Double Barrel

After watching Double Barrell a.k.a Eratta Kuzhal, opinions would be polar, i.e., either you will like it tremendously, or you will hate it. Many movie goers are not able to connect with the film. Reason being primarily the movie not following a template seen in malayalam or rather Indian cinema. Those who are familiar with Guy Ritchie's movies like snatch, Rock,n,rolla will appreciate the bold and tremendous attempt by the makers. This movie doesn't have your typical heroes, villains, love track and a comedy track. This is story of some really messed up mad characters coming together in a very mad script (there are many characters all of equal importance).

Honestly, I believe this movie is still ahead of its time in malayalam cinema. Audience might not be ready for such experiments. Like Padmarajan movies in the past, this will get its due in the years to come. Salute to Lijo Jose and Prithviraj for such a brave attempt. Please do not stop what you are doing based on the box-office returns, because you are doing right stuff.

Double Barrel aka Iratta Kuzhal is a comedy movie from the director Lijo Pellissery,the film is packed with excellent visual experience and certainly a masterpiece by the film maker, action and black comedy combination is a new experience for south Indian viewers such an experience is seen only in Hollywood. Its similar to Django Unchained in some sense but different in other.

Directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery

Produced by Prithviraj, Santhosh Sivan, Arya, Shaji Nadesan

Written by Lijo Jose Pellissery

Starring Prithviraj, Arya, Indrajith, Asif Ali, Sunny Wayne, Swathi Reddy, Isha Sharvani, Pearle Maaney

Music by Prashant Pillai

Cinematography Abhinandan Ramanujan

Production Company: August Cinema

Distributed by August Cinema, E4Events & Nanma International (Asia Pacific)

Release dates: August 28, 2015

Language Malayalam

Budget US$2.4 million .The cast of the movie have ultra modern look and its a retro styled movie like the "DOUBLE BARREL GUN" it self.

An extra ordinary effort taken film in Malayalam industry, New styles and linguistics coming in, and should say it's one of the first films in Malayalam industry to bring in a thematic absurdness of life through such intensified scenes. Hats off to the whole team!

Lijo Jose Pellisery's "Double Barrel" A.K.A " Eratta Kuzhal which was under production since early 2014 was undoubtedly the most anticipated Mollywood movie of 2015 from my side due to a wide range of reasons,a few being its whooping budget of around 16 crores,the sound technical crew headed by Lijo and of course the presence of an ensemble star-cast including my favourite actor Prithviraj Sukumaran alongside Indrajith,Arya and Asif Ali.

A gangster spoof at the first place,Double Barrel is beyond doubt a brave attempt from Lijo Jose Pellisery who has comeout with something different every time he wielded the megaphone.Even though there's still big room for improvement as far as a smooth experience is concerned,Double Barrel,which gives the feeling of reading a comic book will not letdown at least a small section of the movie buffs who love experimental flicks.

For a close viewer who loves films from the directors of the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie,Double Barrel is sure to find a place in the heart with its technical integrity and unorthodox treatment devoid of clichéd elements that we usually come across in films.Visuals by Abhinandan Ramanujan making use of Red Dragon Camera deserves a special mention for the perfection in each frame.Action choreography and visual effects utilized during the shootout sequences too were really impressive but editing by Sathyaraj was pretty mediocre resulting in lack of continuity in between the narration.Music by Prashant Pillai was suiting the narration,but none of the songs can qualify for repeated hearing.The background score by himself was impressive.

The slow pace of the narration and inherent lag along with quiet a few numbers that backfired will surely evoke negative response from a major section of the audience and as such a box office success seems laborious for the makers,which was expected once the promos were out.The second half in particular is a roller coaster ride with impressive and sombre sequences tallying with each other resulting in a mixed response once the end credits start to roll on screen.Maybe too much experimentation with the narration keeps the movie far from the reach of the normal mass audience who are looking to chillout for sometime this festival season.

Coming to the performances,Prithviraj Sukumaran and Indrajith pulled off the humorous characters Pancho and Vinci convincingly,evoking laughs with their hilarious antics.The foreign actor who portrayed the role of Blacky was refreshing and received claps for his Malayalam version dialogues.Vijay Babu was impressive as Billy.Arya,Sunny Wayne and Chemban Viniod were adequate.Asif Ali had very little screen presence,but did his part well.Among others Rachana Narayanankutty,Sabumon Abdusamad,Pearle Maaney,Sajid Yahiya etc did their job well.

Overall,Double Barrel is a bold experiment that's targeted at a niche audience who love avant-garde film making.Nothing more nothing less!! Verdict::August Cinemas's latest endeavour Double Barrel is a rarity in an Industry like Mollywood where experiments come in less number.The 158 long gangster spoof is a roller-coaster ride with its fare share of ups and downs,so my advice is to try it at your own risk if you have taste for experimental movies.

It's a wonderful experimental movie in Malayalam. Do not watch the film with great expectations. But, this film entertains you in a different way. This film made in strategy called comic fiction.