'Kasaba' in a nutshell is all about a sexed up raunchy circle inspector and a narrative laced with sexist humour which more or less make you grim faced and a lot of fights thrown in. What you wonder five minutes into the movie is why on earth Mammootty would agree to do such a movie. To be fair to the movie's debutant director Nithin Renji Panicker, the movie does not feel like the work of a novice. It does strive to be entertaining. Only that the packaging is more appealing below the belt with a brothel, women ranging from police officers to other men's wives ready to throw themselves at Mammootty and a regularly spaced lewd jokes doting the movie.
The movie cannot boast of a watertight plot, though this is better than many of the recent releases. There are occasional depths to the plot like the college students, brothel life, politics etc. But too many silent spaces in the narrative and a lame climax spoils the overall effort. The dialogues are often meant for the fans, but other audience would have to stifle a groan after getting an overdose of over the top heroism and innuendoes that are too hard to digest. Looking for logic is a waste of time, since this movie is all about brawn. Fights are there at regular intervals to top up the heroism.
'Kasaba' is basically all about Rajan Zacharia who is a circle inspector. He goes on a mission to find the truth behind the death of a youngster dear to him. This investigation leads him to a lot of murky places and equally murky people. But at the end of it all, the plot feels like an instrument to bring out The circle's heroism. Well, certain antics that Mammootty is made to do in the name of heroism often brought out a giggle rather than awe.
Performance wise, though Mammootty delivers in his customary style, one gets the feel that the time is past for such raunchy acts with young girls. But otherwise he is fine. Varalakshmi arrives with a bang as the seductive Kamala who plays hard to get and a grim past. The politician Nambiar is outstanding and offers an even match for Mammootty. Often you feel more sympathetic to him. The student activist with his revolutionary fervour impresses. All the others too doting the narrative have performed well.
The movie has been very colourfully presented and the cinematographer has captured the hues beautifully. The colourful parade, women in the brothel all add to the colourful fervour. Editing is fine and so are the songs. Technically the movie strives to be on par with the expected standards one would expect from a Mammootty movie. 'Kasaba' is okay in patches and can be a one time entertainer for fans.
