Even when some subplots and character arcs fail to add up substantially, Antakshari is a neat little thriller that pits a super-ordinary cop against a psychotic murderer. Writer-director Vipin Das utilizes the central thread (that of a cop who loves playing the titular singing game) to notable effect in crucial scenes. The killer's character is well-etched, and his childhood portions are performed with believable flair. I'm not sure if Vipin decided to leave certain ends deliberately loose or whether he thought the extended run-time would have hampered the thrills. Still, if there's a longer director's cut that offers closure to some of its supporting characters, I'd be happy to see it. Good work on the background score too!
41 Reviews
Good Thriller
Couziambatman22 April 2022
Movie is worth watching, performances are commendable and the movie never feels slow or boring in any way. Although the movie is good there are still some loose ends at the end, there was more than one subplots which was not fully ended. Still overall the movie is worth watching.
WORTH A WATCH...
alansenmonofficial-1468122 April 2022
Antakshari is a good thriller, I was gripped to the movie from the start because of an impactful scene in the beginning of the movie. The performances were good and the bgm was also good but the movie still could have became much more better if the actions of some characters were explained.
I would recommend Antakshari because it's a great watch the climax sequences were thrilling.
I would recommend Antakshari because it's a great watch the climax sequences were thrilling.
Decent mystery with a few open threads
krishnan357-33-78257925 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I've been quite interested in this movie from the time the trailer and first reviews came out.
I thought the murder mystery was pretty good. But the suspense was not really present. The makers could have dropped some hints or shown the killer in passing, maybe at the hospital that Saiju Kurup's wife was working. When the killer is revealed, it just feels like some random person.
I also felt there were too many threads that went nowhere like the boy and mother oppressed by the husband/step-father, the dead cats, the doctor at the clinic, etc.
Overall, it was a watchable film, but not at the level of many other movies in this genre.
I thought the murder mystery was pretty good. But the suspense was not really present. The makers could have dropped some hints or shown the killer in passing, maybe at the hospital that Saiju Kurup's wife was working. When the killer is revealed, it just feels like some random person.
I also felt there were too many threads that went nowhere like the boy and mother oppressed by the husband/step-father, the dead cats, the doctor at the clinic, etc.
Overall, it was a watchable film, but not at the level of many other movies in this genre.
Eerie feeling, and that's it!
surajpnair22 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Antakshari by far and large sets historic example in Malayalam films especially thriller genre on how to effectively use location and use it to enhance the mood of the film.
The film definitely hooked me from the first frame and I adored the way the locations were used to narrate this film. Next thing is the freshness with respect to overall treatment, where there are no heroics, rather it's kept at a bare realistic mode, where one can relate to protagonist's state of helplessness and also the way women gets ill treated by the society at large no matter from where they come from, and what their age is, they are used as plot points conveniently by the maker.
There are many references to music used in the narrative, also the names of most of the characters, all of them are derived from Indian famous playback singers, that's well thought of! The sound plays a vital role, nothing outstanding though, the tempo and graph of the BGM used here is quite familiar for me at-least, still it works well with the location and the mood of the film. The camera work is outstanding, some shots were effective enough to give me shrills.
The film lacks a strong climax, while revealing the climax the steam goes off especially when we step into the climax, and then to my surprise the last 10 minutes of Antakshari gives me serious hope that the film will attain a cult status, so neatly done, but then it evolves into a major disappointment. The main reason is the subplots and side characters, the makers invests lot of time on the side characters and by end of the film, they are just left orphaned without any formal closure.
Saiju Kurup was okayish, during the climax scenes his performance looked inconsistent and there was nothing great about it. The young village boy nailed it, he has been the best together with Priyanka, who gave an equally impressive performance.
Antakshari- A brilliant start- apt locations-refreshing treatment- disappointing climax.
The film definitely hooked me from the first frame and I adored the way the locations were used to narrate this film. Next thing is the freshness with respect to overall treatment, where there are no heroics, rather it's kept at a bare realistic mode, where one can relate to protagonist's state of helplessness and also the way women gets ill treated by the society at large no matter from where they come from, and what their age is, they are used as plot points conveniently by the maker.
There are many references to music used in the narrative, also the names of most of the characters, all of them are derived from Indian famous playback singers, that's well thought of! The sound plays a vital role, nothing outstanding though, the tempo and graph of the BGM used here is quite familiar for me at-least, still it works well with the location and the mood of the film. The camera work is outstanding, some shots were effective enough to give me shrills.
