He is also a compulsive alcoholic who has a shattered family life, his wife having divorced him earlier due to his drinking. However, he shares a healthy relationship with her and her current husband. But his constant alcoholism and air of superiority makes him obnoxious and irritating.

The movie is about him realizing how addicted he has become to alcohol and how he decides to move away from it.

The movie's not perfect - The show 'Show the Spirit' in its shown format is just surreal; there is no real incentive for guests to come and participate in it simply to be ripped apart. Since the show is said to be a huge hit, any potential guest should be aware of what they're in for.

Another issue is that there is no evidence to the claim that Raghunandan is a genius. It is shown that everyone accepts this premise, but there is nothing exceptional in what he says/ does that would allow us to buy in to the claim.

Alcoholism is portrayed very well, down to the the righteous indignation and lack of awareness of the extent of addiction. But the climactic experiment (I'm not saying what it is) is simply unrealistic. But overall, still a good movie. Very well made and with excellent, realistic performances all around.

After 5 years the biggest crowd puller combo of Malayalam cinema, Mohanlal-Ranjith, unites via Spirit. Even though the last couple of movies these two united where disasters Spirit had generated lot of curiosity & excitement thanks to Ranjith's last few films (Kayyoppu, Thirakadha, Paleri Manickyam, Pranchiyettan, Indian Ruppee) - The daring attempt to break free from the shackles of commercial cinema frame work & tell meaningful stories were evident in all these flicks, so Malayalam movie lovers were expecting a treat and their wish is granted to a larger extend via Spirit Spirit is the story of Raghunandan (Mohanlal). He is a severe alcoholic & people call him 'lotus' coz he is always 'drunk'. His wife (Kaniha) divorced him due to this & married Alex (Shankar Ramakrishnan), but the 3 still remain good friends. How certain incidents in his life change the attitude towards life & drinking is the crux of the story.

The film rests on the broad shoulders of acting genius Mohanlal & he has done an outstanding job as the drunkard Raghhunandan (We already know that nobody can beat him in the Drunken act in the whole wide world). But its not just a one man show there all the supporting cast were impressive and all of them got claps in one or more scenes. Shankar Ramakrishnan has made an impressive debut , thanks Ranjith for finding the actor in the talented writer/director, he has done full Justice to the rule which i believe was to be done by Prakashraj at the beginning.

A message-driven plot gives out food for thought. The sensitive topic of alcoholism has been brought to the screen before, but not with such charm. It has emotions, drama & humor.

Modern day life of an alcoholic takes a U-turn when he realizes the gravity of his condition. He sets out to do the impossible & the story continues. With very good performances by the lead actors, Spirit is one of the few best Malayalam cinemas of 2012.

BOTTOM LINE: Highly Recommended! Due to the essence of reality inculcated into the plot. You will feel delighted & enlightened after watching this flick.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES