invisman

From the moment the theater lights are switched on signaling the end of Paradeshi, a pair of eyes starts following you everywhere. The deep sunken eyes of a helpless octogenarian is all you see. The eyes carry a tale of struggle; a tale that should be narrated with care and craftsmanship; a tale that should be listened to with utmost patience and perseverance. Valiyakathu Moosa might be a cakewalk for the versatile Mohanlal but Paradeshi is a milestone in Indian Cinema.

The opening credits start with the black & white stock footages of the historical events that lead to India - Pak partition. From there we are taken to the present day where an 80 year old Moosa is waiting outside Manjeri Police Station to "mark his attendance" every month, like a petty criminal. The opening frame itself sets the atmosphere, showing the seriousness of the situation. Soon Moosa is joined by a freelance reporter Usha (Padmapriya) who wants to do a story on the hapless Pak citizens in India. From there on we are taken on a time-line of events that took Valiyakathu Moosa from Manjeri to Karachi and back, at different stages of his lifetime. We meet his family, friends and relatives, some of them survived the test of time, while others succumbed to fate. The saga continues, showing what happens ultimately to these deported citizens in Pakistan.

I must confess - I am NOT a fan of art house cinema. I hate staring at stationary frames, waiting impatiently for the next frame to happen. Therefore it is no surprise that I found the first half to be dragging a lot. Can't blame director PT Kunjimohammad, as there are lots of characters who should be covered in the first half itself. But second half picks up the pace (comparatively) and finally takes you to a well-etched climax. PTK's command over the medium can be seen throughout the movie.

Performance is the backbone of Paradeshi. PTK has given the necessary depth for each and every character in the film. Even the 10 minute cameo by TG Ravi strikes you instantly. Ditto for Jagathi's guest role too. It is one of the strongest cameos I have seen in the recent times. Coming to Mohanlal's performance, what can I say? To say it is the performance of the year, will be an understatement. Valiyakathu Moosa definitely ranks among the mightiest performances in Indian cinema. The high points in Moosa's time-line is portrayed effortlessly by the actor. One of my favorite scenes is where Moosa foresees his future "My father died the patriotic death of a martyr at the hands of the Britishers. How will my end be? As a traitor?". In another scene, Usha takes Moosa to advocate Pradeep (Madhupal) to discuss about the procedure involved in getting an Indian citizenship. In between the talks, Pradeep jokingly says "Usha, you always bring troublesome cases to me". And all 3 of them laugh. But the way Moosa laughs, you will wonder if he is actually enjoying the joke. Or was he mocking at his cruel fate? Also the climax and pre-climax scenes will really wet your eyes. When an 80 year old Moosa attempts to evade chasing police officials, you know he doesn't actually believe in making it. Yet his desire to die as an Indian made him do so. And the climax in the desert where he breaks down seeing the body of one of his compatriots, is truly mind blowing. Hats off to this class performance.

Shwetha Menon as Moosa's wife is a revelation. Here is a perfect example of how a non-actor will be transformed to a class actor when he/she is surrounded by a pool of talent. Whoever dubbed for her deserves equal credit for bringing out such a wonderful performance from someone who hasn't played a worthy role for a long time. Lakshmi Gopalaswamy's character might leave the audience confused as to whether she really loved Moosa or why it was never reciprocated. Director should have taken a little more care here. Jagathy's cameo as the mentally ill Abdul Rahman is excellent. There is a scene in which Padmapriya informs Jagathy that she is there to help him. Immediately he pops up the question "Are you here to help me like Jinnah who helped Muslims in 1948?". A truly unforgettable cameo. The rest of the supporting cast including Siddique, Padmapriya, Irshad, Cochin Haneefa, Riza Bava have all done their parts well. PTK's characterization depth has really helped each of them in bringing out their best performances in the recent times.

The technical side is equally good as the performing side. Makeup of each character, both period and present, is absolutely brilliant. Musically Paradeshi is melodious, and is perhaps the only factor that makes it standout from an out-and-out art house production. But the same cannot be said about the background score. True it's simply marvelous most of the time, but it stoops down to ridiculously amateur levels at quite a number of sequences. In a particular scene involving Padmapriya and Madhupal, the background score shifts from tension to relief to melodrama, all within a 5 seconds span!!! Thats too fast for the audience to change-over. Art work is top notch. Using stock footage videos from Indian Railways archives was a clever trick by PTK to avoid the cost of renting old railway engines.