The film lacks a strong climax, while revealing the climax the steam goes off especially when we step into the climax, and then to my surprise the last 10 minutes of Antakshari gives me serious hope that the film will attain a cult status, so neatly done, but then it evolves into a major disappointment. The main reason is the subplots and side characters, the makers invests lot of time on the side characters and by end of the film, they are just left orphaned without any formal closure.
Saiju Kurup was okayish, during the climax scenes his performance looked inconsistent and there was nothing great about it. The young village boy nailed it, he has been the best together with Priyanka, who gave an equally impressive performance.
Antakshari- A brilliant start- apt locations-refreshing treatment- disappointing climax.
Fine performances elevate this immensely watchable, quirky thriller
nidhunmoviebuff22 April 2022
Perhaps no single creator has become emblematic of the thriller genre in Malayalam than Jeethu Joseph, the deliciously diabolical mind behind the Drishyam series and "Memories (2013)" and when a mystery film is announced as presented by the master himself, interest in automatically piqued. "Antakshari", directed by Vipin Das is a smartly shot and moderately satisfying thriller that makes an impact not because of the ingenuity in the plotline but thanks to a handful of brilliant performances.
The narrative is told from the standpoint of police inspector Das (Saiju Kurup) who gets embroiled in a cagey cat-and-mouse game with an elusive, psychotic killer who finds joy in tormenting him with games and wordplay. While Kurup and other established names like Sudhi Koppa ("Srinivas"), Priyanka Nair ("Chitra") and Binu Pappu ("Jayachandran") deliver assured performances, it is the new faces like Ishita Singh, Sandeep Pradeep and especially the mercurial child actor Mridul Mukesh that steal the show with natural performances, sans any theatrics or generic cinematic tropes.
Saiju Kurup is perfectly cast as the bumbling, often inept but immensely likeable protagonist, whose trials and tribulations become our own as the story moves along, with the actor earnestly portraying his character's turmoil at every turn. Kottayam Ramesh shines in yet another classy supporting role, after having made his mark in "Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2020)" and one can only hope that Malayalam's creators write better roles for this talented character actor.
As with the director's only previous film, "Mudhugauv (2016)", the characters are laced with insecurities and eccentricities that add to the vibrancy of the storyline. With a smartly framed hyperlink narrative that moves back and forth between the current timeline and events from the past that reveals more about the killer's motives and background, the director keeps you on your toes and just when you feel like you have figured out where the story is headed, he pulls the rug from underneath you with some deft surprises.
The minimalistic sound design and finely placed BGM along with the smartly framed visuals captured by cinematographer Bablu Aju accentuate the impact of the rural, hillside setting where the story takes place. At just barely two hours long, the director smartly ensures the audience is hooked for the full ride, delivering a taut thriller that might not exactly reinvent the genre, but has enough elements to keep you entertained.
Given the offbeat nature of the narrative that drifts widely from the beaten path of run-of-the-mill whodunits, the makers made the right call in opting for a Direct-to-OTT release. If you want to explore a murder mystery that offers up dollops of quirkiness, unexpected jump scares and a razor focus on performances over plotting, this might be the right pick for you. Recommended!
The narrative is told from the standpoint of police inspector Das (Saiju Kurup) who gets embroiled in a cagey cat-and-mouse game with an elusive, psychotic killer who finds joy in tormenting him with games and wordplay. While Kurup and other established names like Sudhi Koppa ("Srinivas"), Priyanka Nair ("Chitra") and Binu Pappu ("Jayachandran") deliver assured performances, it is the new faces like Ishita Singh, Sandeep Pradeep and especially the mercurial child actor Mridul Mukesh that steal the show with natural performances, sans any theatrics or generic cinematic tropes.
Saiju Kurup is perfectly cast as the bumbling, often inept but immensely likeable protagonist, whose trials and tribulations become our own as the story moves along, with the actor earnestly portraying his character's turmoil at every turn. Kottayam Ramesh shines in yet another classy supporting role, after having made his mark in "Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2020)" and one can only hope that Malayalam's creators write better roles for this talented character actor.
As with the director's only previous film, "Mudhugauv (2016)", the characters are laced with insecurities and eccentricities that add to the vibrancy of the storyline. With a smartly framed hyperlink narrative that moves back and forth between the current timeline and events from the past that reveals more about the killer's motives and background, the director keeps you on your toes and just when you feel like you have figured out where the story is headed, he pulls the rug from underneath you with some deft surprises.
The minimalistic sound design and finely placed BGM along with the smartly framed visuals captured by cinematographer Bablu Aju accentuate the impact of the rural, hillside setting where the story takes place. At just barely two hours long, the director smartly ensures the audience is hooked for the full ride, delivering a taut thriller that might not exactly reinvent the genre, but has enough elements to keep you entertained.
