S N Swamy and K Madhu enthralled us with the CBI series of movies, each of which progressively declined in quality. It reached a point when the parody became more entertaining than the original movie. So when S N Swamy and K Madhu made another movie and it sank without a trace, we were curious to see why it failed.

The movie is set in a picture perfect village, which has rivers, canals and greenery all around. It is one of those villages where Mohanlal would sing “Manja Kiliyude Moolipaatunde” and Prem Nazir would sing “Suprabhatam”. According to Kerala Film Script Act 23/34, if there is a village, there has to be two warring factions and an elephant has to be involved. Check.

The movie starts with an episode involving the local thief Kesu (Riyaz Khan) who provides the necessary diversion. At this point pretty much even the elephant knows that he is just a diversion and a technique to advance the script forward. No worries.

The police station is run by Jayaram 1 with constables Harisri Asokan and Indrans who perform comedy so intensively that no one is surprised when Kesu jailbreaks. To quantify their acting even better let us say that they make Suraj Venjaramoodu look like a decent comedian.

One day, a girl is killed and Jayram 1 starts investigating when Jayaram 2 arrives as a goonda. But it turns out that he is not a goonda, but from Crime Branch. That turns out to be the cue for Rajamani to blare the CBI BGM.

There are some beautiful scenes which have to be mentioned to explain the quality of this movie. There is a scene where the cop Jayaram is on night duty monitoring vehicles. Then he spots something and looks carefully. He sees a man walking in bright daylight. So he takes a torch and chases the person and the scene turns dark again. In another scene Jayaram is sitting in the police station when he hears his sister screaming in their home. So he runs and reaches the home in time to watch the thief run away.

The production values should also be mentioned. There is a scene where Jayaram 2 decides to lower himself into a canyon using a crane. The scene is probably 10 minutes long, with blaring bgm, filmed with the same quality of a home made birthday video.

Finally in the climax when the culprit is reveleaed it seemed as if S N Swamy did an inky-pinky-ponky on the characters and randomly picked one. It just fails to resonate.

This is a movie which was made three decades late. If it was made in another time and place, it would have been a super hit.

At this moment we should pause and say Jayaram is an insensitive idiot. When asked if he was attracted to his maid, he replied, “My maid is a dark, fat buffalo — like Tamil woman. How can I be attracted to her?”. Sure. It is not funny. It is insensitive, derogatory and highly offensive. Just think if this is what someone told about Parvati.

When talking about the current remake trend in the industry, the actor said that while remaking old classics, care should be taken to retain the original flavor. He also added that he is acting in the remake of old classic ‘Kadalikka Neramillai’. He further says, “When Tamil films get dubbed into Malayalam, it runs successfully but the same cannot be said for Malayalam films. But the recently released Kuselan was better in Tamil than in the original Malayalam Katha Parayumbol and the credit should go to the entire team.”

And here’s how Mohanlal reacted:

Malayalam superstar Mohanlal has opined that Kuselan’s failure is due to Rajini’s guest appearance. According to the actor, Kuselan did not do well because Rajini has developed an image and people refused to accept him if that is not satisfied. Mohanlal said that he Amitabh Bachchan, Chiranjeevi, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth have all etched out an image and that is the reason people refuse to accept them if they try to experiment.

That Shows why one guys is still a superstar and other was a superstar!

IndiaGlitz comments:

Veruthe Oru Bharya’ is the unassuming title for a movie, narrated with intensity and integrity, from the very beginning to the end. It is one of the best films of recent times, dealing with domestic marriage discords resulting from mismatched characters of two people who stick to their incompatible agendas. It may hit too close to home for some; others might not key in on the psychology, but find it as a digestible fun-filled drama with light hearted moments.

The movie will definitely introspect at least some men who finds a glimpse of them on screen. Presenting Jayaram in a solid workable character, ‘Veruthe Oru Bharya’ accomplishes to bring out the emotional chaos created by broken marital relationships on the victims and their children, somehow sidestepping all the related cliches.

