User reviews

First and foremost, great work soubin.

The movie has done great work in all its technical departments especially the sound design of the movie was extraordinary they didn't even miss a minuscule detail. The first half of the movie moves at a slow pace and builds up the characters and encloses us to that area by its visuals and by the end of the first half the movie switches to a thriller mood with some good moments of thrill and suspense.

Overall this movie should be watched in the theatre because the technicality of the movie demands it. Moreover, ILA VEEZHA POONCHIRA deserves it.

Soubin Shahir has been on one of the leanest patches in his short career off-late. From the highs of "Bheeshma Parvam", he nose-dived into shambolic, ill-conceived roles in 2022 with ventures like "Bro Daddy", "Kallan D'Souza, "CBI 5" until finally hit rock bottom in the absolute dumpster fire that was "Jack N'Jill". But right from the teaser and trailer release of Shahi Kabir's "Ela Veezha Poonchira" there were signs that the very capable actor was on track to make a comeback and boy, does he deliver!

We follow the journey of "Madhu" (Soubin) a seemingly disenchanted, frustrated policeman serving at a police wireless station in the picturesque but treacherous hilltop of "Ela Veezha Poonchira". Located at about 3,200 ft above sea level, this real-life location is prone to lightning strikes and the filmmakers bring that to screen with chilling effect, sending shivers down your spine with the sound design. How the lives of the policemen at this desolate outpost change when the body parts of a murder victim start popping up in their vicinity forms the rest of the story.

Shahi Kabir has proved himself to be the master of the police drama sub-genre, first with his affecting, realistic writing in modern classics like the groundbreaking "Joseph (2018)" and the internationally acclaimed "Nayattu (2021)". In "Ela Veezha Poonchira", he abandons the writer's chair to direct for the first time and translates the nuance, grit and passion we have seen in his screenplays to his direction style, focusing on the trials and tribulations of his protagonists and painting a vivid canvas of realistic police work amongst harsh conditions.

The disquieting surroundings and the enchanting environment suck you in from the word go, with Soubin leading from the front with an assured performance, displaying all the angst and personality quirks of an overworked policeman with conviction. Sudhi Koppa and Jude Anthany Joseph put in convincing portrayals in the supporting roles, playing no small part in building up the tension, which reaches fever pitch by the interval block and then moves at breakneck pace towards a crunching climax.

It was heartening to see the capable actor in Soubin back on full display after a long time, with Shahi Kabir leveraging his captivating, hypnotic eyes and natural quirkiness to full effect. "Ela Veezha Poonchira" is his finest performance since the State Award winning "Sudani From Nigeria (2018)" and a grand return to form for one of Malayalam's most promising character actors who was having a pretty mediocre run in 2022 so far. Shahi Kabir's debut directorial is an engaging watch and highly recommended!

Rating - 7.4

We've all seen the cliché story of Ela Veezha Poonchira (2022), but something about this movie feels so fresh and that deserves praise. This is one of those movies that keeps you engaged from starting to the end, but it kind of gives you a feeling that something is missing when the movie ends. Don't get me wrong, this is a really well made movie and there is literally nothing to add to it. The highlights are great performance from the cast, good background score, an overall good direction, the atmosphere, the Suspense and the Thrilling element that holds the audiences attention to the very end of the movie.

And so yeah, this movie is underrated for some reason that I can't make out. It is a one time watchable movie, but most of the movies that doesn't have half the quality of Ela Veezha Poonchira (2022) have gotten better recognition. Though for some viewers the first half might feel slow paced, it's one of my favorite parts of this movie.

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It's essentially a ⭐⭐⭐ movie but an extra ½ to the makers (especially, director Shahi Kabir) for creating a fascinatingly little but intense atmosphere. The wireless station where the story takes place is said to be at an altitude of over 3,200 feet. Writers (Shaji Marad, Nidhish G) place the two leads (Soubin Shahir & Sudhi Koppa) at the top of a hill that's notorious for its deaths by lightning strikes. The first half is leisurely paced, giving us some incredible views of the surroundings, a few visitors, and the two cops' daily routines (that include eating, drinking, playing cards, and updating statuses through a wireless system).

I'm a big fan of minimalist setups and fewer characters in stories, especially because they often prove to be intricate character studies from a psychological perspective. At 100 minutes, the writing is also tasked with the responsibility of including a murder investigation which begins as a sub-plot but slowly turns into an integral component. Therefore, the latter half is focused around making the twists, turns, and mind games work. They largely do, and credit for that should go to the performances from both Soubin and Sudhi. Once the uneasiness sets in, the film tightly holds onto it all the way to the finish. The weather elements (sudden winds, fogging, rains, lightning) also add an essential layer.