Given the offbeat nature of the narrative that drifts widely from the beaten path of run-of-the-mill whodunits, the makers made the right call in opting for a Direct-to-OTT release. If you want to explore a murder mystery that offers up dollops of quirkiness, unexpected jump scares and a razor focus on performances over plotting, this might be the right pick for you. Recommended!
Good script with poor production quality.
grarunkumar19946 May 2022
Anthakshari is a new take on the cat and mouse game of cop and culprit. As the name suggests, the lead played by Saiju Kurup is a cop who favours the singing game of Anthakshari over hard punches on his criminals. An unexpected murder attempt on his family guides him to an unknown serial killer at his work over decades.
Quite compelling, very engaging at times, this is a good script made well but suffers from mediocre camera quality, sound design, and even the sets that reminds of an amateur film production.
This film deserved a better budget.
Quite compelling, very engaging at times, this is a good script made well but suffers from mediocre camera quality, sound design, and even the sets that reminds of an amateur film production.
This film deserved a better budget.
An eerie thriller. MUST WATCH.
jaaffersadiq-500-91047524 April 2022
A psychopath set on a spree to chase/haunt/kill/torture/Again-Kill. An eerie thriller which captivates viewer's full attention right from the beginning till end credits. Another SOLID one from Malayalam cine industry. A MUST WATCH.
Let down in the end
vijayan-rohit23 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A big let down as the sub plots did not make sense in the end. It was just a waste of time:
1) Spring haired girl's story left midway 2) Guitar guy's story left mid way 3) new transferred officer is there just to pick up information from old files - but he did a good job going through 30-40 years of files over night 4)...
i could go on and on...
Could have been a masterpiece if they could sew all this together.
1) Spring haired girl's story left midway 2) Guitar guy's story left mid way 3) new transferred officer is there just to pick up information from old files - but he did a good job going through 30-40 years of files over night 4)...
i could go on and on...
Could have been a masterpiece if they could sew all this together.
An average movie with some good effects and acting
kavithapr26 April 2022
A one time watch movie with some good performances. A tried and tested plot presented in a novel way, not sure if it is effective.
Pros: Camera BGM Acting
Cons: The storyline left incomplete at a lot of places, unnecessary subplots.
Predictable climax.
Pros: Camera BGM Acting
Cons: The storyline left incomplete at a lot of places, unnecessary subplots.
Predictable climax.
Superb movie
sajinnnnn22 April 2022
Rivetting ..edge of the seat
vivekea23 April 2022
Tight Thriller With Only a Lazy Escape
nairtejas22 April 2022
Antakshari (Game of Songs) has an inventive overall structure despite the familiar plot and execution. A cop named Das (Saiju Kurup) finds himself become the target of much random animosity after a series of events at his police station. And so starts his quest to find out the intentions of a stranger. There are some raw and terrific shots here that are sure to make you go agape, also accentuated by the brilliant potshots at casteism and sexism (although some of these do look pretentious). I enjoyed watching Antakshari and I found myself on the edge of my seat from the start except for the lazy third act which feels a bit stretched and unsatisfied. I'll look forward to more from this team.
It's an average
saafvlgz26 April 2022
Decent one
m-ramanan26 May 2022
RATED 7/10
Language: Malayalam
Media Partner: Sony Liv
Watchable investigative thriller with decent twists. The screenplay and the thrill is maintained till the end. It was felt like dragged in the climax and beginning portions. The performance from all the characters are remarkable and made this film as watchable one.
Watchable investigative thriller with decent twists. The screenplay and the thrill is maintained till the end. It was felt like dragged in the climax and beginning portions. The performance from all the characters are remarkable and made this film as watchable one.
ohh this is just superb
deepudp6 May 2022
An awesome thriller that builds the TENSION
isaiahkallirikumvilla24 April 2022
I have watched many thriller movies ,but the genre of malayalam thrillers always builds up the tension .This movie did a great job to build that tension.
Pros: 1.camera movements and screenplay 2.the bgm 3.the character and their performances 4.the mystery that's kept on 5.the sound mixing
Cons: 1.the climax-ended in a usual manner 2.some characters doesn't had enough depth (guess the characters)
OVERALL A MUST WATCH EXPERIENCE.
Pros: 1.camera movements and screenplay 2.the bgm 3.the character and their performances 4.the mystery that's kept on 5.the sound mixing
Cons: 1.the climax-ended in a usual manner 2.some characters doesn't had enough depth (guess the characters)
OVERALL A MUST WATCH EXPERIENCE.
