Producer- Antony Perumbavoor
Director– Siddique
Cast- Mohanlal, Kalabhavan Shajon, Mamta Mohandas, Krish Sathar, Meera Jasmine, Mithra Kurien, Ganesh Kumar etc.
Music- Ratheesh Vega
Background score– Deepak Dev
Review By : Unni R Nair (Kerala9.com )
Siddique is a director whom I like; he’s a person with whom I do share a good rapport. I’ve loved watching most of his movies, but when it comes to ‘Ladies and Gentleman’, I feel he could perhaps have avoided doing it. Or else, he could have done it with a better script. As of now, the film doesn’t have much to interest you or excite you. Of course it tickles you at some points; but it tires you and even makes you feel bored at times. The post-interval portion is a let-down. In total, as a Siddique film (well, he has set a benchmark of sorts for himself…), ‘Ladies and Gentleman’ misses the mark, though it can be called ‘passable fare’…
Chandrabose (Mohanlal), known to all as Bose, is an interesting character. He wanders around, constantly drunk and always accompanied by Mani (Kalabhavan Shajon), his assistant and companion. It is in the course of his wanderings that he comes across and save Sharath (Krish Sathar), a disappointed youth who tries to commit suicide. And then, he sets off to mend things for Sharath, who is totally disappointed. He helps the very brilliant Sharath set up an IT company and gets for him a dedicated team, which comprises of Anu (Mamta), Chinnu (Mithra Kurien) etc. In fact it’s Anu’s father Sivashankara Menon (Ganesh Kumar), a very influential entrepreneur in the IT industry, who had used his influence to make sure that Sharath, a very brilliant student, doesn’t pass his exams. This because Sharath had once expressed his liking for Anu, who had discouraged it then and there itself. Anu, on learning this, decides to support Sharath take care of things and begin afresh in life…
In the course of helping Sharath take care of his life and career, Bose also influences and helps Anu, Chinnu and Jyothi (Padmapriya), who is Sharath’s sister and who aspires to be an air-hostess. Bose the mentor anyhow has lost control of his own life. We are told that he and his wife are on the verge of legal separation and they are fighting it out in court. But Bose is in regular touch over phone with his wife Ashwathi alias Achu (Meera Jasmine), for whom he has immense love and from whom he seeks advice for almost everything. He spends his time boozing and wandering about, with Mani by his side. Sharath, Anu, Chinnu and Jyothi need Bose’s help for solving all their problems- small and big and Bose is an integral part of their life. It’s this that forms the premise for the plot, which develops in a rather vague and staggering manner based on all this…
The issue with ‘Ladies and Gentleman’ is that though the humour element in the first half is executed deftly, the second half sees humour taking the backseat and the focus shifts more to other things- especially with the Gentleman Bose being pitted against the three ladies- Anu, Chinnu and Jyothi. But this part of the film goes terribly off the track and you don’t understand what it’s all about. The script- and the whole film itself- seems half-baked and there are too may loose ends. So, though you sit through the film and don’t find it totally insufferable, you end up being dissatisfied and unimpressed. You feel this film should either have been avoided or scripted with more clarity.
Performance
It’s Mohanlal and his presence that saves the film from ending up as a total disaster. He breathes life into the first half and takes it all forward with his characteristic performance and humour, but in the second half he too seems to lose grip over things. Shajon is good; his comedy timing is what works out in the first half. The second half doesn’t offer him much scope either. Mamta does full justice to his role, but, at times looks a bit distraught. Meera Jasmine has nothing much to do and her make-up seems to be overdone in most of the scenes. Though there is a charm about her, it seems the character could have been treated and presented in a different manner. Krish is just so so; his character could have been done by anyone, but if it was done by a talented actor, it could definitely have been better. The others don’t have much scope for performance.
Technical aspects
Technical aspects are all in tune with the mood and tempo of the film; nothing outstanding to mention.
Music
Background music suits the mood of the film; but the song part is a total wash-out. Siddique films have always had hit songs, but this time you’ll be disappointed on that count too.
Script
Siddique seems to have had a great idea in his mind, but then he perhaps tried to include too many things in the script and ended up doing justice to none of these. The script ends up being more of a jumble, a mix that confuses you. The script, if handled better, would perhaps have made ‘Ladies and Gentleman’ a much better film…
Direction
As director, Siddique is in full control. But, owing to a script that goes off the track, ‘Ladies and Gentleman’ is not the kind of film that you’d expect from someone who has made some of the most memorable and repeatedly watched films in mainstream Malayalam Cinema. You’d still watch ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’, ‘In Harihar Nagar’, ‘Godfather’ etc many times, but I am sorry to say that ‘Ladies and Gentleman’ doesn’t come anywhere near these films. The film lacks the Siddique touch… But it does happen, once in a while. So, better luck next time…
Verdict– Not up to the mark…goes off the track!!
Rating: 2/5