The sound design (Ajayan Adat), cinematography (Manesh Madhavan), and background score (Anil Johnson) truly make the experience unmissable. The only issue I felt is that some of the dialogues in the climactic portion get drowned out by the score/noise. Nonetheless, the film is a triumph in the storytelling, performances, and atmosphere-building departments.

A well written A well Cinematography A Well BGM A Well Direction an unpredictable climax.... & Outstanding performance of Soubin & including each one in the screen.

Waiting for Shahi Kabir's Next project...

All the best team...

At first, you will be puzzled, doubtful as to where this story might be leading you to; the more time passes, the more scepticism will accrue; but you have to keep patience because once it reaches its halfway point, the storytelling takes a slight turn and breaks away from its previous course and jumps onto an entirely new route, and the course of events is now set into motion; from there on, there's no turning back as the story seemed to have a bag full of trickeries reserved specifically for the climactic portions and believe me when I say, not only do they deliver, but they also make up for the sluggishness upfront. You will be in for a shock!

One of the finest thriller- dramas in mollywood. The outstanding cinematography, bgm and acting engrosses you throughout. Thoroughly loved the crisp storytelling and dark mood, which are rarely seen in mollywood. Deserves a theatre watch for the stunning visuals shot in 4k HDR and the brilliant movie that it is.

The movie was able to build a suspense at first especially towards the end of the first half but later turned down expectations and ended too quickly. Not a must watch but yeah the scenes are good.

Film Review: Ela Veeza Poonchira ( Malyalam language film streaming on Prime Video!!) ( English subtitles available)

Synopsis: Two police officers Madhu( Saubin Shahir) & Sudhi ( Sudhi Koppa) manning a wireless police station in the remote Ela Veeza Poonchira hilltop in the Kottayam district in Kerala get news about a woman's body parts found scattered in different places in the forest below!! Will they be able to track down the killer and solve the mystery?

A different kind of a film where the first half literally crawls forward with things like the mudane day to day activities of the bored officers being shown !! Somewhere after the midway point is where things start to heat up .. and the climax is explosive .. the how & why are all explained and the ending has a touch of poetic justice to it !!

Brilliantly directed by Shahir Kabir, the cinematography is awesome and captures the beautiful green landscape very well. The pace of the film might seem very slow to start off with , but it will be well worth ur time if u stay on till the end!!

Saubin is awesome, giving a restrained performance all throughout. Sudhi too lends good support to move the story forward!!

The climax is somewhat explosive and macabre so friends, be prepared for the unexpected!!

A simple story narrated without any flashbacks, dhishoom dhishoom, loud BGM & songs !!

I loved the film !! However people who like fast paced thrillers might find it boring due to the slow pace of the film!! Better stick to Rohit Shettys regular ones in that case 😁!!

Yeah...before I sign off ,would like to tell u that this film reminds you of slow paced classics like "No country for old men" starring Javier Bardem & "Bad Company aka Nature of the Beast " starring Lance Henrikson & Eric Roberts. If u've watched & liked these, then Ela Veeza Poonchira is the one for u this weekend!!

Going with 3.5/5 for this one .. Adios 🙂!!

#sanjuzzreviews #elaveezapoonchira #saubinshahir #primevideoindia.

Just completed movie with subtitles... movie is really slow and will test your patience....it started with police cope in hilltop area of Kerala....only two persons are in police station...very few people around area..so police cope don't have much work...their normal routine is characterized in beautiful way.... loction are simply amazing. . story has not enough potential for 2 hours movie.. actors has done decent job... direction is also clumsy and not give boost to movie..only last part is good... climax is satisfactory according to situation... overall if you have enough patience then go for this movie.

Just watched the movie at PVR Lulu...A well made story line ...Suspense was well kept till the end.... A wonderful movie ...Worth to watch....soubin and sudhi has done well...

I only watched the film because of Shahi Kabeer, because I felt the guarantee that he would provide something fresh. I got that freshness, but Ila Veezha Poonjira doesn't go up to my expectation. Shahi's previous films as a writer, Joseph and Nayattu were brilliant works but when he wore the shirt of a director he misses something. Ila Veezha Poonjira is a slow-paced dramatic film encircled around the character of Madhu who is a policeman. The personal dilemma of Madhu is placed in a hill station named Poonjira. The place, Poonjira, is covered beautifully by the photographer and we get the depth of the place from each and every frame. The mystery around the place resembles the mystery inside Madhu's character. One major flaw of the movie belongs to the technical aspect. While capturing live sound some of the dialogues are not clear and which is very difficult to understand. The are no subtitles while I watch the movie so it was very hard to follow the dialogue. Another flaw that felt about the movie is that it ends so quickly. The main content of the plot reveal only at the end portion and that revelation only sustains quite for few times. The dramatic sequence wrapped up so speedily. Covering these minute flaws, Ila Veezha Poonjira provides some wonderful visual treatment and some kind of frozen atmosphere.

