Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol

When was the last time we saw Lalettan as a down to earth family person — a caring husband and loving father? Of course, last year's Telugu blockbuster, Janatha Garage is one, but I would consider it as the latest in the list inspired from 1972 classic - The Godfather. So it was in Drishyam (2013) which re wrote most of the collection records in Malayalam cinema that we saw Mohanlal as a family man — a role which he plays with ease and excels like any other. Mohanlal always plays it safe with directors — we don't frequently see him associating with debutants or relatively newcomers and this is one factor which differentiates the two big Ms of Malayalam cinema. So when the film was announced with Jibu Jacob as the director whose debut film Vellimoonga was a surprise hit at the box office along with M Sindhuraj as the script writer, I had my doubts — 75% of which went wrong as I walked out of the hall after watching the film. Based on a short story Pranayopinashath by V J James, MVT narrates the tale of Panchayat Secretary Ulahanan played by Mohanlal and his wife Annie played by Meena. The screenplay captures various moments in their lives, mostly at the Panchayat office and the housing colony. Ulahanan is a middle-aged government employee, a man quite used to the boredom of middle age and his life is about home and office. Mohanlal plays this portion extremely well, with an annoyed face, salt and pepper hairstyle and a stubble. Anoop Menon, Alencier Ley Lopez, and Kalabhavan Shajohn play the roles of Ulahanan's neighbor's cum friends. The film after establishing the characters takes a turn when Ulahanan attends a college reunion, where he realizes its the absence of love and passion that's making his life boring. The flirt Venukuttan, played by Anoop Menon advises Ulahanan to get a girlfriend and Neha Saxena's Julie is introduced. Thanks to the script writer and director, the voluptuous Julie doesn't have that much of a screen time and the role is like an extended cameo. The character, however, is important in the screenplay as Julie is the reason for Ulahanan to realize that his LIFE is his WIFE which is the film's tag line — My Life is My Wife. The middle- age romance between Ulahanan and Annie is beautiful though their reconciliation scenes was a bit melodramatic and dialogue clichéd which were booed by the audience. This forms the crux of the story and we are presented with various cute moments from their lives along with sub plots and a convincing climax.The film was actually set for a Christmas release, however, was delayed by the theater strike in Kerala. Among the cast, other than Mohanlal, Meena impresses again. She once again proves that, among the contemporary actors, she is the best leading lady for Mohanlal. She is one of those rare actresses who gets/chooses script backed, performance oriented entertainers even after the comeback. Their combination is great and the same magic which we saw in Drishyam is more or less present here too, with Meena getting more screen time. Manju Warrier too would have excelled in this role, I guess. Aima and Sanoop play their kids. Aima does a decent job, especially at the climax while Sanoop has nothing great to do. Anoop Menon is a talent wasted. Venukuttan is a role that can be easily played by someone like Aju Varghese or so. Sharafuddin who plays the office assistant Reji, Suraj Venjaramoodu who plays the President, Sudheer Karamana who plays Chalakan all makes into the list of underutilized talents. I was glad to see Bindu Panicker on screen after a pretty long gap. Malayalam cinema is always known for its content and this film is no different. On the technical side, cinematography by Pramod K Pillai and editing by E S Sooraj is okay, nothing extra ordinary there. Music of this film is a big let down as none of the music directors — Bijipal nor M Jayachandran has offered a hum-worthy/catchy song. The visualizations of the songs, however, make up for the shortcoming as the audience is kept engaged to an extend. Bijipal's BGM was, however, satisfactory. I was not a fan of M Sindhuraj as a scriptwriter and this film doesn't prove me wrong. Many of the dialogues were clichéd and scenes unwanted. The film needs a bit of trimming here and there. MVT is typical Sathyan Anthikad type film — no suspense, twists or surprises, yet we are kept engaged till the end. The biggest positive of the film is that it doesn't get preachy anywhere, though there were ample moments for that in the film. The story line is highly predictable though the climax was a good one. The topics of extra marital affairs, teenage infatuations, and frictions in the marriage have been told and tested before and its the presentation and the lea pair's extraordinary chemistry that did the job here. Yet there were some highly melodramatic scenes and clichéd dialogues which were welcomed with boos by the audience and I seriously feel its time to say good bye to those sentimental scenes as not even a single scene are left without being booed. And not to miss the ending sequence where Mohanlal quotes the Bible, a quote remembered by the Malayalam audience for the great storyteller Padmarajan and his classic Namukku Parkan Munthirithoppukal. Also, it's not quite common to see novel or short story adaptations in Malayalam and the very latest one which I can recollect is Ranjith's Leela which was, of course, not made for the common audience. To conclude, after the thrilling Oppam and high voltage Pulimurugan, Mohanlal had made the right choice of Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol. The film's USP is Mohanlal and the Mohanlal Meena chemistry, go for it, you may miss the star but the actor definitely won't disappoint you.

