Action Hero Biju

At the moment in Malayalam cinema, we have independent and experimental and new wave and creative films on one hand and masala entertainers and potboilers on the other. This film falls on neither, for it is a massively artistic venture by a team who previously gave us a film with similar undertones.

Biju (Pauly) is a smart, suave, learned, fit, righteous, and almost self-righteous human being with a paunch who shoved his bunch of educational degrees aside and signed up to become a policeman, now with a glamorous work history of five years. So when people come to him with problems aplenty, he turns his station into a court of sorts and begins his people-friendly (jana-mythiri?!) policing and somehow manages to settle those problems. Always. Whether by his severe bashing-up routine or by shaping his piercing mustache's burns so that the man in front of him pees without even opening his fly - Biju settles the case. That is the fictional tale of a policeman's work - and what the film is all about.

If you were to go to the Muvattupuzha police station and have a sneak peek, you wouldn't find Biju, nor would you find him or any policeman like him in Kadavanthara police station. Maybe in Angamaly? Nah. Why? Because what the makers have created here is a fictitious depiction of an ideal policeman, of course, with respect to the current times which are hard and harrowed. So while one cannot call the film a 'true case,' it definitely is entertaining if not believable.

Biju handles all sorts of cases: from drug busts to catching 'freaks' (or 'freakers') with afros and fade-in hairstyles, theft cases, family issues, and awkward love stories to name a few, which are all, unfortunately, the current topics doing the rounds in our police stations. The social touch given by the makers is absolutely relevant and true to the effect that we need policemen like Biju.

Nivin Pauly is, without a doubt, brilliant. Just brilliant in his portrayal of this suave and sharp cop who doesn't open his hands bare to be greased by henpecked ministers or those powerhouses that we see in other movies. He knows to smash words up their noses and still have no fear of suspension or transfer, because, did you forget, this is fiction! Venjaramoodu is good, but I won't call his portrayal great because it's his sympathy-attracting character that rolls the dice. We all know he is a good actor unless he starts blabbering 'valippu!'

I am straining on the film being a fiction not because other similar films aren't, but because the gist of the film lies in this fictionalization of a real-life character who we all see and sometimes (often due to bad things) encounter. As a result, it definitely has its flaws, but the clever elements employed in showcasing policemen at work without involving bureaucracy is the mastery the film reflects. However, people shouldn't believe everything that they see, and with this film, this warning becomes bolder. You will still be going through a plight and the worse days of your life if you are caught with a drug smuggler.

Well-directed and aptly shot sequences takes the audience on a field trip to not the life exactly, but the profession of a cop. The intricacies are shown to some extent and it causes joy. A newbie is cast as Biju's fiancée because all she does is talk to him on the phone in a montage that is more music than audio. But I won't blame anyone here, because if you observe the films coming out lately (since 2013), every other one has a new face for an actress. It's because films nowadays are filled with testosterone and mostly narrate stories centred on a male protagonist. Actresses are even behind supporting actors, only put there to satiate the male gaze or to add a romantic tone to the film. People may not even go to the cinemas if the film doesn't have an actress. Who's to blame? In this film's case, had there been no actress, I am pretty sure it wouldn't have done commercially as well as it is doing now or will do. Critics may take a note and appreciate it even, but the mass of people want the action hero to romance someone, and it cannot be a bark of a tree, now can it?

Coming back to the film, the background score is the best thing about the film. Reminding me of Hollywood crime dramas like Sicario (2015) and True Detective (TV; 2014), the score consisting of drums and bass amazingly drives the story forward like it is the fuel. And this score is played at the right junctures and adds considerably to the entertainment quotient. Rajesh Murugesan has never disappointed us, and in here, he proves his genius.

Overall, the film is a pure shine. Although it goes slightly off in the start of second half, there is not a single dull moment anywhere, not even during the songs. Shine really pulls off the story with great direction and clever attention to details.

BOTTOM LINE: Abrid Shine's Action Hero Biju is an artistic depiction of a fictional tale about an ideal policeman that is well-directed, well-written, and well-acted, proving once again that Nivin Pauly is the king of Malayalam cinema at the moment. Recommended!