Sify.com says:

It is a well written and tightly paced script of Gireesh who has been able to weave a family saga that is quite convincing. But on the downside the characters often behave in rather strange ways and make it tough for the audience to relate to them. Sugunan has been presented as a selfish hypocrite and his behavior often irritates the viewers. Bindu’s woes are understandable, but even the audience feel like she is over reacting at times. The impact of certain incidents concerning his daughter, on Sugunan, is hard to digest.

However Jayaram is back with a bang in his role as Sugunan. It is vintage Jayaram, and he scores heavily as the role suits his comedy image. Gopika, without any make up, is also quite convincing in her role as Bindu. But she looks evidently younger than what the role actually required. Nivedita shines as their daughter and Suraj Venjarammoodu’s comedy track is a laugh riot.

NowRunning.com reviews:

It’s not everyday that you come across a film as this with a whole lot of sunny optimism pouring in from all corners. Even as there is a terrible breakdown midway through, you know for sure that things are bound to end up right. Perhaps there are a few instances in the film that really require a leap of faith and yet I found myself playing along. As much as I resent those sugared tales where the tumbled house of cards builds back on its own, I could take the film for what it is – light, cheery and amusing.

Veruthe Oru Bharya is a surprisingly strong showcase for its stars. Gopika is a revelation; there’s an irrefutable magic about her, and in this most complex of her movie roles, it comes through with a unique poignancy. She fully inhabits the vulnerability of the downtrodden wife without ever overriding the central conflict. Jayaram is as endearing as well. He finally gets to play his age and even make fun of himself, and discarding the strange carelessness that had made his recent enterprises so unbearable, goes about his job with a precision that’s marvelous. There’s also Niveda, who comes up with a shearing performance as the daughter who’s truly shattered by the tragedy that befalls her family.

Rediff.com does not share other reviewers enthusiasm:

Gireesh Kumar’s script does not ever leave the preachy tone. Besides marital harmony, the film also preaches about the misuse of cell phones and internet by teenagers.

Sugunan is uncouth and primitive in his manners and beliefs. But Jayaram induces his own charm with sprinkling of mirth into his performance. We rarely feel distaste towards the character thanks to him. Gopika as Bindu is shown mature beyond her age. It is the performance of the lead pair that keeps our eyes glued to this preachy film.

The year is 2008 not 1980. Malayalees have lost the appetite for slow, sentimental, autobiographical movies, but East Coast Vijayan known for his stage shows where his name is repeated every 15 minutes has not realized it. His first film, according to reviewers induces drowsiness. Also when we thought that Jayaram’s career could only go up from where he was before, he seems to sprinting down the path only traveled by actors like Shankar and Ratheesh.

Movie Buzz writes

Vijayan East Coast who likes to be known as poet, writer, producer and now director with Novel, has come out with a film that will put you to sleep! The few audiences who turned up to watch the film, on its third day of its release and that too a Sunday, left half way into
the film.

Vijayan’s plot has been “inspired” from Hugh Grant- Drew Barrymore romantic movie Music and Lyrics, and he has malayaleeised it with some mushy romance and M. Jayachandran’s music which are melodious but not picturised well though Azhagappan’s camera is top class. Jayaram as Sethu and Sada as Priyanandini are good.

This Novel has to be flipped through, otherwise it will take ages to read it, as it moves at snail pace.

Unni Nair of NowRunning.com writes

Being a musical of sorts, Novel has some romantic songs, penned by the director himself. The songs have been composed well and shot in a romantic manner too. “Onninumallathe…” is already popular and the other songs too impress. The problem with the film is that there is nothing new in it, and also that film viewers in Kerala today don’t like to see sentimental stuff and the film has too much of sentiments in it. Being slow-paced also goes against it.

To sum up, Novel is an average romantic story marked by average performances by the lead artists and others. The scenarists could have put in more of an effort and then the film would have been better. It’s not an insufferable bore. It’s not an inspiring love-story either. Just a romantic film, that’s all!

Anjil Oral Arjunan follows the fate of other recently released Jayaram movies. None of the reviews were favourable. The actors career is at crossroads.

