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: * * + 

Arabikatha

Mukundan's (Sreenivasan) communist fervor and admiration for Fidel Castro is so strong that he is known as Cuba Mukundan in Chemmanur, Kerala. But his unyielding socialist philosophy does not sit well with some of the higher ups in the party. So they frame his father (Nedumudi Venu) for embezzling party funds and Mukundan is forced to work in Dubai to recoup the losses. A film that shows you the real face of the Kerala communist party and the plight of Keralites working in the Middle East.

Rating: * *

Lal Salaam

Venu Nagavalli's brilliant film that follows the birth and rise of communism in Kerala through the eyes of three party workers. Ushering the delivery of the political ideology are comrades Netturan (Mohanlal), DK (Murali) and Sethu (Geetha). Rather than focusing entirely on the political ideology, Nagavalli brings to the forefront the reality of politics in a politician's life. A trip down the vintage Malayalam movie lane that leaves you wondering where the Mohanlal of yesteryear disappeared...

Rating: * * *

Meerayude Dukhavum Muthuvinte Swapnavum

I now realize that the presence of Prithwiraj does not alway guarantee a decent flick. Couldn't take more than 30 minutes of this tripe.

Rating: +

Nandanam

The age old story of a boy from a rich family falling in love with the household help. But something about the way the film is directed and how the story unfolds lends freshness to it. Impressive performances from Prithwiraj, Navya Nair, Innocent and Jagathi also helped. The film is really a throwback to the melodramatic and melancholic Mallu movies of the 80s and 90s. A breath of fresh air among the stale krap that passes off as Malayalam movie these days.

Rating: * * +