Kaapa

RATED 6/10 Language: Malayalam Source: Netflix

Watched Kaduva and then decided to give this one a try. This one failed to impress me as the previous one. Lot of scenes are quite unique and presented the gangster rivalry in different people point of view.

This movie is trying to portrait the gangster in half cooked way. It rides in some classic Malayalam cinema way for some scenes and derailed to mass elements in most of other scenes.

Looks like Shaji written the climax and started to develop the story towards that. This is not clicked in right way for the mass masala lovers, like me. Looks like it succeeded in half for both mass and class way.

I think Prithviraj intentionally joins with Shaji Kailas again after Kaduva only because of Dhothi and Fight. He loves to do it with him again. Kaduva was a commercial success flick and thus KAAPA is going on the same path. KAAPA is the cinematic version of G R Indhugopan's novel Shangumukhi. The novelist is also penned for the movie. When Shangumukhi turns to KAAPA does it do nicely? Let's discuss that. The first face that comes into our mind when we hear the title KAAPA is cinematographer cum director Venu. Venu is supposed to direct the film. But due to unknown reasons, Venu quit the project and then Shaji Kailas comes on board. The film completely deviated from the writing pattern that we read in the novel. The appearance of Kotta Madhu was changed even to fit Prithviraj when it comes to the film. KAAPA actually feels like me when a story gets to cut its first and last act shows the middle portion to us and that middle portion seems to be the totality of the movie. So we can say that KAAPA lies in between Shangumukhi. We can't see Kotta Madhu's actual characterization rather we see him fighting with his enemies like a supernatural. Later when Madhu's wife gets into the ground the cinema veils its curtain. So I expect a prequel and a sequel for the movie. Anand and his wife come to Trivandrum for a job, when Anand realizes that His wife, Binu's brother was killed in a gang war thus Binu's name was enlisted in the KAAPA list. He tries to remove her name. On that journey, he knows Binu's brother's enemy is Kotta Madhu and finds more information about him. From then on, we just go along with Kotta Madhu, his past and present endeavors and dilemmas. Typical Shaji Kailas fights were seen at some points in the movie but that doesn't seem to fit into the atmosphere. The emotional backup and depth of the character don't quite convincing. But I feel a disparate travel in the filmography of Shaji Kailas. Shots were beautiful as always in Shaji Kailas's works. Jomon T John's cinematography also looks good. Dawn Vincent's background score was nice but not powerful. Prithviraj corrects his acting through dialogue delivery. His pronunciation of Trivandrum slang was so perfect. Asif Ali, Anna Ben, Aparna Balamurali, Jagadeesh, Dileesh Pothan, Nandu, etc justified their characters. The film will disappoint those who come up with the novel's visual graph and pattern. Those who came without that in their mind, then surely it will entertain you.

Despite a strong foundation on which to build, Kaapa remains a generic gangster drama despite its potential. I truly hope they don't continue filming the sequel after that disappointing climax. Although Anna Ben is the film's central character, she has a smaller role than Prithviraj, Jagathy, and dileesh pothan, who are the film's three biggest pluses. Aparna and Asif Ali were fine with the possibility that had arisen. There isn't much excitement to be had in Kaapa. The fact that it takes itself so seriously stands out as a huge flaw. The group members rarely discuss anything other than business. The weak writing makes the characters seem pompous.

***Kaapa Malayalam Movie Review***

Kaapa Movie starring Prithviraj Sukumaran Asif Ali Aparna Balamurali Ana Ben, Jagdish in lead role..

Directed by Shaji Kailas

A Gangster Story with a deep Vengeance

Various forms of Gangster films we have seen, kaapa doesn't offer a variety or a unique kind but still Kaapa able to entertain & that is because every character has a powerful impact..

When these characters are performed by talents, then it's always thrilled to watch...

Prithviraj as Kotta Madhu. When it comes to serious genre roles, this man effortlessly performs.

Asif Ali's screen presence comes at certain points of time but during that period he delivers well.

Aparna & Ana Ben , had not been given much screen presence except the last 10 minutes. They should have been exposed more.

Jagdish & Nandu performance was also good.

Although movie directed by Shaji Kailas, at some points we could see his signature film making shots but still this was different from what he done till now.

BGM was fantastic.

Overall a watchable movie.

I watched this film only because I had nothing else to do. I am not a huge fan of Shaji Kailas films, especially his last outing was such a duller I even forgot the name of the film. Again, very weak on the story part. However, liked the small suspense scenes in the beginning. Impressed with Asif Ali's performance. I think he has done a really good job in this film. His innocence and desperation was quite a watch. Prithvi Raj also impressive with the accent and image. Apart from this nothing worth mentioning. This time though I actually sat through the whole film unlike Kaduva where half the time I felt the need to leave the film half way through but had to stay back because of everybody else. The ending is quite predictable. Like I said, watch it only if you have nothing else to do.