A visually engrossing thriller....!
PANDIAN1206215 May 2022
Vipin das has succeeded in keeping engaged with a neat package of thriller with a major support of camerawork and a special mention of lighting towards the climax.... Casteism,child trauma,passionate psycho are all have been textured with superb screenplay at non linear editing makes u impressive and sometimes even strangle at few sequences...As for has cast be it
saiju kurup or other new faces takes us to the deep remote village and kep us guessing till the near climax...Overall not to be missed thriller.
Cannot believe this movie have good reviews.
josebeam28 April 2022
The most idiotic movie I have ever seen. We wonder why so much unrelated stuff they are showing on the screen, such as a guy urinating while a lady walk by, a girl screaming out and running from a house etc.. No sense in the script. Shame for all police officers. Please don't waste your money or time on this.
Mind-blowing
samvallickadan22 April 2022
Saiju kurup shines in this thriller
batabyalm3 May 2022
I really enjoyed this movie. It is a thriller. So not much to reveal. Though this movie brings few characters and stories which ultimately does not serve any purpose to the whole movie. I don't have any idea why those things are here.but otherwise the plot line related to Saiju's family hold firm and lead to the climax. I really enjoyed the background score and eerie sequences, thanks to spectacular cinematography.
More questions
chlorophyllus24 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
1. I can understand the Nayana's weird non speaking behavior being affected by a ice candy seller. But who killed those cats? Why she was hiding there?
2. I assume that small girl ran back to her house from Nayana's after getting scared to her hanging cat in that dingy room. So Nayana's grandfather is doing all this and he is not in good terms with Nayana. Questions and questions
3. Karthik's Step father plot. Didn't reach any conclusion. At least here we can conclude that the music college going to be only a dream for Karthik and he has to survive with his abusive step father
One thing I like in this unlike most other movies where the psycho chases whoever did wrong to him and finish them one by one overpowering the Hero who is or works with the Psycho's Preys that too carefully without causing any harm to other good souls
This Kishore dont have such principles he is a rare psycho we rarely see in our movies. His preys already got instant Karma. So what he does he starts chasing the bike owner which is the cause for all his loses. If You Own that bike you Die! As simple as that. That too a slow death. The bike owners younger one dies first then the Owner. There is no good soul or small child compassion he shows.
This Kishore Psycho did ticked some check boxes in proper Psycho Profile of Ripper Ravi's(Indrans in Ancham Pathira).
2. I assume that small girl ran back to her house from Nayana's after getting scared to her hanging cat in that dingy room. So Nayana's grandfather is doing all this and he is not in good terms with Nayana. Questions and questions
3. Karthik's Step father plot. Didn't reach any conclusion. At least here we can conclude that the music college going to be only a dream for Karthik and he has to survive with his abusive step father
One thing I like in this unlike most other movies where the psycho chases whoever did wrong to him and finish them one by one overpowering the Hero who is or works with the Psycho's Preys that too carefully without causing any harm to other good souls
This Kishore dont have such principles he is a rare psycho we rarely see in our movies. His preys already got instant Karma. So what he does he starts chasing the bike owner which is the cause for all his loses. If You Own that bike you Die! As simple as that. That too a slow death. The bike owners younger one dies first then the Owner. There is no good soul or small child compassion he shows.
This Kishore Psycho did ticked some check boxes in proper Psycho Profile of Ripper Ravi's(Indrans in Ancham Pathira).
Engaging and good movie - True Review
devilsnitch17 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very good movie with a engaging storyline and sit on the edge moments.
The movie do deserve more love than a 6.5.
The plot is about a police who likes playing anthakshari and the killer is teasing the police through kills
Acting performances are as expected and saiju kurup is a talented actor and also carries the show till the end. The story and screenplay is solid and the direction of the movie deserves a big applause. The climax also has that eerie sit on the edge of couch feeling that it deserves
Like I said the movie deserves a lot more love than what it is getting.
Iniyum immaathiri nalla cinemakal malayalathil varatte ennu prathewkshikkunnu.
The movie do deserve more love than a 6.5.
The plot is about a police who likes playing anthakshari and the killer is teasing the police through kills
Acting performances are as expected and saiju kurup is a talented actor and also carries the show till the end. The story and screenplay is solid and the direction of the movie deserves a big applause. The climax also has that eerie sit on the edge of couch feeling that it deserves
Like I said the movie deserves a lot more love than what it is getting.
Iniyum immaathiri nalla cinemakal malayalathil varatte ennu prathewkshikkunnu.
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