Kohinoor

Directed by Kili Poyi fame Vinay Govind, Kohinoor is a heist movie set in the late 80's. The movie is heavily stylized with references and situations from the 80's and it does succeed in invoking the 80's nostalgia and feel among the viewers.

The movie follows a bunch of people who plans a heist during the Christmas of 1988. Nothing much happens during the former half of the film as far as the heist is concerned. First half mainly functions to establish the characters, their motives, the heist proposal and planning, and subsequent preparations. The heist itself happens in the latter half of the movie, which is packed with lots of twists, turns & bumps as the story progresses. Too much of anything can spoil the party & the same happens in case of Kohinoor. The abundance of unnecessary plot twists screws the clever storyline. First few surprises were fine, but just as the viewers are digesting the first few twists, Kohinoor throws in a couple more surprises. In the end, I found myself trying to convince myself about the sensibilities of the frequent radical changes in the plot in the second half.

The casting was excellent. Indrajith, as usual gives a stellar performance. Asif Ali, sporting a new look, also does a great job in his role. Commendable effort from the supporting cast including Aju Varghese, Vinay Forrt and Chemban Vinod Jose. Aparna Vinod, who plays the role of the main character's love interest, has little to do. Without much dialogue, she manages the charm the audience with her occasional smiles and expressions.

The song's from the movie deserves much praise, and in fact, I would say 'Hemanthamen' song must be the best part of the whole movie. Sung by Vijay Yesudas, composed by Rahul Raj and penned by Harinarayanan B, the melody has a retro aspect to it that would bring in a lot of yesteryear memories for Malayalees. The other song that happens during the wedding is also good. The cinematography, editing and other technicalities are just fine.

It is indeed a well made movie but fails to hit the mark, owing to the untimely and unnecessary plot twists. The movie had a smart storyline and good casting, and with such potential, the movie could have been much more than what it really turned out to be.

Overall an enjoyable movie, worth a watch.

With too many incidents and detailing, the first half of the film turns out to be quite boring. But things get interesting in the second half when the mission starts. But the unending drama that goes on and on takes the steam away from the whole film.

The wedding song, in which 'Bhavana' comes in doing a cameo role, sticks out like a sore thumb. However, the song 'Hemanthamen'is top notch.

'AsifAli', who is also the producer of the film, looks good and convincing. He gets good support from a terrific supporting cast that includes 'AjuVarghese', 'Indrajith', 'ChembanVinod' Jose and 'VinayFort'. 'AparnaVinod', who plays the heroine, has nothing much to do, apart from some occasional smiles.

Kohinoor could be an okay fare, if you have the patience to sit through some of those scenes that tests your patience. One gets a feeling that this could be much better with some genuine trimming. Now decide on your own.

An entertaining Heist story from Vinay Govind, director of the first Malayalam stoner movie Kili Poyi.

Chemban Vinod, Indrajith and Sudheer Karamana steal the movie with their incredible performances..

Asif Ali and Vinay Fort are impressive though.

The movie is not without its flaws. At many parts the story stumbles, lags and unnecessarily digresses-but manages to return to the main heist plot and pace up the thrills in the next scene..The screenplay could have been much better in the middle part.

The most interesting aspect of the movie is the way it has created a retro style of the late 80's and 90's drawing numerous references from movies of the yesteryear.

The actress-a new comer has very little to do in the movie contrary to my expectations.

Anyways, an entertaining watch and much better than Sapthamashree Thaskara...

Kohinoor was one movie which I was highly anticipating because of its well-done posters,promos and songs.Set in the latter half of the golden era of 80s,the maiden venture of Adam's World Of Imagination is not an outright success as far as the expectation is taken into account,but somehow managed to keep the viewer in me satisfied with its lively second hour and the factor nostalgia throughout the narration.

The initial one hour is the weak-zone of Kohinoor where nothing consequential happens and the screenplay lacks the required intensity and dynamism a thriller demands from it.Luckily,the second half brings in the much needed energy once the focal point,the heist sequences are reached and saves the movie from being a disappointing output overall.

The twists galore in the final minutes reminds of Asif Ali's 'Bicycle Thieves' which I consider a better movie whole-together in comparison with Kohinoor for its overall neat presentation.Predictability of the twists is questionable and subject to the sentiments of each viewer,but I do feel the screenplay could have been more tight and without glitches.

Asif Ali and Indrajith Sukumaran were the pick among the cast and gave fine performances.The convincing portrayal of Louis is a testimony of how Asif Ali has improved as an actor in these 5 years.Aparna Vinod looked beautiful and did her part well.Chemban Vinod and Vinay Fort were impressive.

Art-Direction team can be proud for their comprehensive work recreating the 80s that has reflected well on big screen with the vintage 80's feel evident in the backdrop setting thorughout the narration.The use of BGM's,dialog references and costumes from yesteryear super-hits was impressive and helped the narration gain easy connect with the viewers.

Music by Rahul Raj was impressive with the song 'Hemanthamen' rendered by Vijay Yesudas being one among the best love songs to come out this year.The technical side of the movie was fine.

Overall,Kohinoor is a watchable heist-thriller without any notable freshness in narration.