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Mammooty has been for some time making amendments in the release schedules of his films, to present with one film that will end his list of continuous flops. In comes ‘Manglish’, a lighter movie that he expected to do so for this season. A movie that won’t exactly turn a winner in that expected sense, ‘Manglish’ is a movie that is one time watchable, which could turn a hit but with intense marketing.
The movie is told through the efforts of Swamy and Lucko(Balachandran and Joju), two officers from the enforcement department to trace the whereabouts of Malik(Mammootty), a large scale fish auctioneer and middleman in deals of popular politician Paulokkaran(Sathar). A man who works in straighter terms, Malik is now asked to throw out a foreign lady named Michelle staying in a old Jewish Bungalow at Fort Kochy worth crores of rupees, now in the possession of Paulo. The scheming politician is trying to sell the Bungalow before the impending results of the elections to the parliament on which he is contesting. Malik with little knowledge of English finds it difficult to communicate with the lady who is wilfully taking refuge in the mansion due to her personal reasons. Within weeks, circumstances force Malik and Michelle to come together and they starts to communicate as each one starts to understand the other’s language which forms the rest of the plot. The mysterious reasons behind the lady’s arrival to the Kochi and her stay, give leads to the climax.
The movie has an interesting premise and plot line that is realised well in the backdrop of Kochi, by director Salam Bapu. From the initial helicam shots of Kochy to the simple one liners that is spread all around, the movie has an air of attraction achieved mostly through its decent packaging by the director. Mammootty has a better role than his recent outings that he does well as expected. But the problem with the movie, as usual, is the scripts and dialogues by Riyas that is uneven. There are some fine sequences that works well, but plenty of loose ends and character inconsistencies as well that spoil the plot. (You can even see a whole powerful Malik Bhai, running desperately for just a room to house Michelle).The little melodrama offered to the foreign lady in the climax doesn’t gel well with the overall quality of the flick. Also are the creation of villain characters, about whom we doesn’t feel any sort of animosity.
The movie is not that humorous as what you expect it to be from its posters and promos. Definitely there are moments that have you in splits (especially that of the enforcement duo), but they are fewer amidst the theme of a foreign lady with a mission. Mammootty has a role that may satisfy the die hard fans of the star, but doesn’t have a rare character and moments to impress everyone. He goes for a restrained performance to shoulder the demands of the role. The punch lines that may work for a mass hero are not heard while a couple of solo action scenes with Mammootty, doesn’t look any fresh or out of the ordinary.
In the acting side, everyone appear good in their roles. Carolene Bech is impressive as Michelle and is a big plus to the movie. She appears very original and lives her role. So are the characters played by Shrinda Ashab, Balachandran, Joju, Tini Tom and Vinay Fort. In the technical front, the frames by Pradheesh M Varma are first-class. So are the BG scores by Gopi Sundar. His songs are good and catchy with ‘Ulla Ulla’..being our pick.
All in all, this ‘Manglish’ is a safe family entertainer without any double entrees. The movie at 145 minutes may endup as a hit among family audiences and will come as a solace for everyone looking for a better film from Mammootty. Rating - 6.25/10 |
