Villain

'Villain', written and directed by Unnikrishnan B, had been in the news (ever since Mohanlal shared the movie's first-look poster featuring himself in a salt & pepper avatar on his Facebook page, to be precise) for a number of reasons: (#1) It's the first film in India to be completely shot in 8K resolution (Manoj Paramahamsa and N.K Ekambaram wield the camera), (#2) It's the first Malayalam film where color-grading was done during filming itself, (#3) The record amounts it earned in terms of overseas distribution, music and satellite rights, and lastly, (#4) The massive star-cast (comprising the likes of Manju Warrier, Vishal, Hansika, Srikanth, and a horde of popular Malayalam talents on board).

The writer/director chooses to narrate the story of ADGP Mathew Manjooran (Mohanlal) by mounting a reasonably large canvas with a wide array of characters, attempting a rather subtle mishmash of genres (crime/drama/thriller/family) well within his comfort zone (we saw Lal-Unnikrishnan duo churn out 'Grandmaster' five years ago, which was quite alright). The story primarily alternates between Mathew's past and present: Mathew has suffered a personal tragedy due to which he has been away from duty for nearly seven months, and when he eventually returns to work, he surprises everyone by opting for voluntary retirement and decides to go on a 'journey of healing'. On the other end, a trio of murders have taken place in the city of Trivandrum and the police-force look up to Mathew for his expertise in cracking the case.

There isn't a whole lot of novelty in the storyline or its presentation to boast of. The basic concept is in fact, rehashed from plenty of other films in the cop-thriller genre. The police procedural bits are undoubtedly the best; the delightful strewing of clues and red- herrings in the first half manage to keep the viewer sufficiently engaged (even though not on the edge of their seats). However, the audience soon realizes that Unnikrishnan isn't exactly interested in building mystery around the identity of the antagonist (which usually arrives in the form of a twisted-reveal at the end), but to break shells on the traditional notions of 'hero' and 'villain' through philosophical exchanges and slight overdose of sentimentality.

The genre-thrills are practically absent in the latter half and predictability begins to play spoilsport. What drives an investigative thriller forward, even with the antagonist-reveal coming in quite early, is how the protagonist pieces together the whole ordeal and when things start to make sense, without logic having to take a beating. 'Villain' unfortunately comes well short of fulfilling those expectations and struts along in a strictly straight-forward fashion. Certain characters needed better writing: Shakthivel (Vishal) is pivotal to the narrative but the reasons for his actions are explained in quick flashback montages with voiceovers - not even close to making the viewer discern the vehemence of his transformation (from doctor to psychopathic killer); Shreya (Hansika) the girlfriend of Shakthivel - their relationship would have made quite an exciting story but isn't fully explored into; Felix (Srikanth), a drug-lord who seeks redemption against Mathew (for his earlier exploits), appears more like a one- note cardboard wrongdoer.

Mohanlal proves why he is still the undisputed acting champion of India, with a bravura act that is tremendously restrained from start to finish. Even though Mathew quotes philosophy (and Shakespeare) a tad too often, which sounds excruciating after a point (especially during the moderately prolonged climactic 'talkathon' between himself and Shakthivel), it always helps that Mohanlal is the one delivering these lines. The way he emotes in the hospital scenes is a vivid lesson for aspiring performers - simply breathtaking!

Manju Warrier, in a poorly written character (of Mathew's wife Neelima), does a great job with respect to what the script offers her. When Mohanlal and Manju Warrier (two of the most bankable actors of Malayalam filmdom) share the silver-screen, the chemistry is by- default electric, even when their lines let them down. 'Villain' is a botched effort no doubt, but the ensemble (Siddique, Ranji Panicker, Raashi Khanna and Chemban Vinod to name a few) makes us buy into the proceedings to an extent.

Music (by 4 Musics) is serviceable for all it's worth - we will be forgetting most tracks as soon as radio stations surrender their fixation on them. Background score by Sushin Shyam complements the film's vibe perfectly. Stunts by Peter Hein are just about adequate, without being overly 'massy'. Editing (by Shameer Mohammed) could have been tauter (chiefly in the second half). 'Villain' could easily be regarded as one of Unnikrishnan's better films but that just isn't enough for it to be deemed a compelling fare on the whole.

Verdict: Plenty of reasons to give it a miss, but one magic word pretty much outdoes it all - Mohanlal!

The good part of the film reminds of one of B Unnikrishnan and Mohanlal's previous collaboration that worked like Grandmaster and the bad parts reminds of their atrocious collaboration in Mr Fraud. The cinematographer and the actors have done their jobs really well here but the script constantly tries to be something bigger. By trying to include too many social issues and philosophy the film loses its grip on the whole. The plot gets convoluted with too many character arcs which are not smoothly dealt with. The production design has to be the worst part where you understand that the makers have learned nothing from Mr Fraud. Yet the film has its moments, the cinematography and the music creates an atmosphere that keeps the film alive and Mohanlal is always great.

I wanted to see this movie from the moment i heard the cast involved and then i saw the creative talent involved and i got more hyped for it. When i left the theatre, i was greatly dissapointed . Villain is a mess.The tones are really conflicting . It quickly changes from a crime thriller to a sad story about an unfortunate couple and then goes back to the crime thriller part . The acting though is amazing by all the actors. This movie feels like it has two great movie combined into one big mess . Anyway overall no recommendation for it.

The intentions of Villain as a film are wise but the shoddy execution makes it look overtly pretentious. Director B. Unnikrishnan directs Mohanlal as this rugged, smart law enforcement officer who is forced to come out of his voluntary retirement to solve a case that seems ordinarily stupid. The setup is very lukewarm at first, supported by Raashi Khanna's tasteless performance. One is supposed to get hooked into such crime thrillers at the beginning itself but instead here we are cringing over Mohanlal's snobbish character. The power in the film is introduced when we enter the protagonist's past and realize how the writers have messed up the plot by trying to look smart and psychological. Villain aspires to show you the evil side of human beings but it succeeds only in showing the ugly acting of Vishal, who graces the screen like the plague. Short-lived characters played by Manju Warrier and Hansika Motwani hardly help as the plot, trying to look intellectual, goes down the hill in the second half. The aim of the film is to show that every hero has a villain and vice versa, but I'm not really convinced. Villain is easily the most disappointing films of 2017. TN.

Summary (no spoilers)

This movie is based on a killer who teases the entire police department with his flawless crimes and gets chased by a retired cop whose past influences the killers future with the cat and mouse game getting out of hand.

My Review (no spoilers)

There was nothing wrong in the directing or acting in this movie but it was the writing. I felt the script was incomplete. They just rushed thru to finish the movie with the most lame ending ever. One outstanding acting was of Manju Warrier where her role was done to perfection no wonder she is called the lady superstar of Malayalam movie industry. Mohanlal was the other one with his perfect acting, explosive action and mind blowing dialogues kept the viewers pinned to the screen. I felt Vishal, Hansika and Raashi were all underutilized for their respective roles in this movie. I liked one song from this movie named "Kandittum Kandittum" it would be in my head for a while. I think Mohanlal and Vishal needed a good BGM for their roles too. Overall had a promising start but went downhill later on.

My Recommendation

Yes, I would say to watch out for Mohanlal and Manju Warriers acting combo.

My Rating

6/10