Romancham

Malayali audience have been longing for a comedy movie for quite some time. Romancham is here to quench that thirst. Although it's a fun watch, I have to say that it's a bit over-hyped. Not that I didn't enjoy the movie, but the rush and reviews are as if it belongs to the range of classics like Punjabi House or Pulival Kalyanam. It does not.

Coming to the movie, there is no star cast in this. Only three of the actors are familiar. But almost everyone did a fine job. Especially Arjun Ashokan. It is probably his career best performance. Soubin is back to his form. I loved the guy who controls the Ouija Board.

Sushin Shyam did a major role behind the success of the movie. Kudos to Jithu Madhavan for providing us a breath of fresh air.

A nice comedy with a touch of horror. Felt like watching the first half of the first season of a series because there was a clear divide in the events and how it is made for it to be four episodes.

The ensemble cast did a great job but Arjun Ashokan scored even though he only appeared in the second half of the movie.

Sushin's background score often feels derivative to me, the same way I feel about Anirudh but both of them are extremely effective in the scenes in the movie that there won't be any complaints.

And how the movie ends was a bit of a disappointment but I kind of saw it coming because I already heard part 2 is coming, so it didn't become a huge disappointment. It felt like they didn't exactly have a clear plan on how to make this film whole and decided to tease a sequel that could be more of a horror and see how it would work out. It wasn't bad per se because of the way the film is structured and claimed to be based on a true story, but it kind of felt like taking an easy way out. Precisely because of that, I don't really agree with adding Horror in front of comedy when talking about the genre of this film.

Romancham is one of those movies that takes a little while (about 15-20 minutes) to get going, but once the Ouija board element kicks in, it goes ALL OUT entertaining. The cackles are aplenty and relentless, with everyone (yes, everyone!) in the cast getting their memorable LOL moments. While I see it being talked about a lot as a horror-comedy, I feel the right way to refer to it is comedy-horror; situational humour precedes all else in the film. The horror aspect gains some strength in the final act, but the setup is kept aside for a potential sequel. But, for what it's worth, Jithu Madhavan's debut effort is splendid in seamlessly blending an eerie atmosphere with humour that arises from spontaneous reactions, subtle change of expressions on the actors' faces, and witty one-liners.

It's a film that lends distinct attributes to each of the cast members. While you can pose questions like what five out of seven guys do for a living (which I'm frankly not sure, except for the guy whose business ventures are constantly flopping and another guy with a corporate job), and whether they do not step out of the house or that particular locality that often, these questions never pop up when you watch, owing to the kickass execution of consecutively hilarious scenes. The aesthetics in and around the house are pretty fascinating too: a bunch of unused toilet pots, an old movie poster, the porch with a swing, the terrace where they play volleyball, and the rat cemetery next to the house. I loved how Jithu uses these elements to keep us entertained for a little over two hours. Full marks to the cast (especially Arjun Ashokan, Sajin Gopu, and Afzal PH) and Sushin Shyam's pulsating score as well. Let's get the sequel rolling!

Watched it with a notion that the reviews may be exaggerated or the movie might be overrated. So I was planning to watch it in 2-3 sittings when I get bored. But the movie kept me glued to the seat from the beginning till the end. The characters are well developed and relatable. Though there were lots of unanswered questions ( they may answer them in the sequel hopefully), the movie was highly suspenseful. The jokes were not the ones that will make your tummy hurts, but very subtle and enjoyable.

7 friends living in Bangalore, not in the crowded or posh areas but in a remote place in the city. Few of them have jobs and others are searching. Then on a bored day they play Ouija board and a ghost came, or did she?

One of the best comedy horror flicks of this year. The screenplay and cast have totally got me to fall in love with this movie. From the beginning to end the story and characters takes us on a comdey packed journey without loosing an inch of thrill. Every single scene is executed with originality which makes us don't wana take our eyes of the screen. The background scores and songs are spot on making every audience member feel they got their money's worth. The content enacting and execution really makes the audience get a taste of that adrenaline rush paving the way for the unexpected yet savoury climax which makes us wait for the next one.