•Language: Malayalam.
•Genre: Comedy Drama.
•Duration: 02 Hours 14 Minutes.
•Theatre: Carnival Cinemas Kollam.
•Status: 60%.
•REVIEW BY: ARUNJYOTHI. R. VALIYAVEETIL.
•PROS:
1: Direction.
2: Humour.
3: Cinematography.
4: Background Score.
5: Editing.
•CONS:
1: Predictable Story.
2: Screenplay.
3: Music.
4: Art Direction.
5: Dance Choreography.
•ONE WORD: A one time watch the average flick.
•STORY IDEA:
Mera Naam Shaji tells about the life of three men having the same name called Shaji from different parts of Kerala. Rest of the story unfold various funny incidents on a thrilling and romantic backdrop.
•ANALYSIS YO DIRECTION, STORY, SCREENPLAY AND DIALOGUES:
The movie is directed by the hitmaker Nadirshah after his previous movie Kaatappanayile Rithwik Roshan and the story by Dileep Ponnan and Shaani Khader.
The director Nadirshah is well known for making colourful entertaining movies for every type of audience which will have all the commercial factors for a worthy watch. So after his previous movies like Amar Akbar Anthony and Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan he comes with his third film Mera Naam Shaji in which he follows his same directional style to execute a fun-filled one-time watch movie.
The director had effectively used the acting talent of the actor Biju Menon, Baiju Santosh and Asif Ali in the best way which gives them applause. The direction held by Nadirshah was passionate but the undeveloped screenplay and immature story spoiled his making.
The story written by Dileep Ponnan and Shani Khader was fine but the plot was predictable. There are many incidents in the movie which converge from time to time with twist and turns but the entire story will be expected as the viewers think. The story doesn’t offer anything new rather than some fun comedies. The screenplay written by Dileep Ponnan was having the mixed factors of comedies, romance, friendship, betrayal, brotherhood so these factors were not used properly.
If the writer had given more efforts to the screenplay Mera Naam Shaji could have been ended as a more engaging worth watch movie. The way the makers had ended the movie and the climax which the writers had a written was poor and unrealistic.
The comedies in the film were entertaining but when the movie reaches to the main plot the film suffers a lot to make it as engaging for the audience because of the half baked screenplay and cliche storyline.
The dialogues in the movie were good because the conversation between the characters was authentic. The comedy dialogues were good with funny and hilarious words.
The decent direction with a half baked screenplay and the predictable story made Mera Naam Shaji as an average one-time watch film.
•PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS:
The movie Mera Naam Shaji comes with the casting of Asif Ali, Biju Menon, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Baiju, Nikhila Vimal, Sreenivasan, Aasha Aravind and K.B Ganesh Kumar also joins with the casting.
Asif Ali as Cochin Shaji did a stunning performance. His romantic performance was first class. His situational humour was also entertaining. Also, his outlook was looking stylish. Asif Ali’s dialogue delivery was also superb. The action sequences of Asif Ali was also energetic.
Biju Menon as Calicut Shaji did a fantastic job. His comedies were hilarious and timing in delivering the humour was phenomenal. The outlook of Biju Menon was also charming. The stunts which he performs through his unique style was passionate and outstanding.
Baiju Santosh as Trivandrum Shaji made a brilliant performance throughout the film. His dialogue delivery with the slang of Trivandrum language was fantastic. Also, the humour presentation was perfect with the right timings in delivering the dialogues.
Nikhila Vimal as Neenu Thomas also delivered a fabulous performance. Her outlook was gorgeous with her unique cute smile and expression. Her combination scene with Asif Ali was romantic. Nikhila Vimal’s performance was having the proper standard which was noteworthy.
K.B Ganesh Kumar as the brother of Asif Ali did a good job. His character was having an important role throughout the film and his acting was having the real intense.
Dharmajan Bolgatty as the friend of Asif Ali was awesome with his unique acting and entertaining comedies. Sreenivasan as the advocate also did justice to his character.
Ranjini Haridas and Aasha Aravind were not having much screen space so the performance was less but the screen space was crucial.
•MUSIC & TECHNICAL ASPECTS:
The musical work of the film composed by Emil Mohammad was mediocre. The songs were good but not great and ranked on an average level. The song ‘Manasukkule” sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Ranjith was pretty good to hear with a romantic feel. And the song ‘Marhaba’ sung by Javed was quite decent. Also, the song ‘Mera Naam Shaji’ sung by Jassie Gift was. The background score tuned by Jakes Bejoy was amazing with the right BGM which had set the scenes.
The cinematography by Vinod Illampally was good with the best night shots and also the close-up shots were also impressive. The various camera angles for the actions were impressive. The editing of John Kutty was crisp and clear without feeling or making any mismatches.
The Art Direction had done a below average work because the sets they made for the song ‘Manasukkule’ looks unmatured and childish. Also, the dance choreography they had done for the same song looks cliche with unmatching dance moves.
•CONCLUSION:
So overall Mera Naam Shaji doesn’t offer anything new in the storyline. So better to see the movie with fewer expectations and the movie can be an ok choice for a one time watch.
•VERDICT: Average.
•RATING: 2.5/5.