Its one of the best movie's of 2017 with complete proper mixture of emotions and moral message to youth and family My rating- 4/5

Positives- 1.)Mohanlal (4/5), Meena(3.8/5) and Aima sebastin (4/5)- Mohanlal was the perfect choice and he does his role smoothly. Meena is best combo with mohanlal and here also works out well. Aima's role was good and she does it without any problems. And rest of the cast didn't disappoint me but sharaffudin's character couldn't bring any comedy to the screen and makers didn't utilize him and that disappointed me.

2.)Direction( 4.3/5),Script(4.4/5) and story (4.5/5)- Direction went smooth from Jibu Jacob. He once again proved like his previous movie(vellimoonga). His direction didn't bore the audience and he also succeeded in making emotional scenes effective also those few thrill scenes were rightly made.

Script by Sindhuraj was excellent and he succeeded in adding comedy to this emotional family drama. He also succeeded in not boring the audience and he surprised me because his last few outings weren't that great. Story was also good and thought provoking.

3.)Songs and bgscore (3.3/5) 3.)Cinematography (3/5) 4.)Edits (3/5) 5.)Good message to family and youth Negatives- 1.) Didn't utilize great comedian sharafuddin properly (Thats the only negative i found and they could have given him few comedy dialogues to make his role funfilled) Is it a must watch? Yes, its a must watch with your family.

Overall- This movie surprised me a lot because its overall packaging was excellent and it was a moving movie without any lag scenes. Its a perfect family movie and please do watch it.

My rating- 4/5 (for more reviews go to- Ridinbal movie reviews

When cinematographer Jibu Jacob forayed into direction with Vellimoonga in 2014, everyone in the Malayalam film industry, including the audience, noticed. It was a triumph at political satire supported by the talented Biju Menon. Two years later, with this family drama, despite being supported by the complete actor, the fact that no one knew about Jacob before that in his 13-year long career gains some substantiation.

Set in a middle-class neighborhood in a developing panchayat in Kerala, Ulahannan (Mohanlal) is a middle-aged, burly man who heads the local admin office. He is married to Annie (Meena), a homemaker and equally burly in stature who has gifted him two children, Jini (Aima Sebastian) and Jerry (Sanoop Santhosh). The family collectively lead a smooth life with minimum interactions between each other, but the biggest victim of this lack of interaction seems to be the patriarch of the family. Ulahannan is thus perceived as a reticent, aloof government employee who even keeps his handful of friends at a distance - be it at the workplace or at one of his colony building's terrace where adult men get together by evening to down few ounces and engage in casual banter. However, there is a deeper theme that the film tries to focus on: Ulahanna's distance from his own wife, and how that affects not only their matrimonial life (sex, too, if you are wondering) but also the lives of the remaining family members. M Sindhuraj's story then takes its audience to a lukewarm ride into these characters, their friends, their kin, and some unrelated people. Everything, to convey a point or two about the importance of uncensored love in a family.

