A.R.M

The film sets the tone right from the beginning, with Mohanlal's introduction and Mala Parvathi's engaging narration of the grandmother's story.

Once immersed in this atmosphere, the fictional village of Chiyothika and its surroundings feel like our own.

Jithin Lal and Sujith Nambiar astonish us with their writing and direction, displaying a finesse that belies their newcomer status.

The humor woven into this fantasy-myth narrative owes much to Deepu Pradeep's contributions to the screenplay.

This team has seamlessly brought together the various elements of such a film to create an impressive whole.

The artistic direction stands out, vividly portraying the fictional village of Chiyothika, its temple, and its people across three distinct time periods.

While unfolding the story with the lightheartedness of a grandmother's fable, the film also explores the caste system persisting through both monarchic and democratic eras.

Beyond the narrative, Tovino Thomas captivates with his electrifying performances and commanding screen presence.

Portraying three distinct characters-Kunjikelu the warrior, Maniyan the thief, and Ajay the electrician-Tovino embodies each role with unique looks, expressions, and body language.

His dedication and preparation for these roles are evident in his flawless performance, with Maniyan's character deserving special mention.

Maniyan's appearance, expressions, body language, and dialogue delivery surpass even the other two characters, making him unforgettable.

Aishwarya Rajesh and Kriti Shetty, though in lead roles, leave a limited impression beyond their fleeting appearances.

On the other hand, Surabhi Lakshmi excels in her role, especially as Maniyan's wife, delivering a performance that elevates her character beyond mere support to Maniyan.

The chemistry in the Maniyan-Nanu combo scenes is so vibrant that Tovino-Jagadish's duo takes a backseat.

Jomon's cinematography, Shameer Mohammed's editing, Dibu Nainan's music, and other technical aspects significantly enhance the film's theatrical experience.

Ultimately, ARM triumphs by narrating a grandmother's tale/fable from start to finish with technical brilliance, adhering to its core essence throughout.

I just watched the ARM movie and I liked it. Otherwise, after the fast half, if we put more hops on the second half, we will be a little disappointed. So, if you watch this movie without any expectations, you will like it.

As for the movie, a few years ago a star from space falls on earth. Then the king who is ruling that place will melt that star and make an idol of God and build a temple. After that the kingdom will be lit up with the riches of Siri. After a few days, foreigners come there. Then a person named Neeliyathu Kunjikelu Nayanar helps to save them from them. Instead, Kunjael asks for an idol from the god in that kingdom. Then the king refuses to change his religion and hands over the idol. Because of this, Kunjael takes it to his own kingdom and everyone gets manna. .After a few days the kingdom of Kunjael falls with leprosy Kunjayul also gets infected. But unexpectedly Kunjayel disappears. And why did Kunjayel disappear. Then what happened to Kunjayul's legacy? What is the story of aa idol? If you want to know the story of Mannion and Ajayan, you have to watch the movie. The backdrop of this movie revolves around fate. Fate wins in the end.

Tinova Thomas is a one man show. So well done. And the rest of the Carecters do well in their range.

The story is very simple but the director has done well with his screenplay.

Music is also good. Cinematography is also good. If the second hlf is a little more thrilling, it is a different level movie but nice good film.

With a budget of just 30 cores, the makers have done an excellent job. It was an incredible theatre experience. The debutant director has a promising future in directing more films within this genre and beyond. The acting and presentation was good. The movie was well paced. The highlight of the movie is Tovino's Beast like character. A flexible performance from tovino. The action scenes are fast and fantastic . Other characters have also presented a credible performance. Exploration of Northern Kerala folkfares has been put to good use. Experience of the climax sequences was exceptional . The back ground score keeps the movie engaging. Altogether , ARM is an epic adventure movie that provides an immensely enjoyable experience.

My rating is 7/10.

To me, ARM is an effort movie in malayalam in the fantasy segment. How thoughts/ambitions of our ancestors travelled through generations and its significance in the present moment is crafted appealingly.

Some procreation is meant to gain respect for their families/communities or to break the chains time had put on their heals.

Glorified theft, but who is right...?? Is the question here in this movie.

There are many secrets to unlock for the present generations which is kept it for the same purpose by our predecessors. The rightful always finds its way to find the treasure behind the secrets inorder to live with glory/respect/pride...!!

****Songs (especially Angu vaana) and BGM are good.

***Fight sequences are entertaining.

***Performance of Maniyan couple was the highlight.

***There is romance in this movie.

The best part of ARM is definitely the portions of the thief Maniyan. Among the three timelines and the three characters, it was the sole reason I felt the movie was worth watching. But even there it felt like there was so much potential that was not explored enough. Even in that portion, everything from the writing, production design and music feels like it's done in a way that is just enough and safe for the movie to work among Malayalees. The main storyline of Ajayan was like a tweaked version of Meeshamadhavan where a lot of things felt wrong and it went on way longer than I had the patience for.

Still, the touch of fantasy in everything was something that made me appreciate the whole thing even with all the things that irked me. The very first action scene with the Kunjikelu character was very underwhelming for me, but the rest of the action scenes worked pretty well with all the Kalari moves. But the fights are not placed in the narrative like modern action movies, it felt a lot like how they were placed in some of the Malayalam movies from the 90s as a moderately exciting scene before something more interesting happens. Even the ending felt like one of those lazy 90s movies where everything doesn't exactly tie up by the end but the main stuff is told directly to you and the rest are just assumed to have gone well.

The 3D effects that are designed to be flashy at moments kept me amused after the moments I felt bored. There were also editing mistakes that popped up here and there, so I'd have to think that some frames with issues in 3D could have been more of an issue with the editing. Overall, this felt like an okayish movie but there were some aspects of it, especially in the Maniyan portion that I'm very happy to see and wish there were more attempts like that.