Ela Veezha Poonchira

Soubin Shahir has been on one of the leanest patches in his short career off-late. From the highs of "Bheeshma Parvam", he nose-dived into shambolic, ill-conceived roles in 2022 with ventures like "Bro Daddy", "Kallan D'Souza, "CBI 5" until finally hit rock bottom in the absolute dumpster fire that was "Jack N'Jill". But right from the teaser and trailer release of Shahi Kabir's "Ela Veezha Poonchira" there were signs that the very capable actor was on track to make a comeback and boy, does he deliver!

We follow the journey of "Madhu" (Soubin) a seemingly disenchanted, frustrated policeman serving at a police wireless station in the picturesque but treacherous hilltop of "Ela Veezha Poonchira". Located at about 3,200 ft above sea level, this real-life location is prone to lightning strikes and the filmmakers bring that to screen with chilling effect, sending shivers down your spine with the sound design. How the lives of the policemen at this desolate outpost change when the body parts of a murder victim start popping up in their vicinity forms the rest of the story.

Shahi Kabir has proved himself to be the master of the police drama sub-genre, first with his affecting, realistic writing in modern classics like the groundbreaking "Joseph (2018)" and the internationally acclaimed "Nayattu (2021)". In "Ela Veezha Poonchira", he abandons the writer's chair to direct for the first time and translates the nuance, grit and passion we have seen in his screenplays to his direction style, focusing on the trials and tribulations of his protagonists and painting a vivid canvas of realistic police work amongst harsh conditions.

The disquieting surroundings and the enchanting environment suck you in from the word go, with Soubin leading from the front with an assured performance, displaying all the angst and personality quirks of an overworked policeman with conviction. Sudhi Koppa and Jude Anthany Joseph put in convincing portrayals in the supporting roles, playing no small part in building up the tension, which reaches fever pitch by the interval block and then moves at breakneck pace towards a crunching climax.

It was heartening to see the capable actor in Soubin back on full display after a long time, with Shahi Kabir leveraging his captivating, hypnotic eyes and natural quirkiness to full effect. "Ela Veezha Poonchira" is his finest performance since the State Award winning "Sudani From Nigeria (2018)" and a grand return to form for one of Malayalam's most promising character actors who was having a pretty mediocre run in 2022 so far. Shahi Kabir's debut directorial is an engaging watch and highly recommended!

At first, you will be puzzled, doubtful as to where this story might be leading you to; the more time passes, the more scepticism will accrue; but you have to keep patience because once it reaches its halfway point, the storytelling takes a slight turn and breaks away from its previous course and jumps onto an entirely new route, and the course of events is now set into motion; from there on, there's no turning back as the story seemed to have a bag full of trickeries reserved specifically for the climactic portions and believe me when I say, not only do they deliver, but they also make up for the sluggishness upfront. You will be in for a shock!

First and foremost, great work soubin.

The movie has done great work in all its technical departments especially the sound design of the movie was extraordinary they didn't even miss a minuscule detail. The first half of the movie moves at a slow pace and builds up the characters and encloses us to that area by its visuals and by the end of the first half the movie switches to a thriller mood with some good moments of thrill and suspense.

Overall this movie should be watched in the theatre because the technicality of the movie demands it. Moreover, ILA VEEZHA POONCHIRA deserves it.

Just watched the movie at PVR Lulu...A well made story line ...Suspense was well kept till the end.... A wonderful movie ...Worth to watch....soubin and sudhi has done well...

Heard so many amazing things about Ela Veezha Poonchira. But, after finishing the film I can say it's not an amazing film for me but just a good film. It's slow burn and in slow burn there should be something big in climax. But here, waiting was not worth it. That twist didn't work well for me.

The good things are the performances by the actors, brilliant location and atmosphere and you'll get to know about the place Ela veezha poonchira in Kerala. Also, I'm writing this so many days after watching the film, still I remember the scenes because of the atmosphere created. So, no doubt it's a good film, you'll not forget it really, you can watch it once.

Available on Prime Video.

© MandalBros.