Over-stretched but intriguing

Reminiscent of the brilliance of Audrey Hepburn in that Hitchcock masterpiece ‘Wait Until Dark’ is Mohanlal going whole hog to reiterate his brilliance as an actor.

What stands out in this thriller a week after Hrithik showcased his skill sets in ‘Kaabil’, we have the actor reveal why is so respected among his peers. The money grosser in Malayalam has a bad footfall in Telugu and not very surprising.

Here the hero is talented and does not require to pat his thighs, thump his foot or pull up dust to announce his arrival. Mohanlal the brand name for talent in his white lungis is far more impressive than many legends whose fan following may be legendary but their talent suspect.

Jayaraman (Mohanlal) a visually challenged man is in the city doing odd jobs to finance his sister’s wedding. In the flats, the residents leave every odd job to be performed by him.

Among them is a retired Supreme Court judge Krishnamoorthy (Nedumudi Venu) who has a story to hide. He takes Jayaram in to confidence. He convicted Vasudev (Samuthirakani) many years ago, in a rape case based on the evidence before him.

He is aware that Vasudev is now stalking him with vendetta as his agenda. Tucked away far away in a residential school is a child Nandini (Baby Meenakshi) whose connect with the judge is a subject matter of wagging tongues.

Only Jayaram is privy to the connect and the story of the past. The retired judge also has for help Sreedevi (Vimala Raman) who has a husband but is eyeing the visually impaired Jayaram.

After the script labours to establish the skills of Jayaraman and his character, the tale moves to when the judge is murdered. The police, headed by the investigating officer Anand (Chemban Vinod Jose), are bent upon implicating Jayaram for the murder.

Vasudev who, however, out from jail is catching up with Jayaram. The task now is to save Nandini. It is not long before Vasudev gets to know where Nandini is and goes about executing the task of killing his final intended victim and on the way a few more.

Perhaps having some box-office dictates, the filmmaker (Priyadarshan) gets some sentimental masala with the family disowning Jayaram as the police land at his doorstep and the family do not want him at the family wedding.

When that is tackled, the filmmaker reverts to the battle between the angry Vasu and the alert Jayaram. The finale gets very bloody and long. Priyadarshan somehow often lays the plot well but gets too complicated with the climax.

While this is alright with comedies, a short and swift finale is sine qua non for a thriller. Here he falters. While it does help a few to miss the appointment the next manicure, it gets a tad tiring and exhausts you after a while.

The film is surely worth watching. The storyline is interesting and different form the usual fare that Tollywood hands over in the pretentious understanding of entertainment.

Even the comedy line with Mamukoya and Hareesh is subtle. The character artists fill the gaps with intensity and credibility. Another worth mentioning aspect of the film is the amazing cinematography of Ekhambram who captures God’s own country in all its picturesque grandeur but lights up the action scenes with the right lighting.

Central to the film doubtlessly is Mohanlal. This amazing actor yet again makes for compelling viewing. He has a physique that is far from our acceptable notions of a mainstream lead player.

He does not just defy it (a la Sanjeev Kumar) but sweeps you off your feet with the brilliance of his work. Just to salute unadulterated talent, visit the theatre and for a bonus get to seeing an interesting thriller.