Praavinkoodu Shappu

Watched this on OTT due to a Basil Joseph hangover whose brilliance in recent times has been overwhelming..Basil can still wear half pants and pass off as a school boy character or a frustrated young man who vents it out in his trademark comic fashion. But he has a long way to go before essaying a cop's role, funny or otherwise. In a nutshell, the movie shone in parts but simply failed to engage after 1 hour..Basil, pls make up for this in your next one, I'll continue to swear by Malayalam movies with the likes of you around..5 stars for you and some of the funny characters in the toddy shop and the cinematography.

Good story wasted by too many red herrings and a bad ending. Basil Joseph did try to carry it through. Chopping last 20 minutes could have improved it, but that may be the case when Bollywood remakes it.

I did like some long takes with stylized action and performance by all the actors. All OK barring some unrelated police station scenes and needless ending drama. A simple mystery with "who dunnit" could have been enough.

Although a predictable murder mystery with creative narration is always welcome. This is still far better than the junk cinema being churned out elsewhere. Too much confusion, not in story but in directing.

While it may not stand out as one of the mentionable entries among Malayalam thrillers, it does have a few clever tricks up its sleeves, particularly the detailing went into the execution of the "murder," which will surely deliver some delightful surprises for the susceptible audience.

However, the primary issue in the script lies in its blunt predictability.

For those well accustomed to Malayalam cinema and its conventions specifically within the space of thrillers, the identity of the culprit becomes apparent long before the final reveal.

Not to mention, Integrating a renowned figure among the suspects tends to give away the outcome more often than not, making it an easy, calculated deduction, especially when other personalities on board lack adequate materials in terms of their narratives and backstories.

--- A film with no proper purpose, the sad part is that it had lots of potential to be great with that talented cast and they could have made the film focus more on comedy or just thriller, it tried to bind both of these genres together and it just didn't work. It's a great combo if done right but here the film falters due to an inconsistent screenplay, bad dialogues and poor direction.

One thing I have got to give credit for is the cinematography and the score done by Shyju Khalid and Vishnu Vijay respectively. Overall the film was very forgettable and a very below average experience for me.

Joseph Basil's role could have been portrayed more effectively by a character with a more serious and grounded presence. While his performance had a few moments that came off as cringeworthy or overly exaggerated, it can still be overlooked when considering the broader context of the film and the strong performances delivered by the rest of the cast. His acting didn't entirely ruin the experience, but a better-suited actor might have elevated certain scenes. Despite that, the film as a whole was enjoyable and engaging. Overall, I loved it and would definitely recommend it to a wide range of audiences.