To sum up, Paradeshi is a befitting tribute to India's "PAK" citizens who are seen as traitors by the Government and the public. Once again a Mohanlal movie takes up a socially relevant issue, transforming it to a celluloid poetry. Remember the awareness on Alzheimer's that Thanmathra raised in 2006. Paradeshi will come up with something similar in 2007, but this time about a totally ignored community of hapless human beings.

"Hallo" is the call every Lal fan wanted to attend since the release of Udayananu Tharam in 2005. Not forgetting the fact that he had lots of memorable outings like Naran, Thanmathra, Vadakkumnathan, Keerthichakra etc.. during that era, but still the Mohanlal whom we saw in Priyadarshan's slapstick comedies in the late 80s to mid 90s was certainly missing. During this period his detractors rose to form, claiming Lal lost his old comic timing and will never return to that era. Well, "Hallo" will "disconnect" them forever.

A racy first half, soaked in light hearted humour, followed by a mediocre second half with lots of suspense and lack of thrill - that's the best way to describe Hallo with a one-liner. The movie opens with lots of promise showing the ringtone craze of today's mobile user. Jagathy's "Hallelujah" and SI Ganesh Kumar's "Phone Edukkada" ringtones were received by the audience with claps and whistle.

And then the much awaited intro of Mohanlal. The very scene showed Lal didn't loose his comic timing but was simply put on hold for the ideal script to arrive. The man who once used to bring smiles to our faces merely by the movement of his facial muscles has announced his return with a bang. A drunken role is a safe bet when donned by Mohanlal. The latest example is Hallo. Remember we saw another drunken role from the same actor just 3 months back in Chotta Mumbai. But you won't get a monotonous feel one bit. What a treat of a first half it was.

But second half suffers a major course change. Suddenly from humour, you are invited to be part of a murder mystery involving the heroine's family. And in true Agatha Christie style, every member in the family becomes a suspect. This is where the director-duo fails. From the beginning itself, their intention was clear - make a comic entertainer. If only they could extend it to the 2nd half, with mystery coming up at regular intervals, this movie would have had the chance to become a real blockbuster. Instead the movie shifts to a suspense thriller angle with less and less lighter moments. There wasn't much of a drag, but the way the mystery was handled lacked perfection. And finally when the identity of the killer is revealed, you won't feel shocked or surprised as you were more or less expecting one of them to be the culprit. Also the director duo desperately tried to employ visual cheating to try and fool the audience. Visual Cheating has been perfectly executed in movies like Yavanika and Crime File. But here again the directors failed as the cheating only helps to develop more confusion than mystery. All in all a lack luster second half.

Cast performances are top notch. Mohanlal has once again set the benchmark for other "want-to-do-comedy" superstars. Comic timing is a gift of God, which you can't substitute by slang comedy or illiterate role humour. For a practical experience, watch Hallo. Lal looks way younger than his recent outings. Debutant Parvathy Milton looks like a good match for Mohanlal. Though shot in a glamorous fashion, their romance in the rain in the song "Mazhavillin" was well received by the audience. Those who expected a lot from Lal - Jagathy combo would be disappointed. Although few in number, their combo scenes really rocked. When I first read about villain actors Bheeman Raghu, Sphadikam George and Keerikkadan Jose (Mohan Raj) turning into a comic trio, I expected slapstick buffoonery which would ultimately end up boring. But to my surprise, this trio rocked, along with Lal. The fight between the old generation "lungi-cladded" goondas and the new generation "coat-and-tie" cladded goondas was a treat to watch.

Every review I read, there was a much talked about "Ashokan - Hotel" sequence and so while watching the movie I was thinking how this scene would turn out. Believe me, it is the old Lal back in full glory. Ashokan comes back to big screen after a long time and this scene is hilarious from start to finish. Suraj Venjaramoodu's comic polic role was tailor made for him to shine. His encounter with Lal at the station where he asks "Ninakku Prayapoorthiyayo?" and Lal's reply "Randu thavanayayi" really brought the whole house down. Compared to Salim Kumar's previous outings with Rafi-Mec, his role might be short in Hallo. But whatever he got, he did his part well.

Siddique, with his shaven head, had this menacing look which was most suited for the role. The only miscast was Madhu Warrier and luckily he didn't have much of a screen time.

Altogether, Hallo's first half alone was worth the ticket. Second half, though disappointing for a suspense freak like myself, should entertain the more commoner who hardly watches Hollywood suspense thrillers.

Verdict :- Don't miss this call