Kaattu

Coming after a hiatus of 3 years following the forgettable dud 1 by 2 and the immensely powerful Left Right Left, Arun Kumar Aravind's Kaattu may not be a conventional entertainer for its lethargic unfurling of sequences - this 80's style laid back drama somehow impresses largely because of the characterizations and its old school writing and narrative. Highly reminiscent of the Bharathan-Padmarajan Style making of 80's (movies like Lorry, Thakara, Chaatta), the writer Ananthapadmanabhan has given more prominence to the emotional side of some characters rather than relying on new age gimmicks . Based on his father's (the late Padmarajan's) short story 'Ranimaarude Kudumbam, the plot is developed in the background of a fire-cracker manufacturing unit and its people someplace in the 80's with some excellent BGM and visuals of the Kerala -Tamilnadu border landscape and the ever present howling wind lending an eerie tranquil to the characters and overall setting. Murali Gopy does exceedingly well as Chellappan, the womanizer with a dark past, but it's Asif Ali who's a revelation as the dim-witted Noohu Kannu, surprisingly restrained and utterly dissimilar from his usual roles - their screen space heavily inspired by the Chellappanasari-Thakara combo from Thakara. Kaattu does have its share of let downs, length being the foremost factor and the negligence shown in making a period film without recreating the minutiae of that exact era. It also comes with its own share of supposed-to-be-misogynic comments, with the sexist/patriarchic camaderie and remarks of a horde of low-lifers - something that could be frowned upon in these times of feminist ammachis and anti-Kasaba style oppositions!

Not everyone's cup of tea; Comes with its own merits here and there. Nostalgic enough if you are a Bharathan or Padmarajan fan or similar 80's flicks!

There is this mysterious thing about Arun Kumar Arvind's films that pulls you in and surprises you. His latest feature crime film, Kaattu, although has that quality, suffers from tedium. I am not a fan of films that has dialogues in multiple languages, and for starters, Kaattu is filled with at least 30% Tamil, which limited by experience. There is a backstory in the film, and which comes to the fore later, is not fully clear to an average person. Asif Ali plays a naive young man, in one of his best performances till date, whose life is influenced by an alpha guy (Murali Gopy) with a shady past. Things are pleasant in the first half in Kaattu, where the characters engage in petty banter while they create and sell indigenous explosives. But, after a while, the story goes haywire and stops making sense. Jealousy, treachery, and powerlessness play their part while we witness these characters fool around for some time till the ambiguous climax. Religious fanaticism seems to be the primary theme of Kaattu, but somehow it fails to translate even when you complete watching this 160-minute overlong drama that will be best, and probably only known, for its cast performance and the score. Other than Ali, Gopy, Pankan Thamarassery, and Unni P. Dev make the film worthwhile. There's not much to expect nor is there plenty to consume in Arvind's Kaattu, which is why it does not come highly recommended, even if you are a fan of his films or the actors. TN.

after a long time watching a perfect movie with beautiful story line with memorable characters. asif ekka the climax smile is awesome, never expect this much from you. murali chettan also proved that he is a extraordinary character artist. feel like reading a book. hats off to kaattu crew members and especially arunkumar aravind for giving us such a awesome movie..

"Kaatu" is a Malayalam movie directed by Arunkumar Aravind as his fourth film. the script of the movie written by Ananthapadmanabhan based on the story written by "P.Padmanabhan", the story is happening in late 80s and 90's. Asif Ali and Murali Gopi are the leading actors, According to my opinion it is one of the best movies acted by Asif, the songs and BGM were composed by Deepak Dev. the negative parts of the movies are it's climax and it is strictly for serious viewers

While the character development and the period setting were pretty impressive the outdated story and the overlong run-time drags it. Asif Ali and Murali Gopi are fantastic and the script holds the film well until the last 40 minutes but then it goes out of hand. The ending didn't really felt justified either, however, the first two acts were a refreshing experience.