Lijo Jose Pellissery's Nayakan is an overlooked gem. Even though it fared considerably well in theaters, it did not get the recognition it deserved.
The story follows Varadhan-unni (Indrajit) on a journey through the slums of Kochi to extract revenge on the people who took away everything he had. To reach his goal he allies himself with Vincent Karnavar (Thilakan) and his company of loyal small time thugs who offer a helping hand to Varadhan unni to bring down a common foe.
Even with a clichéd plot like this, the film makers have succeeded in making a genuinely enjoyable film by masterfully mixing Kathakali references with the grim backdrop of the Kochi underworld. Add stunning camera-work and excellent editing to this and result is truly remarkable.
Indrajit, Thilakan and the other actors have done exceptionally well with the characters assigned to them. Lalu Alex plays an investigating police officer and along with his assisstant, has done justice to the character. Special mention here to the character of Varadhan-unni's uncle played by Jagathy Sreekumar. As always, he was simply brilliant.
****spoiler here**** One of my very few beefs with the movie is that I couldn't bear with Siddhique's acting in the second half. Every time he repeats the last word of his line in that horrible accent of his, I felt like killing myself. It just ruined it for me. ****end of spoiler****
Throughout the movie I couldn't help myself but wonder if Lijo Jose Pellissery was an avid Quentin Tarantino fan. From the named chapter-wise story telling to the somewhat non-linear progression; everything was like one big tribute to Trantino.The first scene of the movie was clearly a reference to scene in the car from Reservoir Dogs. I knew from that moment on that this is gonna be a helluva movie. And right I was.
One thing's for sure, young Mr. Pellissery is what the industry needs right now. Someone who experiments with new things and breaks from conventional methods and stereotype themes.
This movie just nearly missed a full score mainly because of Siddique's over acting. Sure he's a good actor and his casting for this role is just perfect, but if only he had spent more time trying to fit into the character... and maybe even try getting a decent accent for this ONE FILM... *sigh* The other problem I have with the movie is the final fight scene. It's good in it's own rights but the movie clearly could have have ended better.
My Rating: 9 on 10
The story follows Varadhan-unni (Indrajit) on a journey through the slums of Kochi to extract revenge on the people who took away everything he had. To reach his goal he allies himself with Vincent Karnavar (Thilakan) and his company of loyal small time thugs who offer a helping hand to Varadhan unni to bring down a common foe.
Even with a clichéd plot like this, the film makers have succeeded in making a genuinely enjoyable film by masterfully mixing Kathakali references with the grim backdrop of the Kochi underworld. Add stunning camera-work and excellent editing to this and result is truly remarkable.
Indrajit, Thilakan and the other actors have done exceptionally well with the characters assigned to them. Lalu Alex plays an investigating police officer and along with his assisstant, has done justice to the character. Special mention here to the character of Varadhan-unni's uncle played by Jagathy Sreekumar. As always, he was simply brilliant.
****spoiler here**** One of my very few beefs with the movie is that I couldn't bear with Siddhique's acting in the second half. Every time he repeats the last word of his line in that horrible accent of his, I felt like killing myself. It just ruined it for me. ****end of spoiler****
Throughout the movie I couldn't help myself but wonder if Lijo Jose Pellissery was an avid Quentin Tarantino fan. From the named chapter-wise story telling to the somewhat non-linear progression; everything was like one big tribute to Trantino.The first scene of the movie was clearly a reference to scene in the car from Reservoir Dogs. I knew from that moment on that this is gonna be a helluva movie. And right I was.
One thing's for sure, young Mr. Pellissery is what the industry needs right now. Someone who experiments with new things and breaks from conventional methods and stereotype themes.
This movie just nearly missed a full score mainly because of Siddique's over acting. Sure he's a good actor and his casting for this role is just perfect, but if only he had spent more time trying to fit into the character... and maybe even try getting a decent accent for this ONE FILM... *sigh* The other problem I have with the movie is the final fight scene. It's good in it's own rights but the movie clearly could have have ended better.
My Rating: 9 on 10