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!

A Tragic Backstory. Check. A Step By Step Crime Investigation. Check. ASnitch Within the team. Check. A final clash with the villain. Check.

Villain was a complete mess from the beginning. To be honest, i lost track of what was happening in between. Too much use of neo-noir transitions, particularly unnerving lighting effects and almost no use of the superb cinematography surrounding this dull film. Villain is a throwback to the 90's crime investigative thrillers wave in the Mollywood industry, then again it fails in that. Villain's execution and style may differ from the mainstream but the ignorant use of special effects and transitions spoil the fun. It is a theme that has already been feasted upon by the Mollywood industry and we sure don't want to burst ourselves.

Villain had a strong base to build, it was engrossing, thrilling but lacked the essential substance to go forward. The story-line wasn't a line at all, it was a messed up mix of emotions, unneeded close ups and a whole lot chunk of unnecessary dialogues. Although the criticism on dialogues isn't fair ; it might be the only plus point that i may be able to point out. Villain's lack of substance left us with doubt whether to sympathize with the characters or not ; leaving us almost no individual performances that we really cared for.

The acting line up was sensational. Vishal had a conclusive performance while the same could not be said to Hansika. With bad dubbing process ( which is kind of a improvement ) and unnecessary English dialogues to fill that space, the sound editing team really needed to run this again.

Mohanlal's performance was yet again, exceptional. It is one of the few cases where the character that a certain actor gets corresponds with their age and the casting was beautifully done. Siddiqe, Aju Varghese, Chemban Vinod all delivered a sub par performance while the only odd man standing out would be and is only Mohanlal. To be honest without the stardom and On screen presence of Mohanlal, Villain would sure have been a bloating mess.

The cinematography might be the only one thing that i really cared for in the film. It was the only plus point that stayed true to the screen at all times. Kudos to Manoj Paramahamsa for that.

Overall, with a few out of the box scenes, Villain is an OK watch but then again so is all the recent releases.

+ Watch out for the ' philosophical ' punch lines. + Cinematography + Lead Acting

• Weak Story - Terrible on screen execution of certain characters. - A pale and shallow theme. - Poor editing and visual effects considering the budget. - The dialogue - "Nothing is white or black, everything is grey"

(WAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN ??)

My Rating - 5.7 / 10.0

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

Villain is such a huge disappointment. It had so much potential even though the storyline was something we've seen before. There were some cliche breaking too. A hero who walks away from his revenge is may be something never happened before in Malayalam movies.

The poorly written screenplay is the real villain in this movie. The first half was decent. B Unnikrishnan shifted to top gear all of sudden. The writing was so impatient. How Mathew(Mohanlal) finds out about the murderer is too convenient. Then there are the songs. I don't know what's with Unnikrishnan and bad rock songs. I guess you know about "Aaranu Nee" from Grandmaster. He could've easily shown she's part of a band without using a whole song. The rest of the songs just increases the duration and serves no purpose. Kandittum Kanditum was good though.

Mohanlal's performance stands out. That was casting done well. His physique, the grey beard suits a veteran police officer who's been through a lot. Mathew Manjooran is one of the most underrated performance in Malayalam cinema. Watch Villain for that reason alone.

" Villain" has succeeded to fulfill the expectations of the people. In the beginning, one wonders, why the police officer has availed long leave only to join duties, which turned out to be the last day of his career. Later on one realize, because of being in police force, he lost his wife and daughter, there by losing the precious family life. He himself was witness to the horrible sufferings of his wife, the heart- rending hospital scenes of which will haunt the viewers for long.

Villain belongs to Mohanlal, his role as the police officer stands tall because of his brilliance.His look in the movie with white beard,his attire and the body language,clearly is a reflection of his mental sufferings.This is being reflected on his face each time he appears on the screen. He is a terrible loser but he does not allow those things come in the way of the task he has undertaken.Manju Warrier shines in her role, as Neelima, even though she has a cameo role to play.She has brilliantly played her role with ease,which was worth watching. Vinod Jose as Iqbal has been a success, his success story,undoubtedly was his natural acting.

The strong relationship & bonding,involving husband-wife and their daughter has been beautifully crafted in this movie. It was heart- breaking to watch the relationship being broken due to unfortunate circumstances.

The events that unfolds after the murder,with the hapless police failing to make the breakthrough and approaching the retired police officer for his assistance to solve the mystery murder and Mathew Manjuran the impeccable ex-police officer agreeing to the proposal,came much to the liking of the viewers. The climax scene unravels some bitter truths,much to the surprise of the viewers.

Villain has been decorated with powerful dialogues, not often been heard in other movies. There has been many dialogues in English,which has been incorporated at the right place, well suiting to the situation. But the back ground score, on a few occasions,piercing our ears,leaving dialogues inaudible.

The film also brings to the fore the message that villains are not born, but being made, and there hides a hero in every villain and vice verse.

It is a crime thriller worth to watch. But one can not leave aside the emotional aspect of the movie which goes deep in to hearts of viewers for which Director B.Unnikrishnan deserves accolades.

One has to go and watch this movie. Villain has the stuff which viewers never dislike.