Mukundan Unni Associates (2022) :
Brief Review -
Malayalam cinema's pathbreaking attempt at reflecting Sasha Guitry's unbeatable humour. I don't know how many of you Indian audiences, especially Malayalees, are aware of the name and legacy of Sasha Guilty. If not, it's better, because then you'll enjoy Mukundan Unni Associates very much and call it a pathbreaking movie. But if you know Sasha Guitry's unmatchable humour and you have seen "A Story of a Cheat" (1936), then I guess you'll give a big round of applause to Malayalam cinema just for attempting the huge task. Sasha's impeccable humour and witty narration made A Story of A Cheat a very special and unforgettable film. The film hasn't got anything extraordinary in the story, but the screenplay is class apart. I don't know if Abhinav Sunder Nayak has seen the Guitry film I am talking about; it is not needed anyways because he certainly made his own version of it, and that too with a perfectly Indianized story and local humour. It might remind some people of the Hollywood neo-noir film "Nightcrawler" (2014), though that was about journalism while MUA is about scams happening in insurance court and medical claims. Adv. Mukundan Unni is a failure as a lawyer. His efforts to obtain cases are futile. After witnessing a medical insurance scam in his own mother's case, he learns the strategy to make money via medical insurance claims. He makes it big and has to do some illegal business and commit crimes as well. The only problem in this film is the glorification of dirty business, which puts a big question mark on the strength and sustainability of law and order in our country. It's a black comedy, so you can forget all that legal and honest stuff for 2 hours and enjoy it thoroughly. Vineeth Sreenivasan's performance and Abhinav Sunder Nayak's writing, screenplay, and direction are worth your time for sure. But please don't overhype it.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Malayalam cinema's pathbreaking attempt at reflecting Sasha Guitry's unbeatable humour. I don't know how many of you Indian audiences, especially Malayalees, are aware of the name and legacy of Sasha Guilty. If not, it's better, because then you'll enjoy Mukundan Unni Associates very much and call it a pathbreaking movie. But if you know Sasha Guitry's unmatchable humour and you have seen "A Story of a Cheat" (1936), then I guess you'll give a big round of applause to Malayalam cinema just for attempting the huge task. Sasha's impeccable humour and witty narration made A Story of A Cheat a very special and unforgettable film. The film hasn't got anything extraordinary in the story, but the screenplay is class apart. I don't know if Abhinav Sunder Nayak has seen the Guitry film I am talking about; it is not needed anyways because he certainly made his own version of it, and that too with a perfectly Indianized story and local humour. It might remind some people of the Hollywood neo-noir film "Nightcrawler" (2014), though that was about journalism while MUA is about scams happening in insurance court and medical claims. Adv. Mukundan Unni is a failure as a lawyer. His efforts to obtain cases are futile. After witnessing a medical insurance scam in his own mother's case, he learns the strategy to make money via medical insurance claims. He makes it big and has to do some illegal business and commit crimes as well. The only problem in this film is the glorification of dirty business, which puts a big question mark on the strength and sustainability of law and order in our country. It's a black comedy, so you can forget all that legal and honest stuff for 2 hours and enjoy it thoroughly. Vineeth Sreenivasan's performance and Abhinav Sunder Nayak's writing, screenplay, and direction are worth your time for sure. But please don't overhype it.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.