At first look, you would think it's similar to Khalid Rahman's 2016 drama, Anuraga Karikkin Vellam, but then you chuck that thought off and compare it with Jeethu Joseph's 2013 path-breaking crime drama, Drishyam. Ulahannan's character looks underdeveloped, but his feelings of desolation and melancholy are relevant and viewers may be able to relate with it, especially married people. However, the transition that he makes from being this snobby husband to a starry-eyed toyboy is unnatural. Of course, there are external stimuli to this transition, and the makers may term it as the "instant effect of love", but character development is still a thing in modern cinema. It was like Mohanlal got a cue from the director, and there he goes inverting his gloomy face.

The story essentially tries to explore the complacency of middle-class family life. Ulahannan does not want to make things right, but is rather forced by that external stimuli (thanks to Neha Saxena and Asha Sarath's characters). Cannot be called a flaw per se, but it makes the whole film look like a skit that should have been presented and done with in 20 minutes. In fact, that becomes plain when in the second half, the family hop from one tourist destination to another just to kill time and bore its audience with the ridiculously expanded 160-minute play. In addition to the major theme of family life problems, there is this preachy peach that director Jacob covers the sweet and sour grape-flavored cake with at the end. Nonetheless, this too relates with the primary theme, which goes on to say that if there is a lack of plain-spoken love between the heads of the family, it will affect the foundation of the whole family.

Regardless of everything, the makers have to be lauded for slyly incorporating 51 shades of gray into this genre. Throughout the draggy yet palpable film, writer Sindhuraj shoots these tiny packets of fruity dialogues, innuendos, and references in the form of grapefruit pulp that dissolve in your mouth. Family dramas about husbands and wives have been made in Mollywood before, but these sexual innuendos in one which is directed at the whole family, and which has been received with open hands by the people so far, including those vigilante purists, is a mark of development.

The whole cast perform very well and help in the ripening of the grapes. Central man Lal puts up a good show, reminiscent of his role in Drishyam and Rosshan Andrrews's Evidam Swargamanu (2009), but crosses the line of overacting during that transition period. Meena steals the limelight hands down with her flawless portrayal of a sweet wife. The supporting cast is great, with some appreciable performances by Alencier Lopez, Kalabhavan Shajon, and Srinda Ashab. Sebastian's parents must be influential people, for there can't be any other reason for her to be cast in such an important role. She was a liability both in Manu Kannamthanam's Dooram (2016) and Vineeth Sreenivasan's Jacobinte Swargarajyam (2016). Special pat to Anoop Menon for finally doing a role that suits him - a typical Malayali envious of his neighbors. The makers couldn't have asked more from Ashab as his on-screen wife. A good part of the film explores their problems as Menon's character fools around with women just like Ulahanna DOES NOT with the political samples that sit outside his office ready to grease his hands. From one perspective, the lead cast just look like people in the backseat.

Jacob's characters indulge too much into whatever they are trying to indulge in. The political shade was not really necessary, but then again you cannot tell a Kerala-based story without protesting for the CM to resign, can you? But, there is no escape from the hollow second half which shifts the focus wholly onto Sebastian's character as she tries to read Frost. It is sure that married men and women out there who are in the middle of a mid-life crisis will cower at the end of their seats and envy at this on-screen couple.

BOTTOM LINE: Jibu Jacob's "Munthirivallikal Thalirkumbol" is a breezy, feel-average film directed mainly at middle-aged couples who are experiencing knotted complacency in their matrimonial lives. Wait for DVD and then rent it.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Frankly, the only reason why I go to a Mohanlal movie is because my mum is a fan. She tries to catch up with any of his releases and the whole family tags along. When's the last time I saw a really good Lal movie? Maybe it's Pulimurugan. Although I liked his performance in it, I was disappointed with some of the vulgar dialogues in that movie. And that's what concerns me about any of Lal's releases. Many directors who cast him show him to be flirtatious(either in body language or dialogues) to the point that can leave the viewers uncomfortable or there could be some character in many of his movie who indulges in vulgar lines. There are exceptions like directors Priyadarshan or Sathyan Anthikad but most of the rest who cast Lal like to show him as a womaniser in a way to just titillate the male audience. With disappointment, I must say there's too much of it in this movie also, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol.

