Big Brother

Writer-director Siddique seems to be completely ignorant about the (positive) changes that Malayalam cinema has undergone in the last decade. His solo outings have all been dreadful (yes, including Hitler, Chronic Bachelor, and everything else); Big Brother is probably the worst film he has made thus far. Siddique, someone who's known for his light comedies, ventures into the pure action genre yielding disastrous results.

The screenplay throws a couple of interesting curveballs at the viewer in the beginning. A prisoner who has been out-of-touch with the modern world for more than two decades (re)adjusting to his family surroundings is actually not such a boring concept, to begin with. If the treatment had been decent, we could have still had a not-bad entertainer in our hands. But with Siddique's intention purely to package Mohanlal as some initially-subdued-but-way-larger-than-life dude (with even night-vision capabilities) named Sachidanandan, the film heads nowhere.

The supporting cast doesn't have much to do. Sarjano Khalid overacts on a lot of occasions, Anoop Menon is barely there, and Arbaaz Khan's lipsync is way off (looks like he was mouthing his lines in Hindi itself with actor Vineeth's voice dubbed over his, during re-recording). The trio of cronies (played by Irshad, Tini Tom, and Vishnu Unnikrishnan) is also okay at best. This time around, the comedy quotient is far too less (even for Siddique's standards) and more emphasis is given to the numerous uninteresting set-pieces.

The key female characters (if you can call them that) also don't have anything substantial to do. The way the movie explains the Stockholm Syndrome was downright laughable. Deepak Dev comes up with a set of forgettable songs and moody background score (the same guy did impressive work in 'Lucifer' just to recall). With a hotchpotch of a screenplay and a butt-numbing run-time of 165 minutes, Big Brother proves to be a complete snoozefest.

I was never fond of the individual films directed by Siddique. Even if it is critically acclaimed Friends, Hitler or Chronic Bachelor or flops like Ladies & Gentleman & Fukri. For the first time Siddique directs an action film entirely, which turns out to be a disastrous experience for both the viewers and die hard Mohanlal fans. The plot involves Mohanlal being released from prison after serving a sentence of 24 years. How a socially awkward Mohanlal reacts with the changes is shown in the first half of the film after which he portrays a messiah type role in the second half of the film.

All the cliches which were shown in the blockbusters of the past has been repeated in this snooze fest with over the top action sequences which would put Telugu movies in shame as well.

Despite these drawbacks Mohanlal stands out with his performance but it makes viewers wonder why does he have to act in such a film despite achieving all kind of laurels. Among the supporting cast the trio of Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Tini Tom & Irshad enact their parts well meanwhile the other supporting actors like Anoop Menon, Siddique, Asif Basra & Arbaaz Khan are wasted because of the shoddy script and lack of character development.

It is high time that a director like Siddique stops relying on his past laurels and start working on developing a better script (for inspiration let him see Joshiy's latest work). Regarding Mohanlal, it is better that he starts selecting better scripts rather than working in disasters like Neerali, Ittymani or Big Brother after giving hopes of vintage Mohanlal after acting in films like Puli Murugan, Odiyan or Lucifer.

(Last year began with a dud like Mikhael, this year/decade began with a bigger disaster like Big Brother which should be seen at your own risk. It is also sad that Malayalam Film Industry is declining in the number of quality films even in comparison with a smaller regional film industry like Marathi which produced one of the greatest political film in recent times)

I have never enjoyed the individual ventures directed by Siddique. Except for its humorous elements i did not enjoy his hits like Hitler, Friend or Bodyguard either. For the first time director ventures into an action film entirely. But the end result is a snooze fest and continues director's decline in making quality films. What the story promises and how the end result turns would even make die hard Mohanlal fans disillusioned with the film. The film entirely relies on the shoulder of Mohanlal but it dampens out because of its illogical action sequences and cliches involved. Among the supporting actors the trio of Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Tini Tom & Irshad enact their parts well but actors like Anoop Menon, Arbaaz Khan, Siddique, Asif Basra are wasted in their respective roles despite the potential.

Last year began with a snooze fest like Mikhael. This year and decade begins with a bigger debacle like Big Brother. Director Siddique should take inspiration from director's like Joshiy in reinventing their films according to audience's present liking. Also Mohanlal should become more selective in films rather than acting in disastrous films of such nature. It is a pity that legends like Mammootty and Mohanlal have to act in such films when their contemporaries in other regional film industry or bollywood are trying reinvent themselves with unconventional roles.

Mr siddique if you are ever reading this, please stop writing disaster plots which even the actors and crew are laughing at. I mean there should be atleast one person who should have told him it's a unwatchable miserable experience for the viewers. I think I can make a better plot with the same element of mohanlal being a released convict. Seriously there are minimum 4 plots that would make sense for the movie. It's really disappointing to see you aren't able to recreate once good moments in movies you used to make.

Why this exists. Given headache.Its a normal movie and why we watch normal movie in theatre.