Considered a cult classic, Thampi Kannanthanam's most successful film, this crime drama, is just above average in retrospective.
Vincent Gomas (Mohanlal) is a highly influential underworld don who gets attracted to Nancy (Ambika), a small-time advocate. When she loses her job as a collateral damage due to Gomas' fault, he tries to compensate her financially. But, Nancy, for the woman with self- respect that she is, rejects his money and expresses her scorn for him and his illegal activities. Gomas adores her temperament without realizing that his arch-nemesis, Krishnadas (Ratheesh), the state home minister, is somehow related to her. The story then follows Gomas' rivalry with the minister as the duo use their own methods to finish each other.
The film is an engaging watch, thanks to its gritty story-line and dialogues which give you that expected adrenaline rush. Mohanlal is charming as the don in his vintage attire dressed to kill. He follows his director's directions effortlessly, and the result is pure entertainment. However, the editing is surprisingly sub-standard. Unlike other popular films of the era, the makers have paid little to no attention to the details or the continuity, which hugely affects the experience. There are lots of sequences which end abruptly or in a static image of the final scene of a certain sequence, with the audio booming in the background. We have to understand that modern filmmaking technology only arrived in the late 90s, but this could have been polished up a little bit more so as to carve out an evergreen affair.
Of course, this one can be watched multiple times just to relish those dialogues, now popular due to their repeated use in pop culture, but a real cinema enthusiast will frown at the overall execution. With some great performances and a tragic climax, Rajavinte Makan is one of those films which has received a cult following, but are just known because of what it led to: birth of a star we now know as "the complete actor".
BOTTOM LINE: Thampi Kannanthanam's "Rajavinte Makan" is a seemingly hot affair that must be watched by a Malayal cinema enthusiast at least once, for the fear of missing out on one of Mohanlal's legendary performances. Watch it on YouTube.
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES
