'Munnariyippu' opens with a top angle shot. As the credits scroll on the screen, in the background an army of ants shift a dead gecko from the screen's left to the right. It is not clear whether the ants have killed the gecko. But they are sure about where they are heading. And they move slowly to that destination. Every once in a while comes along a film that demands from us more than few bucks at the pay counter. It demands attention, asks for involvement. To savour it fully, it isn't enough to watch it. 'Munnariyippu' is going to be one such film. For the classic that it is, 'Munnariyippu' is bound to remain in the hearts of those who care for the art of visual storytelling for long time to come.
C K Raghavan is a convicted prisoner for murdering two females. A freelance journalist Anjali who comes to the central prison to help the prison superintendent in writing his autobiography becomes curious about this interesting prisoner and tries to explore the real story behind this man from his own pen. Anjali's journey to know the intellectual Raghavan is what Munnariyippu focusing on.
Mammootty as Raghavan is riveting and this is undoubtedly one of the best characters by him recently. The actor who gets a serious character throughout delivers it with his nuances and body language. His dialogue delivery is also brilliant. Aparna Gopinath gets a very meaty role and she is very much comfortable in it. She is very much fortunate to get a good amount of screen space and utilities it very well. Ranji Paniker, Joy Mathew, Nedumudi Venu, Kochupreman are all good in their roles.
On the making side, the director has totally avoided the use of clichéd loud masala flavors and as I said earlier, a simple narrative pattern is followed from the start to the end to make Munnariyippu a differently treated film. The film has a very good story-line (By Venu) which is missing in most of the movies today. It is honest and hard hitting. Screenplay is excellent and engaging and the there are no scenes irrelevant or forced. Direction is very good and you can see the experience of a veteran technician like Venu with Munnariyippu. But the highlight of the movie is brilliant dialogues.
First half of the film introduces the major characters and sets a good base. Second half is engaging and the dialogues also keeps you interested towards the narrative leading to a shocker climax. This is where the movie reveals everything about the movie and need a your whole brain to connect things. There is no spoon feeding for the audience here and will require your senses to understand it.
Munnariyippu is one of the most intriguing films made in recent times.