IndiaGlitz writes:

What do you call a film that is well made, in terms of cinematic features, but still doesn’t touch your heart?

A film that has absorbing sequences but still doesn’t entertain? Anchil Oral Arjunan is such a film which makes a sincere effort to unveil a regular story, with almost all the ingredients that make for a Jayaram-film.

Sify.com comments:

More bad news for Jayaram fans. His films are getting from bad to worse. They have the same hackneyed storyline, scenes and look the same with nothing new in it. And to put it mildly, Jayaram should stop getting saddled with such asinine and dumb roles.

Anchil Oraal Arjunan is no different from the so many other listless boring Jayaram films we have seen recently. Anil of the earlier Anil-Babu team along with script writer T.A Razak has borrowed scenes from half-a-dozen earlier films of Mammooty and Jayaram himself and stitched together the script of this stupid film.

Nowrunning.com’s take:

Attempting an honest review of the Anil-directed Jayaram-starrer Anchil Oraal Arjunan is not easy. It’s well made, is quite convincing, and has many of the ingredients that make for a Jayaram-film or a film directed by Anil. But still the question as to whether the film entertains you or touches you in some manner or whether you carry even an iota of it once you leave the theatre remains answered. And if at all the question is answered, it would probably be in the negative. In total this is a well-made film that could very well have been avoided. You are going to miss absolutely nothing by missing out on this one.

Photo Courtesy : Sify.com

In an interview Director Rajasenan once mentioned that the best character for actor Jayaram is that of a fun loving guy who has some sadness inside him. What better way then to end this actors career than by beating this theme to death. According to the reviews the movie has nothing new and is highly predictable. So if you have never watched a Rajasenan movie, this might be for you.

Sify writes

The Rajasenan-Jayaram combo, who has given us some memorable films in the past, seems to have run out of steam. Their latest comedy Kanaka Simhasanam is a bitter pill, as story wise there is nothing new and the presentation is as old as the hills with some scenes lifted from old films.

Rajasenan has helped himself to various comedies in the same genres like His Highness Abdullah, Udayapuram Sultan among others. However the first half is tolerable but post interval the film turns predictable and is so boring that your heart goes out to Jayaram the actor who is totally wasted. But how long can a talented actor like him go on doing the same role over and over again? And Rajasenan’s direction and presentation is so stale and predictable that at a time when audiences are exposed to stylish films, such old-fashioned narration makes it terrible.

India Glitz says

As usual in the films of recent times, the story and script  by Biju Vattappara doesn’t offer anything in new and often goes to very predictable lines and cliche scenes. Even the potential of the theatre scenes to evoke laughter has not been used to needed extent. The forceful inclusion of some sequences to make slapstick comedy also backfires with null effect on the narrative. And the shoe string budget defined for the film is also evident all through the scenes in the film. The three songs by M.Jayachandran and Rajeev Akungal team have been shot in typical Rajasenan style. Sooriyano is the best of the lot choreographed on Jayaram and Lakshmi. Technical department of the movie is not much worth mentioning. To sum up, Kanakasimhasanam is a typical Rajasenan movie, providing just a time-pass stuff. And lot more, except some hard earned chuckles are seldom expected from such movies.

Now Running does not have much analysis this time

Jayaram fits into the role of Kanakambaran like a glove, while Karthika gives able support as Bharathi. Lakshmi Gopalaswami as Kanchanalakshmi too is an apt choice. Others in the cast like Janardhanan as Udaya Varma, Bheeman Raghu as Ramakrishnan, Kalasala Babu as Guru Indrasena Reddy, Geetha Salam as Rishikesha Kaimal, Venjaramoodu Suraj as Bharathi’s brother Gopalan, and Kiran Raj as Narasimhan have also done justice to their respective roles.
The songs have been shot in typical Rajasenan style. Cinematographer K.P. Nambiathiri, editor Rajamuhammed, art-director Boban – all have given him ample support. To sum up, Kanakasimhasanam is a typical Rajasenan movie that is enjoyable, provided you don’t expect anything more than the usual Rajasenan stuff.