Veeram

I found it so difficult to sit through this movie. From the start, I just couldn't get into it.

The acting was terrible, it was weird to see the dialogues coming from the actors' mouths. It was so obvious that they were not saying the dialogue. And there is practically no expression on the faces of the three main actors. Kunal Kapoor looks the part, but it felt very strange to hear him speaking the slang. I must say the dubbing artists have done a good job.

The technical aspects were very good. While it is clear that it is green screen, it still looks good.

Overall, I have rarely seen a movie brought down so much by the casting. With better casting, I think this movie could have been a commercial hit.

Jayaraj's "Veeram" is the adaptation of the Shakespearian tragedy "Macbeth" into the story of "Chandu Chekavar" from Kerala folklore. It is the costliest Malayalam movie till date. It stars Kunal Kapoor, Shivajith Nambiar, Himarsha Venkatsamy and Divina Thakur in lead roles. The director successfully uses the narrative of "Macbeth" to present the story of Chandu. The dialogues (in North Malabar slang) were brilliant. The cinematography is another highlight of the movie. The locations were visually appealing though they do not seem to match the description of Kerala in "Vadakkan Pattukal". The fight scenes involving the martial art "Kalarippayattu" were well choreographed. All lead actors had undergone training in the martial art for almost a year and it turned out to be critical in the perfection of fight sequences and the warrior-like body language of characters. But when it comes to acting, there are no exceptional performances to talk about.

"Veeram" never deviates from its track and the director was brave enough to exclude songs from the movie. It begins in the same way as "Macbeth". The reasons for Chandu's indignation towards Aaromal were not explored in this movie. It could have been done; considering that the movie is only about 100 minutes long. Yes; those are familiar to the Malayali audience but "Veeram" is a multilingual made on a larger canvas.

In short, "Veeram" is a landmark in the history of Malayalam cinema. It is the work of a genius who connected the life of an anti-hero from the folklore of Kerala with that of another from a western world classic; both of whom were ambitious and brave but met with tragic ends.

VEERAM tells an ancient Indian lore which bears resemblance to the story of Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

The movie substantially follows the same plot, even quoting nearly verbatim what is the perhaps most famous quote of that play ("Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."). The setting, however, is in ancient India and the context provides a window into ancient Indian culture.

The movie is a visual spectacle: the cinematography, production design, costume design and fight choreography are all first-rate. It is a joy just to behold the gorgeous imagery which effectively evokes this ancient mystical culture of North Malabar, a region in southwest India.

It was interesting also to learn about Kalari, an ancient martial art which is nearly 3000 years old, and watch well-choreographed fights involving the Urumi, a dangerous sword with a flexible, tape-like blade.

Alas, the film is not perfect.

Except for some of the main characters, including the antihero, most of the cast had a wooden delivery, which was amplified by the Indian accents of the actors.

Also, the editing was at times too choppy; it made it sometimes harder to follow the events, especially for someone not familiar with ancient Indian culture,

Nevertheless, this is a worthwhile film for anyone interested in Macbeth, ancient Indian culture or historical drama in general.

I was totally disappointed after watching the movie. the technical side of the movie is brilliant, with so much of money, effort and resources involved the team could've made the film more worthwhile. The narration and storytelling of the movie is very vague, and I sincerely didn't feel or care for the characters. lot of scenes and dialogues felt so made up and pretentious, could have been better if more and more time was spend on kalaripayattu training sessions, and the dialogue delivery training. Editing could have covered up many more flaws in the movie.

Visuals and vfx are totally brilliant, great looking cast(not equally brilliant with acting, but could've been lot lot better with time and patience, am sure they are talented), cinematography, music felt good.

Too much expectation could break your heart. The theatrical edition i just watched is not worth the hype, effort, or the crew's reputation.

Just forget the Malayalam movie "Oru Vadakkan Veeragaadha" and then watch this movie as a modern day stage play captured on film. The cinematography is beyond words and gives a surreal experience along with the background music. The predictability of the story and the lack of drama element may disappoint a large group of viewers. Had the maker kept the connection of the movie with Macbeth, there would have been a surprise element which could have fixated the viewers till the end. The movie gives a better experience in movie theatre environment.