GRADE: B-

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Since the evolution of Indian cinema, we have grown up watching police films where the cop is a superhero who singlehandedly takes down the corrupt system and crimelords. Also we have seen cops in negative light who misuse their power, takes bribe from others and acts as an aide for criminals. Many actors including Amitabh Bachchan became superstars by doing cop roles. In Malayalam, cop films of Suresh Gopi carved an image of police among the minds of Keralites. When police films were turning monotonous, here comes director Abrid Shine with his second directorial venture Action hero Biju breaking all the stereotypes of police cinema. It narrates the ride of S.I. Biju Poulose played by Nivin Pauly and the various petty and serious cases handled by him. Action hero Biju showcases how actually policemen work in real life and also shows what happens truly in a police station. This movie shows that police handle multiple cases at the same time rather than the entire focus being on a single case. Several cases come in this film in which some are funny, some emotional and some of them make you proud of Kerala police. Nivin Pauly gives a superb performance as Biju but sometimes falters in dialogue delivery when he mouths Suresh Gopi trademark dialogues. Anu Emmanuel has nothing to do, Joju was nice as Constable mini, rest of the cast were decent but the true show stealer is Suraj Venjaramoodu who in just two scenes proved what he is capable of. The only drawback you will naturally find is that it has no story. From start to finish it continuously shows several cases coming to Biju. But this would be the first film which I wouldn't mind if it has no story. Except pookal pannineer pookal, all songs composed by Jerry amal dev are forgettable. Even the placement and picturization of pookal pannineer song is not apt. On the whole, Action hero Biju is not for those who expect over the top police film but for those who are open to accept a realistic and fresh police film. Note: My dad does not like much the new gen malayalam films and prefers only old malayalam films. But action hero Biju is his favorite films of recent times and loves watching it whenever it comes on TV.

Action Hero Biju was among the most anticipated Malayalam movies in the recent times that generated huge pre-release buzz unlike any other mollywood movie in some years,even outside the state,being the immediate release of Nivin Pauly after the all-time-block-buster 'Premam' and the second directorial venture of Abrid shine who tasted both critical and commercial success with '1983'.The songs,second set of posters and theatrical trailer changed the total outlook about the film from being an action thriller to a realistic drama and naturally the hype was reduced to an extent,but somehow didn't reflect in the theatrical release that's huge considering the availability of screens for a Malayalam film in the present scenario.

"A Ride With A Police Officer" - the tag-line sums up the 145 minutes of narration that portrays the life of a normal police officer (played by Nivin Pauly) whom we may have met or might meet at least once in our lifetime.The character S.I Biju Paulose may look familiar to a good share of the audience and reminds us of ordinary policemen who are far from the larger than life cinematic depictions that we have come across in numerous films in the past.

Almost 75% of the movie have been shot inside the police station and a large number of petty cases are interpreted in between and how our protagonist Biju deals with these cases forms the crux of the storyline.

There are numerous moments to laugh and enjoy in the first half and the screenplay by Abrid Shine and Muhammad Shafeeq could succeed in taking the storyline forward well until it lost the grip some minutes into the second half where the narration lost its pace distastefully.On the positive side,Abrid managed to regain the lost drive in narration with course of time upto an extent and end the film on a passable,if not satisfactory note.Still,the fact remains that a better second half could have made this an altogether better cinematic experience.

In a way the movie is presented as a tribute to all the heroic police officers in the department who are willing and ever-ready to serve the needy,being a sign of hope that's always with and for the common people.Additionally a large number of socially relevant issues are touched and the social commentary involved went well even though a large number of dialogs felt preachy and defenseless due to the voice modulation of Nivin that doesn't suit that of a strict police officer that he is.

Nivin Pauly was good in the role of Biju,but couldn't work wonders like in Premam here as his voice failed to match the authority of the dialogs and it felt as if this might limit his decision to experiment with different genres and to handle more powerful characters with depth unlike the ones he has presented till now.Anu Emmanuel comes in 3-4 scenes and was totally wasted.The show-stealer in the movie was Suraj Venjaramood who gave a mind-blowing act even though his role was minimal-a testimony on his range of acting indeed! Joju George,Kalabahvan Shajon etc and a large number of débutant actors did their part well except a few who were struggling on their first attempt.

Rajesh Murugesan failed to produce matching backgroundscore for the movie and this affected the flow of the narration in at least a couple of situations.Songs by Jerry Amaldev were okayish,but a more youthful soundtrack could have suited the storyline better.Editng and Cinematogrpahy by Manoj and Alex.J.Pulikal were good.

Overall,Action Hero Biju is an average cop-drama with realistic narration that wont disappoint you if you go without huge expectations.

Managed to catch this only recently on Disney+Hotstar and I am glad I did. Well made original story with some great acting!! Nivin is simply brilliant! And every single other character around him has performed superbly too - I understand that most of them are not even actors by profession!

This kind of movie elevates the Malayalam film industry to several levels that other regional cinemas will find very very hard to keep up with.

Well done!!

Much awaited movie of 2016 Action Hero Biju.First time in Malayalam Industry I have seen a cop movie without drama, A real Cop movie. Some times something felt unusual in nivin pauly's dialoge delivery rather than that the role of S.I Biju Paulose was safe in nivin's hand.Anu Eammanual doesn't have much role. The another person with strong character is none another than Suraj Venjaramood . He is having only two seens ,but once again he proved that why he got national award.Initially this movie got lot of negative reviews from social media . i don't know why this movie got such type of comments . Someone try to underrate this movie .This type of underrating is not good for malayalam film industry. Moreover most of the negative comments having same pattern