Roshan Mathew

Starring : Anna Ben, Sreenath Bhasi, Roshan Mathew

Directed by : Muhammad Musthafa

Produced by : Vishnu Venu

Cinematography : Jimshi Khalid

Edited by : Noufal Abdullah

So, continuing the series of reviewing movies and shows during the lockdown period, our today’s pick is the Malayalam film Kappela. The film is available on Netflix and let’s see how it is.

What’s it about

Jessy(Anna Ben) is a small-town girl in Kerala. One fine day, she gets a random call from an unknown person(Roshan Mathew) and ignores it. The calls keep coming and slowly Jessy falls in love with this guy whose name is Vishnu. As time passes by, Jessy’s alliance is fixed and this leaves her restless. She calls Vishnu and they decide to meet finally. They fix a common meeting place and when she lands there, things change upside down for Jessy with the entry of a character named Roy(Sreenath Bhasi). Who is this Roy? What does he have to do with Jessy? Will Jessy and Vishnu finally meet in the end? That forms the rest of the story.

What’s good?

The social message showcased in the film is solid. How young girls fall prey to bad elements in society has been showcased wonderfully. Anna Ben is an actress who has become the most popular in the last year or so and she does a superb job in the film. She as a helpless Jessy does wonderfully and holds the attention of the audience through her expressive eyes.

Roshan Mathew is also solid in his crazy role. He has that charming side to him and also shows what an actor he is with his sudden transformation in his character. Sreenath Bhasi who plays the third crucial role is also very good and brings a lot of impact to the film.

The camerawork is exceptional and so was the BGM. The last half an hour of the film is super gripping with unexpected twists and thrills. You can never expect what is thrown at you during this time. The mature romance between the lead pair looks nice. The film is a mix of romance, social message, and thrill which is rare in today’s time.

What’s bad?

Malayalam films are devoid of the regular commercial aspects and this is the same with Kappela too. Because of this, the film takes its own time to come to the actual story. Not that it is bad, the narration shows the life of lead characters in detail and this might be a bit slow viewing wise for our Telugu audience.

Final Word

Overall, Kappela is a lovely Malayalam film that has good emotions, subtle romance, and solid thrills in the last half an hour. Apart from the slightly slower pace, the performances, narration, and unique story of the film keeps you hooked till the end making this film a solid watch during this lockdown. Don’t miss it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Starring : Saiyami Kher, Roshan Mathew, Amruta Subhash, Rajshri Deshpande

Directed by : Anurag Kashyap

Production Company : Good Bad Films

Cinematography : Sylvester Fonseca

Music by : Karsh Kale

So, continuing the series of reviewing movies and shows during the lockdown period, our today’s pick is the new Hindi Netflix original film Choked directed by Anurag Kashyap. Let’s now see how it is.

What’s it about?

The film is set in 2016. Sarita(Sayami Kher) is a bank employee who is the sole breadwinner of the house. She is doing all this so that her struggling husband(Roshan Mathew) can fulfill his dream of becoming a musician. Sarita and her house have so many typical middle-class issues and one of them is their sink that always gives them trouble. One fine day, when taking care of it, Sarita finds money in the form of small packets and gets the shock of her life. Things take a new turn from there as she keeps discovering money in the same place in the night time. Sarita’s life changes upside down and when things start becoming super happy for her, the note ban is announced by the Government of India. What does Sarita do with the rest of the money is the whole story of the film.

What’s good?

The set up created by Anurag Kashyap is solid and dwells into the lives of middle-class people as to how money is everything for them and how they faced issues post note ban. Sayami Kher takes a U-turn from her regular glamor roles and is superb as the struggling and money-hungry Sarita. The film completely runs on her and the way she showcases varied emotions throughout the film is just superb.

Roshan Mathews, who plays Sayami’s husband is also cool. The art direction should be given full marks for showing the crazy middle-class life of the Mumbaikars in a special manner. After a long time, Anurag makes a film that the entire family can watch as it has suspense, twists, and emotions. The camera work is also solid but the BGM takes the cake here and keeps the audience hooked until the end.

The film also showcases how the political system does things for their own interest. The way the film is ended with a funny satirical song is also good. Production values of the film are top-notch and the best part is how each and every character is nicely related to the story making things interesting.

What’s bad?

The narrative takes a beating here and there. Anurag’s satirical dig at the whole demonetization effect can get diverse responses from the public. Once the story is established, things get a bit slow in the middle part of the film and the pace drops. The climax could have been explained in a better manner to make things easy for the audience.

Final Word

Overall, Choked is surely not Anurag Kashyap’s best work to date but the story, premise, and amazing performances draw your attention most of the time. Though the logic and narration take a beating in the mid part, this film has decent drama and twists for you to give it a shot during this lockdown period. You may watch it.

Rating: 3/5

Lockdown Review : Kappela -Malayalam film on Netflix

Lockdown Review : Choked – Hindi film on Netflix