BLACK MAGIC
Malayalam never had many horror movies, and even if this novel based movie does not exactly provide the horror element, Anantabhadram has managed to depict the theme of Black Magic very well. This one may be known more as a graphical extravaganza, rather than a movie filled with horror or thrills!
This movie says a lot about supernatural powers, in a different way, but it still have all those stupid factors that a common Malayalam movie would have. But the distributors really managed to make such a big hype about this movie, and no wonder this movie started off well in the Box Office, and lots of my friends bunked classes for the experience.
The story is about Anantan (Prithviraj) who comes back from San Francisco to his mothers home land, but he will certainly find something more than simply his relatives. The whole place is under the influence of the Black Magic of the evil Digambaran (Manoj K. Jayan) who wants to get some old revenge from Anantan’s family. With his extreme powers, he is almost unstoppable, as long as he does not lose his virginity.
Anantan falls in love with Bhadra (Kavya Madhavan) - just another love story. But as their love story progresses, the story takes another turn when Digambaran takes control of Anantan’s body and manages to do more wicked things, this time undetected. Now, what Digambaran wants is to get an ancient gem which is a source of extra ordinary powers, and he certainly needs Bhadra’s help for it. Now as he is in Anantan’s body, it won’t be too difficult for him.....
A BIT VARYING
The story of the movie has nothing special in it, but the cinematography is just excellent. The movie seems to have been made, giving great importance to the beauty of nature. You will see lots of nature in the movie, including waterfalls, large forests, a few ruins in the middle and lots more.
In the song, ’’Pinakkamaano’’, you will be able to witness how artistic, the direction of this movie is. There are a few other good songs in the movie, like ’’Malamalalloya’’, ’’Minnaayam’’, ’’Vasanthamundo’’, ’’Thira Nurayum’’ and ’’Shivamallikkaavil’’. The movie simply rules with the camera effects and the graphics itself, they are simply too good for a Malayalam movie.
Getting into the acting department, I have to say that Prithviraj is simply horrifying. He looks good, he is the son of a once great actor, but he keeps on overacting as usual. May be the major drawback of this movie is the poor acting by this guy. Just like his recent movies, he messes up this one too. The scenes where he is controlled by the evil wizard, looks highly irritating (well, he is totally irritating in the movie). He fails to take advantage from the fact that the youngsters in the Malayalam movies not living upto the level.
Kavya Madhavan certainly has done a fine job, but not too outstanding. She is good looking, but she seems to gain too much weight every day, that she may not be able to do any movies which has got some dancing to do. Still she has got the typical looks of a usual Kerala village girl, and this may be the major factor of getting her into the movie. But it didn’t prove very bad, as no one may have done the ’’Pinakkamaano’’ song sequence better, even if it was quite funny.
The highlight of the movie is our star villain, Manoj K. Jayan. He is just outstanding as the evil wizard, and each of his dialogues are as cool as it can get. Last time I remember seeing him as a villain was in ’’Phantom Pailey’’, where he had done a good job too. In this case, his role demanded more attention, and he did more than what was expected from him, very well.
Kalabhavan Mani plays the role of the blind Martial arts expert Chempan, and Riya Sen as his sister Bhama. Mani has done a nice job, proving that he is suitable for any kind of role. Riya Sen was certainly a part of the movie, but she simply has got only a few dialogues in the end (No longer any language problem). She certainly got one song ’’Thira Nurayum’’, adding some glamour to the movie. Biju Menon just comes and goes very fast (I just wonder why he was brought into the movie simply to die - he is a better actor and certainly does not need a role like this)
Anantabhadram certainly is one of the best efforts ever made in the horror category, no wonder it became a hit. You can certainly go for the movie, and as long as you don’t concentrate on the acting skills of Prithviraj, this movie will prove as a very good experience. Make sure that you watch in the theatres itself, because all the effects will never be the same if you choose a CD or DVD. Don’t forget about the melodious songs too.....
Director: Santosh Sivan
Cast: Prithviraj, Kavya Madhavan, Manoj K. Jayan, Kalabhavan Mani, Riya Sen, Nedumudi Venu, Biju Menon etc
THANKS FOR READING THE REVIEW, WISHING TO SEE A FEW COMMENTS.....