Churuli

Churuli is checkpoint in Malayalam cinema The film explores the same wild instincts in man and in a favourable environment it pops out alone with elements of SciFi and as always it's well directed well shot and well edited (keeps up the regular LJP standard in all technical aspects).. But the catch is it demands it undivided attention and deep inside thinking so for some mediocre folks its just a 'theri padam'

I'll try to keep my review as short and spoiler free, and I suggest those who really really would like to read a review before watching the movie to only read this. The film is best experienced first hand, without any pre-notions.



I am really happy to be one of the very few people to watch the world premiere at the 25th IFFK at Thiruvananthapuram, and in one word the film could be explained as mind-blowing. This is not the ordinary Malayalam cinema, this is a whole new world of ideas. Since the movie has not yet been released to the public, let me just summarize it in this: Lijo does something really confusing that leaves us stuck. Apparently I feel that that was his aim too. He wants the viewers to be trapped in the spiral or Churuli he created. Each time you think about the movie, you find something new, and it again traps you in the whirlpool. And that concept is just wow, he did that perfectly. And I say this loud and clear, only malayalam industry could attempt such brave experiments. One of the best movie industries in the world.

Keep a special attention to the story said at the beginning (which is present in the trailer too), personally I felt that that was a fourth-wall breaking story. Yes, the audience are as much part of the film as the cast . As Lijo himself said: "This is not a Cinema, this is a Churuli(Spiral/Whirlpool)".

This was one of the movie that I was rooting for. I actually liked the movie but I wasn't satisfied. It is a well made movie with interesting characters and a mystery element throughout the movie. After watching the movie there are a lot of questions that I felt was unanswered. Questions like who are they and why is it happening and how does this thing happen and all sort of questions like that. Unlike other movies of LJP like Jallikattu where it had no closure, I was satisfied because I was able to find a philosophical or metaphorical answer to all the events happened in the movie. But here I didn't find any answers. Maybe I' wrong. But I really wanted to know more about the characters.

It is worth watching for the amazing cinematography, acting and direction and all the technical aspects. This was one of a kind movie to be honest.

One thing's for sure - Lijo Jose Pellissery isn't the kind of filmmaker interested in spoon-feeding the audience. His films are doused in metaphors and allegories, and Churuli is no different. Would you call it a thinking viewer's film? Nope. Because there is a deliberate attempt for the proceedings to stop making sense beyond a point. It all harks back to the mythical plot that the film opens with - the story of a monk who's misled into an unending spiral by a fey creature. LJP mounts the film in a fantastic forested landscape - Madhu Neelakantan's frames are a total feast for the eyes, punctuated occasionally by Sreerag Saji's minimalist score. Renganaath Ravee's sound design also deserves special mention.

The film's absurdity begins the moment a jeep crosses a derelict bridge carrying the two (undercover cop) protagonists played by Vinay Forrt and Chemban Vinod. The initially friendly residents of Churuli, all of a sudden, turn hostile and begin hurling abuses at each other. Heck, if this film was given to the Censors, they would have had a tough time beeping out words from almost every dialogue. I had a jolly time reading (and observing) the PG-13 English subtitles of every cuss word mentioned in the film. Jokes aside, the foul-mouthed nature of Churuli's residents stands out as yet another metaphor for lawlessness. Anything goes, from an old lady suddenly coming at you with an axe to celestial bodies flying across the sky at night to randomly shooting someone's ear off only for him to joke about it - it's chaotic the way only LJP movies can get!

Yet, when you think the quirkiness can't advance any further, the climax of Churuli is even more bonkers. It treads that thin line between science fiction and over-the-top fantasy, not giving itself entirely into either. If you feel dazed and confused about what you have just watched, you may not be the only one. But come to think of it, LJP already gave you the short synopsis in the first place. It's you, the viewer, who was simply taken for a ride. I liked Churuli for the most part - it has the director's stamp in almost every department. Given the nature of the film, I wouldn't vouch for anyone else to feel what I felt watching it. At the very least, it's not calculative; it's not predictable (at all).

From the opening narration of a fictional folk tale and a casual mention in one of the initial scenes about a couple of Americans being taken by aliens, Churuli sets its base for an absurd and abstract atmospheric film. That's exactly what the film is until the end, with its foul-mouthed bas**** of the Churuli village living unhinged. Is it a village isolated and observed as a free-living cult by the couple of aliens who appears a couple of times? Is the constant deja vu for many characters because of a time loop? Does the "Madan" change its host from time to time? Who knows. It's not about finding the answer, it's the journey through all that, the experience that counts here.

Didn't think the profanity is as bad as everyone makes it to be. Nor did I think the movie wants to confuse everyone either. Only because the people are so conditioned to have a story with all answers in it, people are confused, if only people stop trying to find a definite answer and find the experience of different possibilities, it would be much more entertaining and less confusing.