Meesa Madhavan

In the spirit of Kayamkulam Kochunni comes a comedy starring Dilip about a benevolent small town thief. Well loved by the town folk and only viewed as a minor irritant, his only enemy is the stingy moneylender Bhageerathan Pillai (Jagathi). The film basically follows the hilarious cat and mouse game between the two as they try to one up each other. Weak on the story line but the comedy is stellar. However it is not a throw back to the classic Malayalam comedies from the 80s and 90s but it at least attempts to go back to that era.

Rating: * * + 

Varavelppu

A walk down the Mallu film lane of the 80s with a classic from Sathyan Anthikad and Sreenivasan. Like many films from that era it is a comedy drama infused with a streak of realism. Murali (Mohanlal) returns to his hometown after seven years in the gulf. His relatives clamor for his attention and money to invest in their nefarious schemes. But he takes matters in his own hands and buys a rural bus route along with a vehicle. What follows highlights the plight of most small business owners in the communist state of Kerala. Issues with government officials, workers and union leaders bring Murali to his knees in frustration. A situation that has not changed even today!

Rating: * * *

Nizhalkkuthu

The year is 1940 and the flame of independence has slowly started burning. It is at this moment Adoor Gopalakrishnan trains his lens on Kaliyappan (Oduvil Unnikrishnan), the hangman of Travancore. Racked by the guilt of hanging an innocent man he tries to dull his conscience with arrack. Adoor has excelled yet again, opening a stark but realistic window into the life of one of the lost characters of India's past.

Nedumudi Venu has a bit role as a jailer in the film but that was ample time for him to show his class. Oduvil was ethereal in this role for which he rightly won the State award. But It is with great joy and sadness that I watch his acting these days. Sadness because it is very clear that his passing has a left a vacancy that cannot be filled.

Prema swaroopanam sneha sadheerthyante
Kalkan ente kanneer pranamam

Rating: * * *