Somewhere in the movie is a nice message for teens and their parents but weak execution turns this work into finally an average watch. The first half has few unnecessary scenes where characters even talk silly about the institution of marriage, the second half is not much better too and again Lal's character here is partially a womaniser and portrayed in such a manner on screen that can leave the female audience slightly annoyed or uncomfortable. And even the message to the teens is not driven home clearly. There's lots of flirty talk and scenes between a couple in the movie, then comes the message to their teenage kid not to indulge in such behavior until she is an adult, and followed again by flirty scenes between the couple!

There's one or two nice songs but finally, I felt so disappointed to see Mohanlal's characterisation here that I forget the positives(some comedy, good performances from the entire cast) in the movie easily.

But, finally I'd say go ahead if you're a hardcore Mohanlal fan or else you're not gonna miss much.

Director Jibu Jacob has already showcased his artistry in narrating light-hearted family entertainers with his debut flick "Vellimoonga" that made big numbers at the Mollywood box office back in 2014.Munthirivallikal Thalirkumbol follows the same simple narrative style and presents a pretty decent cinematic version of the short novel 'Pranayopanishad' written by award winning novelist V.T.James who's well known for his literary works such as 'PurappadintePustakam' and 'Nireeshwaran'.

I had already read the story prior to watching the film and as such I must say Sindhuraj's screenplay has more or less succeeded in penning a breezy screenplay around the simple storyline that could have easily gone astray on the path of adaptation into a full-length feature film.The screenplay has managed to give justice to he characters from the novel that put forward a relevant message about importance of romance in marital life and the impact that it has on the younger generation.

The first 20-25 minutes of the movie was rather dull and aimless,which was luckily made up in the course of the narration.There was no looking back once the main plot was introduced and Jibu succeeded in presenting a clean family entertainer in a realistic manner that make it easily connectable for the majority of the movie going audience.Further it must be noted that no big deal of lag was felt at any point of narration even though the narrative is devoid of any surprise element or twists whatsoever.

On the negative side,few trivial characters,sub plots and lengthy sequences could have been trimmed off for increasing the consistency of the narrative.The similarity of the plot with films like 'Anuraga Karikkin Vellam' didn't turn a stumbling block in enjoying the presentation due to good performance from the cast and neat narration by Jibu.

The actor inside Mohanlal was exploited well by Jibu,the result being a remarkable performance from the legendary actor who won hearts yet again with his million dollar trademark mannerisms.Meena played the character of Mohanlals's wife impressively and the hit combination of Meena and Mohanlal worked out well yet again after the 2013 blockbuster Drishyam.Anoop Menon gave a neat performance alongside Alencier,Kalabhavan Shajon etc who did their job well.Aima Rosmy Sebastian who made an impressive debut with Jacobinte Swargarajyam gave a neat performance.The character played by Suraj Venjaramood was inconsequential and easily avoidable.Sharafudeen couldn't shine in the few minutes of screen-time that he was alloted.

Songs composed by Bijibal and M.Jayachandran were just passable and doesn't qualify for repeated hearing.Background score by Bijibal himself was okayish.Frames by Pramod K. Pillai were good.Sooraj E.S did a neat job with the editing.

Overall,Munthirivallikal Talirkumbol is a simple,feel-good entertainer worth a try from the silver-screen.

Final Verdict::Expectations were naturally high from Munthirivallikal Thalirkumbol,being the immediate release of Mohanlal after box office blockbuster "Pulimurugan" which shattered all the existing box office records by epic proportion.Keeping the expectations upto a good extent,MVT is nevertheless a satisfactory entertainer that offers a delightful watch for the families and those who are longing to see vintage Lalettan on the big screen.Give it a try !