Review for KURUTHI:
•Language: MALAYALAM.
•Release Date: 11 August 2021.
•Duration: 02 Hours 02 Minutes.
•Genre: THRILLER DRAMA.
•Streaming on AMAZON PRIME VIDEOS.
•REVIEW BY ARUNJYOTHI.R.VALIYAVEETIL.
•POSITIVES:
1: DIRECTION
2: STORY, SCREENPLAY & DIALOGUES.
3: CINEMATOGRAPHY
4: PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS.
5: BACKGROUND SCORE.
6: EDITING.
•NEGATIVES:
1: MUSIC
•ONE WORD: A THRILLING FIGHT & HUNT FOR SURVIVAL.
•STORY IDEA:
The movie starts with Ibrahim (Roshan Mathew) who is an ordinary man with a haunting past who lives in Erattupetta. He lives with his brother Rasool (Naslen K. Gafoor) and his father Moosa (Mamukkoya). A year back due to a disastrous landslide Ibrahim losses his wife and daughter and he lives with their memories. So he doubts his faith and is not ready to accept why his daughter and wife were taken away soon. Sumathi (Srindaa) is their neighbor and she lives with his brother Preman (Manikandarajan) who also lost his wife in landslides. Sumathi uses to help Ibrahim’s family by giving food and doing some household works. One day at night S.I Sathyan (Murali Gopi) suddenly breaks into Ibrahim’s house with a prisoner Vishnu (Sagar Surya). He orders everyone to stay inside the house until the police force reaches but things get upside down when Laliq (Prithviraj Sukumaran) comes in between, what will happen next, and who is Laliq, and why did he come is the rest of the story.
•DETAIL IN-DEPTH REVIEW:
Kuruthi is directed by the debutant Manu Warrier and is written by newcomer Anish Pallyal. The movie is produced by Supriya Menon the wife of Prithviraj Sukumaran under their production company Prithviraj Productions. The cinematography is handled by the veteran cinematographer Abinandhan Ramanujam and edited by Akhilesh Mohan whereas the musical work is composed by Jakes Bejoy. The movie is currently streaming through the online platform Amazon Prime Videos.
When a unique story is told it strongly need the backup of an energetic director to pass its impact so when Kuruthi happened it’s the rise of the two best newcomers Anish Pallyal as the writer and Manu Warrier as the director had made Kuruthi an outstanding film of this year. The real backbone of this film is its maker both of them had made a remarkable effort to make Kuruthi a must-watch film. From the writing to the making flawless job of a thrilling cinematic experience was passed, no doubt a complete package of an unforgettable experience. As a newcomer, Manu Warrier had given an astonishing direction and making did complete justice to the story and screenplay. From the slow beginning, the way he took the movie step by step to the main plot was exciting to watch to know what’s next. As a thriller the duty of the director to apprehend the exciting moments is crucial and Manu Warrier had done an elegant job in connecting to make those moments forward. Also importantly the director had successfully used the talents of every single actor, he certainly understood their level and has given righteous instructions to every one of them for bringing out their best. The clever ideologies of a true filmmaker were seen in Manu Warrier’s making because he knows the precise time and moment to slow the narration and when to pick it up speedy therefore the whole narration was vigorously traveling like a winning racer. So the enactment of a truly thrilling horror and doing exact justice for the script was done by Manu Warrier, he is a promising director, and looking forward to watching his upcoming works.
First of all huge applause to the writer Anish Pallyal for bringing out a superlative and compelling script. The writer takes enough time to establish the story which was guaranteed to deliver something big and haven’t failed. The politics which the movie discuss were totally told in an unusual way and the writing methods to express those ideas were different. The plot is comprised of many perspectives of the religious thinking by many individuals, so the script expresses many kinds of their thinking and rights which also eventually makes the viewers think like them to know and understand if they are right or wrong. Importantly how a person thinks and acts if he believes he is the only person right not the others is all overseen through the film and also how far he/she goes to keep their vow offers many captivating moments in the script. Importantly how can someone becomes act like a terror or as a monster for protecting their beliefs is extremely told in the story, the unpredictable inner thoughts are also inclined in the whole script. Therefore it’s evident that the writer had clearly understood and learned various inner thoughts of individuals on religious thinking.
Looking into the screenplay the whole script is filled with many sorts of emotions like anger, promise, love, parenthood, vengeance, betrayal, desperation, struggles, and survival so the writer had done a wonderful job of implementing these emotions into the right manner for each character. The blending of these emotions to express the various situations was written out precisely which will help the viewers to realize and understand their feelings. The writing of characterization was beautiful, bringing out nearly ten characters and the detailing of each character was written out ideally without giving any kind of confusion. The aim, thinkings, and intentions of every character give the clear-cut idea of what they are ahead of, so while watching these effective details by the writer helps the viewers to connect with the motives of each character. Now the dialogues, the entire movie is filled with strong and dominating dialogues, and some dialogues also act as a lesson to be kept in mind. The conversation lead by the characters was maintaining an authentic momentum in between which will help the viewers to relate to many thinking. Some of the dialogues in the crucial scenes are exceedingly flowing with strong ideologues especially the dialogues given by the actor Mammukoya. There is a dialogue in the film where Prithviraj Sukumaran saying “instead of his throat when you jabbed that knife into my stomach, what difference did it make to you? I was completely speechless at that particular moment, the writer exactly knows what to pen down for making these moments, such a great writer. So no doubt Anish Pallyal’s brilliant story, extraordinary screenplay, and appealing dialogues made Kuruthi an extraordinary work.
•PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS:
The movie Kuruthi comes with the casting of Prithviraj Sukumaran as Laiq, Roshan Mathews as Ibrahim, Murali Gopy as S.I Sathyan Murali, Mamukkoya as Moosa, Mamukkoya as Moosa, Srindaa as Sumathi, Manikandan R. Achari as Preman and Navas Vallikunnu as Ansalan. In every Prithviraj movie whether it’s good or bad I always use to observe closely his eyes and the intensity he used to give to his expressions, it’s truly a glorying talent of him. So when coming to Kuruthi the movie was completely endeavoring with his priceless acting and expressions. The way Prithviraj Sukumaran handles and undertakes each character is always shocking and the manner he takes to act accordingly for the role is just like he is living with the character. Also by his powerful voice, the depth uses to rise to another unimaginable level. The timing in delivering the dialogue was also excellent, this character Laiq is demanding many tones and mannerisms of anger, vexation, indignation, and high temper so the final result for all these emotions by Prithviraj Sukumaran is striking to an extent brilliant level, huge applause for his another outstanding performance. Roshan Mathews by each movie he uses to give his best, I would say he is a rising gem. Roshan Mathew as Sadath delivered yet another realistic performance, his attempting methods to give the originality for the character was shocking, everything from acting to the dialogue delivery looks authentic and realistic. While he speaks and conveying the dialogue the profoundness and seriousness use to see on his face and voice are magical, the prime qualities of a promising actor. His combination of scenes with Prithviraj Sukumaran prevailed with many engaging moments, especially in the whole second half. The action sequences by both Prithviraj Sukumaran and Roshan Mathews was thrilling to watch, and the styles Prithviraj used for the stunts were terrific. Murali Gopi as S.I Sathyan did a notable performance as an honest police officer also his anger and frustrations were good. Mammukoya as Moosa did a spectacular supporting performance, his dialogues and the presentation to it were extremely powerful to give the influence. Srindaa as Sumathi shines throughout the film with her significant acting skills. Her emotional scenes were flawless and the various emotions she displayed according to different scenes deserve special mention also the dialogue delivery in sentimental scenes and anger scenes was amazing. Naslen K. Gafoor as Ramees did an honest job, a teenage boy with various thoughts was safer on his hands. Shine Tom Chacko and Manikandan R. Achari take the supporting roles and both of them did complete justice to their respective roles.
•TECHNICAL DIVISION:
The major plus factor of Kuruthi is its cinematographer Abinandhan Ramanujam, as we all know his brilliance behind the camera was proved by his earlier works and when coming to Kuruthi he once again showed that frames can tell the story. The whole cinematography was mesmerizing with the unique frames and shots especially the night visuals. The frames were just like the original which we saw through our eyes, the depth and chasm of reality were witnessed through his camera works. The amazing lightning techniques he used for capturing the night scenes were perfect and also detailing according to the scenes was faultlessly maintaining till the end. The closeup shots used to undertake the emotions of the characters were also evident all over and also the nature frames of the in-depth rural village need special mention. Importantly the camera movements for the action sequences was captivating to watch, therefore I would say the cinematography of Abinandhan Ramanujam is one of the major positive plus factors of this film. The editing by Akhilesh Mohan was crisp and steady for the viewing experience, the cuts were sharp and precise without giving any mismatches. The music by Jakes Bejoy was different like usual but was mediocre to her but the background score was topping to give the impact. The track ‘Mankoodil’ sung by Keshav Vinod was average and with its beats. The song ‘Vetta Mrigam’ sung by Zia Ul Haq and Resmi Satheesh was extremely powerful to build the atmosphere of hunt and actions and the lyrics of Rafeeq Ahmed helped to give the energy for the visuals. Now the background score, played a crucial role all over the film because each type of scene demands a particular type of background score so eventually Jakes Bijoy had given it with full energetic tunes. When it comes to emotional scenes the tunes stand at the front to pass the feel and when it comes to the important crucial scenes and action sequences the right sense of tune was made to build the correct premise. The background score had perfectly helped to make lots of thrilling moments.
•CONCLUSION:
So overall Kuruthi by Prithviraj Production is a kind of unique thriller that should be watched and never should be missed. For the viewers, the movie offers lots of exciting and thrilling moments and politics which the movie discusses is a lesson to every human and every generation. The sterling performance from the lead actors and the dominant script and making makes Kuruthi one of the best Malayalam movies of this year.
•VERDICT: MUST WATCH
•RATING: 4/5
