A tiresome visual extravaganza with few joys

There are stretches where MV delivers a high, like when it assumes the look and feel of a 70s Bollywood masala entertainer, most notably, Sholay — when we get treated to a Mehbooba-style dance number. It’s also entertaining when, briefly, it recalls certain moments in Double Barrel, like a European villainess trained in martial arts, or when you hear not only different Indian languages but also foreign ones. 

Those who grew up on a steady diet of Mohanlal classics will find some of MV‘s images and themes reminiscent of those in Thenmavin Kombathu, Yodha, Guru, or even Abhimanyu. One piece of Prasanth Pillai’s phenomenal score even recalls ‘Mandaara Cheppundo‘ from Dasaratham, fitting when MV has characters later revealed to be adopted children.

One can also derive considerable joy from seeing LJP being a complete magician with his frames (shot by Madhu Neelakandan), some of which may or may not have employed miniatures and matte paintings — or their possible emulation through CGI. These are assumptions, of course. A near-obsessive and self-indulgent quality marks numerous frames, which are bound to be picked apart by the ‘brilliance’ teams in Malayalam film groups. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but ‘brilliant’ shots alone do not make a movie. MV ends with the promise of a sequel. I have only one question: Why? 

Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery

​Cast: Mohanlal, Hareesh Peradi, Sonalee Kulkarni

Rating: 2/5 stars

(This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)