’Hallo’ is the latest Rafi Mecartin movie starring Mohanlal. While the movie is a decent watch, there are certain elements in it that are below expectations.
The plot first
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The movie starts of breezily with everyone searching for Sivaraman(Mohanlal) from one bar to another. Finally they locate him at a remote toddy bar where he has just made friends with 3 loony goons(Spadikam George, Bhiman Raghu and Kireedam Jose).
Sivaraman is a lawyer, turned drunkard, because his sweetheart died due to his family. Just when we are getting used to Mohanlal’s antics, a sweet looking Marwardi girl(Parvathy Melton) is kidnapped by her own money hungry friends and relatives. In a plot sequence lifted directly from CELLULAR, she uses a bashed up phone to randomly call people to save her. Her random call reaches Sivaraman and from there on the movie goes into a tailspin. Mohanlal rescues her. He then pretends to have married her and stays with her at her home in order to protect her from the villains.
The second half is a typical tale of the hero saving the girl’s life from villains both within and without her house, culminating in a soppy climax with enough red herrings thrown into the mix to feed an army of starving whales.
Movie features
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The core premise of the movie has been copied from CELLULAR. No two opinions about that. This is my major grouse with the movie. Also, there is a lack of consistency in flow. The first half is breezy while the second half is decidedly slow.
And what is with the soap-opera style climax? The way all those characters crowd onto the screen reminds me of old stage shows where every actors had to crowd around the only mike on the stage.
The songs are average. In fact I am not able to recollect any of the songs of this movie. The picturisation is also adequate.
The comedy track cannot be faulted. Jagathy’s limp is played upon more than once in the movie. The whole track involving Salim kumar and his setup at Thenkashi was good.
There are however too many loose ends in the script. What is with the dead girlfriend? How was Sivaraman able to forget his ex-girlfriend so easily(a couple of weeks!). Does Sivaraman reconcile with his parents? Why is Madhu who was supposed to be undergoing a liver operation in London, suddenly alive and healthy(and binge drinking with Mohanlal) in Kerala?
Acting
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Mohanlal looks much refreshed. Apparently all the ayurveda treatments are doing him good. He does full justice to his role
Parvathy Melton just has to cry a lot and look innocent. She has miles to go in the acting department.
Jagathy and Salim do full justice to their comedy tracks.
Shaiju is lost in a negative role as the collection agent who kidnaps the heroine. He needs to beef up his body to match his brooding looks
Verdict
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The movie is worth a watch for the average viewer. Mohanlal fans might like this movie better. However the story could have been treated better. Lifting stuff from a Hollywood movie is not sufficient grounds for success. Lets hope for better stuff from the Rafi-Mercatin camp in the future atleast.