Mukundan Unni Associates

I never imagined Vineeth Sreenivasan surprising me the way he did with his sublime portrayal of an anti-hero in this film. The role of Adv. Mukundan Unni is undoubtedly his career-best thus far. Writer-director Abhinav Sunder Nayak carefully builds up the sadistic, cynical character of Mukundan Unni who goes to any extent to achieve his idea of success. It's the kind of role Jake Gyllenhaal did in Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler - just a different breed of "bad guy". The screenplay (by Vimal Gopalakrishnan and the director himself) is razor-sharp in its details, and there isn't a single scene that doesn't add to the plot or character development. The darkly humorous approach works wonders here, making us absolutely invested in the sociopathic side of Mukundan Unni and his dramatic rise to prosperity.

Not only does the film prove to be a scathing look at cynicism, but it also gives you an insider look into the bizarre handling of accident cases. Every character taking up screenspace (incl. A snake) is relevant to the plot, and ones that leave a mark include an excellent-as-usual Suraj Venjaramoodu, a confident Arsha Baiju, a beautifully vulnerable Tanvi Ram, and the ever-dependable Sudhi Koppa. One can't help but laud the effective use of background score (by Sibi Mathew Alex, especially that foot-tapping beat), the articulate voice-overs, the insertion of animated sequences to help elaborate certain points, the changing aspect ratio, and the way the makers subtly mock the "thank you" card at the very beginning. This is one of the finest black comedies I've seen in recent times, and you'll connect to its proceedings better if you're an unprejudiced viewer that doesn't seek message-driven, always-positive cinema.