The movie failed to thrill the viewer due to a bad script... But the actors in lead role Mr Soubin and Mr Sudhi done well..The camera department failed to capture the beauty of the location.

Heard so many amazing things about Ela Veezha Poonchira. But, after finishing the film I can say it's not an amazing film for me but just a good film. It's slow burn and in slow burn there should be something big in climax. But here, waiting was not worth it. That twist didn't work well for me.

The good things are the performances by the actors, brilliant location and atmosphere and you'll get to know about the place Ela veezha poonchira in Kerala. Also, I'm writing this so many days after watching the film, still I remember the scenes because of the atmosphere created. So, no doubt it's a good film, you'll not forget it really, you can watch it once.

Available on Prime Video.

© MandalBros.

Sound in movies never got this much attention as in this movie. It uses the police radio messages as background score. Intriguing, difficult yet simple in its presentation, it's a shocker that must be watched. Cinematography is on point and the distress is felt by the audience of something being amiss. It's like things will go wrong but why & where is difficult to gauge. It's an interesting duration for a movie. Short. Director deserves a huge shout out to create such a fascinating movie that once seen cannot be forgotten easily. It's hauntingly too simple but quite intricate in depicting the various depths of depravity that man can head into.

A nice slow burning mystery thriller.

I really liked the cinematography by maneesh madhavan. The visuals sets the mood for the movie. We can always feel something bad is going to happen from the beginning. Soubin sahir and sudhi koppa both did amazing job. The writing shines in few places, especially when the mysteries unravel. They were completely unexpected. The film takes its time to build the setup, but it never feels lagging.

Though the movie starts pretty slow, I felt they could have increased the pace in the second half. There were possibilities to create lot of thrilling moments in second half, but I felt the movie dosent explore thoes possibilities quite effectively. The background music was good, it felt grand, but I felt that sometimes the visuals did not match the grandness of music.

Definitely a one time watch slow burning mystery thriller.

A good movie. A Well balanced execution, the plot, eventhough lacks steam, is all that of a suspense thriller, with an extra twist, That will keep you engaged enough throughout the film. What steals the show is the geography/location. Kudos to the camera crew and sound team. There are few movies those have taken bold naration using geographical space, this will be the best of that kind in Malayalam film industry. Soubhin Shahir and Sudhi Koppa performed extremely well. Anil Johnson on music scores again just rocked, we will surely see more of him.

A good watch film and, best to be recommended.

When a state like "God's own country" is a stage set for the slow burn thriller it aint a tough task for the shoot, and Manesh's camera has captured the soul of the movie and his contribution to the movie has raised the standard of the movie.... Soubin's subtle performance and the grudge he has balanced the inner demon have raised the value for the movie definitely a man of substance... The rest of the characters did justice to the movie... Though shahi kabir's direction is flawless,its marad's screenplay & kiran das editing that goes with the flow making u keep glued until the final act... Overall a simple but well-executed flick that needs our attention...

Soubin will always be deemed fit for a revenge thriller, regardless the fact Soubin simply slips into the character with ease in his own traits which is much anticipated but really quietens the audient at a significant point. Needless to comment on Sudhi who really joins Soubin in the league, alongside the rest of the cast is commendable just But what strikes is the script, and setting the makers chose to tell the story; the cinematography is just superb and not even a single shot is overdone. The sound and backing scores is just right for the story telling. A well knit crime thriller just to say.

Must read before believing imdb rating for this movie: Movie started with a good thrill note that someone's leg alone is kept in a mountain .. But after that scene, almost for 60 minutes movie didnt enter into the plot... Showing two policemen and their cooking, eating, drinking tea, dancing, moving here and there 🤦 Fed up of these kinda slow burn thrillers in mollywood 🤡 A thriller shuld be seat edged since the beginning.. Wondered how this movie got 7.2 ratings in IMDB 😷 A movie shuld hold the people atleast from 30th minute.. but most malayalam movies failed to do that despite having good content...

Though the film is made flawlessly in terms of pre and post production it failed to create the thrill in the end. I guess the buildup was stretched and the climax cut-short. Well directed. Visuals and sounds were outstanding.

For the first half of the movie, you'll constantly feel "There are some amazing places in India that we don't explore as much!" Ever watched a movie in which you can almost feel the weather? This is one such. The credit goes to cinematography team and the sound design team. The locations chosen to shoot majority of this film are epic!

Don't want to spoil anything here so I'll keep it short - The story, writing, acting is topnotch. This is a crime-drama and the first half almost makes you forget that it is one, but the second half really picks it up. If you liked Iratta and Joseph, you'll like this one.