Reviews

One of those movies aimed solely at entertaining the viewers. No. 20 not only has a fair share of comedy but also sustains the suspense through.

Mohanlal and two friends are a group of moneyed vagabonds who get trapped in a murder that takes place on the train from Trivandrum to Madras. How they manage to prove themselves innocent and also identify the murderer forms the crux of this movie. Mammooty makes an appearance as himself (the star) and helps the three prove their innocence. Mammooty's role is a highlight of the movie along with Lal's effortless comedy track. Watch out for the scene where Lal tells an enraged Soman that he was only asking Soman's daughter what brand of soap she uses.

Acting-wise there is nothing extraordinary in the film, since it relies on slapstick humor and a fast paced story. The music is also regular stuff and nothing special. Commercially the movie was very successful and added to Lal's start value.

Watch it when you are in the mood for entertainment.

Chitram is possibly the biggest commercial success in Malayalam cinema having run of nearly two years at the box office. But more than its commercial success the movie remembered for two striking reasons - [1] The emergence of Mohanlal as a star and actor par excellence, and [2] The epoch of the golden era of Malayalam movies typified with excellent music and strong story lines.

To summarize, the movie is about Mohanlal a youth who is struggling in life and is dogged by fate. He agrees to be a makeshift husband to Renjini at the behest of Nedumudi Venu to keep Renjini's father happy during his last visit to India. The chemistry between Lal and Renjini is quite good and their squabbles make up a major part of the movie. The movie has twist in the end, which is best seen than described.

Lal is the fulcrum around which this movies revolves. He displays emotions and comic timing both with remarkable ease and his scenes with Venu are brilliant and endearing at the same time. Venu is an apt foil for Lal while Sreenivasan has a great comedy track. Sreeni also deserves credit for coming up with a script that keeps the viewer hooked throughout. Renjini is competent.

The highlight of the movie (besides Lal's path-breaking performance) is the fantastic music which is popular even after two decades. This was the first Malayalam movie in which original soundtrack was accompanied by the hero's voice-over. Chitram marks the beginning of an era of great Malayalam movie music.

Overall, a must-see for all Malayalam movie fans.

A highly entertaining movie which has an adequate blend of action and comedy. Though the basic plot has been 'inspired' by Eddie Murphy's olden Child' this movies has enough in it to keep the viewer engaged.

To summarize the plot - Mohanlal is a happy-go-lucky youth leading a carefree life in a small village in Kerala. His trysts with his dim-witted cousin Jagathi form the initial half of the movie. Fate brings him to Nepal where he gets embroiled in the stereotypical battle between 'good and evil'. The second half of the movie is focuses on how Mohanlal protects the Lama incarnate child from evil forces led by Puneet Issar.

The movie has a great comedy track between Mohanlal and Jagathi which runs throughout the length of the movie without ever derailing the main plot. Jagathi has been given some excellent one-liners and provides very good support to Lal's superb comic timing. The action scenes are the highlight of this movie, especially those where Lal is being trained in martial arts. The child artiste Siddhartha comes up with a wonderfully endearing performance especially his call of 'Akosotto'. Mohanlal delivers another effortless and flawless performance proving that he is simply the best when it comes to roles like these. Music is hummable and nothing extraordinary except the duet 'Padakali' between Yesudas and Sreekumar. On the downside, the villain, Puneet Issar appears unrealistic and story-bookish and also tends to overdo the snarling bit. But this does not take anything away from the overall content of Yodha.

All in all, this movie is worth a watch any number of times and is a good option when one just wants to be entertained.

One of the best Malayalam movies of recent times and in my opinion along with Blessy's two films (Kaazcha and Thanmathra) the turning point for Malayalam movies. Just when one was beginning to despair for the Malayalam film industry for lack of content and substance these films came along and revived the glory days.

Mohanlal has essayed a complex character with élan(as usual) and not hesitated in taking potshots at all top stars but most of all at himself. Sreeni has worked his magic not only as the unethical wannabe super star but also through a brilliant script. The support cast is also very good with the inimitable Jagathi Sreekumar leading the way. The 'navaras' scene with Sreeni is side-splitting.

But most of all what enthralls is the mind-blowing climax - absolutely brilliant and reveals the immeasurable talents of the newcomer director Roshan Andrews.