Chola

"Chola" is made for parallel cinema audiences and film festivals around the world. I am pretty sure the mainstream audience would not like the movie one bit. One has to understand the fact that Chola is a different movie made for different set of audiences, that is why the rating here is so poor. The ratings here, definitely doesn't paint the picture of this fantastic movie.

Chola is a road movie that combines a host of genres like Drama, suspense, physiological triller and horror to present a very mature storyline. The film contains some top class elements in cinematography and sound design, and is best when viewed in the biggest screen possible. Screenplay is absolutely realistic with the depiction of even the smallest of details. Editing, production design, costumes and make up ably support the movie.

The three actors have done a wonderful job with Nimisha stealing the show yet again with a stellar performance. The entire film hinges on her expressions of a growing fear, breaking free, sensing her doom and then expressing her insanity or having a bout of Stockholm syndrome. However, though she turns into a victim of circumstance, she continues to show her resistance, in vain. Nimisha infuses a certain power that makes her character of a schoolgirl indomitable despite what she has gone through. Direction is at its best throughout the movie and kept delivering punch after punch.

Overall, An absolutely Disturbing film with strong message on the power politics of patriarchy. Director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's film puts out the bizarrely dark aspects of the reality that we usually choose to ignore. The movie will make you thoroughly uncomfortable. Chola is an very important film in my cinematic journey on many fronts.

Sanal Kumar Sashidharan's penchant for uncinematic but breath taking and realistic shots of nature is one of the prime things that stood out for me in "Ozhivudivasathe Kali". Chola had more of that.

There are a few scenes that are just world class and timeless. The trailer bit. There is a scene that blends in a dramatic climax with raw nature. That scene can stand proud alongside Tarkovsky movie scenes. There is a scene where a very key incident is presented with camera movement and accompanying soundscape. That scene was brilliant too. These scenes are easily ten on ten scenes.

The movie maintains it's darkness. The movie is attempting to say something tall and radical. That in itself is so controversial that it can turn off a lot of viewers. However, even if you let the movie say what it wants to, the movie has not been able to say it convincingly.

Nimisha, Joju and Akhil Vishwanath have had their share of brilliant acting. However, there were portions that did not seem to gel as well. Nimisha's natural acting and voice modulations were impressive.

However, there were also technical imperfections. There was a scene with the camera following the actors in the jeep. The jeep stops and the camera just rushes into the jeep and turns around, making the camera very precarious. Pretty blatant an error.

Not an easy watch. Would recommend a watch to art movie lovers for some really brilliant pieces in the sonata even while the movie as a whole failed for me.

This story could be told with in 15 -20 mints. Spend remaining 1 hour to show the cinematographic skills and another half an hr for hero's unsuccessful attempts to convince heroine ( same dialogue, same actions, same reactions )

It is rather difficult to comprehend what Chola (Shadow of Water) tries to convey but on continued assessment to me it felt like a display of the brutally animalitic and exploitative nature of man, told through an eerie setting that is the hallmark of Sanal Sasidharan and ended with a startling climax. TN.

Zero rating.

I watched Chola expecting it to be a good movie given Joju George's brilliant Joseph. Nimisha Sajayan was very effective in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum but most certainly not in Chola. What a terrible movie Chola turned out to be.

The opening scene of the boy waiting impatiently for his girlfriend held promise but was exceedingly slow as was the rest of the movie, lingering pointlessly on frame by frame by never ending frame. The plot went sluggishly from slow to weird and eventually bizarre.

If the girl and the boy went mad, then believe me we the viewers also will go mad just by watching this film.

This is one instance where I should have read (and trusted) the reviews first! Now Im wondering whether I should bother to watch Sashidharans S Durga at all.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Available on Amazon Prime with English subtitles