P A C H A K U T I R A - NOT MANY FORTUNES

"Too many cooks spoil the broath" is apt in the case of Dileep starrer Pachakutira.

Janapriyanayakan Dileep dons the role of a junior artist supplier Anandakuttan and poses an attempt to do something different through the mentally challenged Aakash Menon.After seeing the flick one gets cloyed with comedy and melodrama.One wonders how can a director like Kamal along with script writer T.A.Shahid who has had a resonable sucess come up with a movie which has a disjoint screenplay .The story idea which is by Dileep revolves around Anandakuttan who is a happy go lucky junior artist by himself.He has a betallion of other junior artists and they live like one family.Nimmy(Gopika) is his lady love and she is the sole hope of her family which comprises of her ailing father and sister. Anandakuttan's life takes a turn when he gets the message that his brother is coming from Germany.He is hopeful that his brother mite turn out to be a lucky mascot.But mentally challenged Aakash Menon with his appearance takes everyone by surprise.The later portions of the first half revolves around Aakashu's mischevious deeds which have been presented beautifully.The comdey is rib tickling and evokes good fun.

The major let down is the post interval portions where Anandakuttan tries hard to make his brother recognise him and further tries to wreak vengeance at certain people around him.All is fair until Issac(Siddique) comes with a request to take back Aakashu to Germany.The path taken by the director at the climax for all the why,what and how is the most disappointing aspect of the film.One seriously gets a feeling that Kamal has got all the moves wrong at the end of the movie.Dileep as Aakashu is worth watching,Salim Kumar appears in a through character and is entertaining.Rest of the cast have little to do.Too many characters with no depth in offering slackens the pace of the flick,and one gets the feeling that too many things have been tried with no reason.

Heavy marketting and the pre release hype might recover the movie budget and the only saving grace of the flick is Dileep. Pachakutira , clearly is half cooked rice.

R A S A T A N T R A M - The chemistry has worked

Amidst all the vociferous crowd in the Priyadarshini theater at Palakad,one can see the happiness on the face of viewers who have just come out after seeing the much awaited Mohanlal-Satyan Antikaad flick Rasatantram.One can hear comments in thetypical malayalam lingo " Satyan Antikaad intey cinema aeppozhengilum mosham aakar undo". The verdict is clear...After a 12 year sabattical,the duo have done it again,reminding the cinegoers of the wonderful Naadodikaatu,Pattanapravesham,Varavelppu..the list goes on.

Rasatantram mainly explores the relationship between a father and a son,who live together away from their family , more like a self imposed ostracism.Preman(Lal) is a carpenter who earns his livelihood with his instinctive sensibilities of vaastushastra.His father ( Gopi) who is an ailing old man but strong at heart constantly repents over certain decisions in life which has cost the life of his beloved son.The unconditional love and care that holds the relationship between the two forms the major essence of Rasatantram.The story can be seen as two distinct blocks; one which showcases a father and son and the other which explores the changes which come into a man's life when he empathises with a poor girl(Meera Jasmine)and tries to give her a better living.

The pre interval portion which has Meera Jasmine disguising everyone around as Velayudhan is worth watching.Post interval is a test of ones emotional sensibility as it deals with the past and present of a father and son.Mohanl Lal as usual is at his best,Gopi has yet again given a wonderful performace with fine tuned restraint while expressing emotions.The support cast which includes Innocent,Mammukoya,Oduvil UnniKrishnan,Siddique, Lalita and Bindu Panicker are aptly used.Mukesh might just prove to be a lucky mascot in his guest role as the movie is running to packed houses with 100% first week opening.The songs by Ilayaraja are wonderful and well picturised.

Rasatantram is not about just one chemistry.It has a series of chemistry; between father and son,man and woman,socitey and prejudices,five senses and nature and above all the director andthe viewer.Full credit goes to Satyan Anthikad who has scripted and directed the flick which might not only be the biggest grosser of all the Vishu releases but also a movie which one can sit back and enjoy with the whole family.

W H E N K E Y 'S T A K E : C H I N T A M A N I M U R D E R C A S E

A FILM REVIEW

After an average outing with THE TIGER, Shaji Kailas is back with a legal thriller which has Suresh Gopi playing the devil's advocate.The movie which opened to packed houses will continue to attract audience for another two weeks as no other major releases are stated.The director has made a valiant attempt as one can clearly feel the disnctive difference in which the narrative has been told.The first half has Lal Krishna the protagonist (Suresh Gopi) drooling around in black outfits with heavy duty english lingos,interspresed with sanskrit verses.One must admit that he has essayed the role to perfection,as it is a bit unconventional with shades of gray.The advocate in defence of the accused winning the cases for the clients and then weilding the licence to kill is highlighted in the first half of the story.The overview of the murder of Varier girl Chintamani,is presented with gusto before the end of the first half,leaving the viewer wondering as to how the plot is going to unwind.The director and the writer have cashed into this aspect very well in the post interval portion.The characterisation of Lal Krishna is completely justified in the second half.The court scenes are wonderful and the way suresh gopi carries himself is a treat to watch.

There are a few places where the director could have been more careful.Many characters have been introduced at improper places which slackens the movie's pace and takes the viewer out of focus.Kalabhavan Mani and Vani viswanath could have been avoided, as actors of their calibre have little to do.Yester year heroine Rekha features in a cameo which could have been done by any one in the industry.Bhavana seems to have taken a bold step to figure in this kind of role which can take her out of the sterotyped girl next door image. Tilakan has made a come back with a full length character which he has portrayed to perfection.Biju Menon is apt enough and SaiKumar has done justice to the role of an advocate to disguise the viewer very well.The camera angles are excellent and the direction has been an attempt to reflect the likes of Kamal Hassan in Veeru Mandi.

On the whole the flick has an entertaining second half and of course the judge Lal Krishna weilding the licence to kill is worth watching.