Kooman

I recently watched Kooman on Amazon Prime, and I have to say, it's definitely one of the better thrillers I've seen in a while. The storyline was gripping and had just the right amount of suspense to keep me interested till the end. The twists were well-placed, and the overall mood of the film was enhanced by the excellent background score and music.

What I really appreciated was how the movie didn't try too hard it just let the story unfold naturally. Asif Ali fitted into the character and nailed with his casual performance. That being said, there were a few scenes that felt unnecessary, almost like they were added just to increase the runtime. They didn't really add much to the story and could've easily been edited out.

Also, a few characters felt incomplete or forgotten. Some were introduced with a bit of buildup but were just left hanging without a proper conclusion. It left me wondering what happened to them or why they were there in the first place.

Also, a few characters felt incomplete or forgotten. Some were introduced with a bit of buildup but were just left hanging without a proper conclusion. It left me wondering what happened to them or why they were there in the first place.

Kooman is a testament to Jeethu Joseph's skill in crafting seat-edge thrillers. It also extracts an insanely good performance from Asif Ali - playing a fairly intelligent cop named Giri, who also decides to embark on a series of burglaries as a means to get back at his superior officer. The first half shows his ruthlessness at exacting revenge on people who shame or ridicule him at the slightest, and Asif's subtle expression changes during these stretches are fantastic to watch. The screenplay (by KR Krishna Kumar) is also good at tapping into the vulnerable side of a steadfast policeman, and we as viewers are driven to get behind his criminal choices.

In Kooman, we actually get two films instead of one - it's a tale of two halves. While the first focuses on his nightly shenanigans which itself keeps you interested, it further dives into a series of murders happening in the area, and Giri finds himself tied to one of them in unexpected ways. Giri's obsession with robbing people just for kicks is what gets him embroiled in this issue. The film then moves ahead from its initial central conflict and starts to revolve around Giri's unofficial investigation on finding the murderer. If not for the recent events that unfolded in Kerala, the climax would have come across as rather absurd and unbelievable in this day and age. But kudos to the writer and director in their ability to prophesize a ghastly incident, and for executing it in a sufficiently thrilling way.

The villain reveal (and the extended climax) do not fetch any points, mostly since it became rather obvious in the scenes preceding it. The action set-piece is also pretty tame, and the mere mention of a character's queerness (as an excuse for villainy) takes away ½ a star. All said and done, I'll recommend the appropriately-titled Kooman to those who relish thrillers. Special mention to Jaffer Idukki for his wicked performance as a semi-retired thief, especially in that scene where he elucidates the "high" he gets from thieving. Vishnu Shyam's score is also top-notch. Give Asif Ali more such roles, please!

A nice one from Jeetu Joseph. First half was a breeze. Asif Ali played to perfection the character of a police officer ably supported by Ranji Panicker,although certain scenes reminds of previous characters played by him. Senior Police officer-Jayaraman was a bit disappointing. Lacked the usual punch expected from a police. Its all about Asif how he potrays different shades of his character. Baburaj has played similiar roles. The second half just pushed the movie to a different direction. Climax could have been shot better. Some of the characters that appear in the tea stall dont add any further value except during the first bit. Jaffer Iduki once again proves his mettle in a short role. What an actor he is.

A decent thriller.

I would argue Kooman and Memories are the best-directed works by Jeethu Joseph regardless of what someone's personal opinion is about his best film. The protagonist is almost an anti-hero, a regular police constable with a criminal mind. But at the same time, that greyness of the character is treated almost like how Krishna's despicable acts are glossed over as his naughtiness in retellings of Hindu mythology so that even though it's shown like that, there's still space for the audience to perceive the truth of it. Asif Ali fits into this role perfectly and this finally looks like the film that will be successful at the box office which he's in desperate need of right now.

The release of this movie is timed perfectly. The audience can easily relate to the twists in the second half because of recent news and the impact of it, that otherwise would have been considered a little bit far-fetched.

Thoroughly enjoyed another well written, well acted suspense thriller from Jeethu Joseph. Everyone acted so well and it the background score was apt for the mood of the film. Asif Ali nailed the psychological mood of the character and saw some old Mohanlal element in it. The story is different until the interval and completely changed the direction of the movie after that, with the first half is still looming in to the second.

This is a totally different kind of Whodunit suspense thriller which has never been done before. The twist ends 15 minutes before the film but still kept few suspense to the end.

7.5/10 from me.