Review for Minnal Murali:
•REVIEW BY ARUNJYOTHI.R.
•Language: MALAYALAM.
•Duration: 158 MINUTES
•Genre: FANTASY SUPERHERO THRILLER.
PREMIERED PLATFORM: NETFLIX.
•POSITIVES:
1: DIRECTION
2: STORY, SCREENPLAY AND DIALOGUES:
3: CINEMATOGRAPHY
4: PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS
5: MUSIC AND BACKGROUND SCORE
6: EDITING.
7: VFX
•NEGATIVES:
1: STORYLINE IS PREDICTABLE
•ONE WORD: Thrilling and adventurous, into the world of fascinating superpowers.
•STORY IDEA:
Minnal Murali tells the story of Jaison who is a young tailor, during the Christmas Carol he will play Santa Claus for a purpose. So during the Carol, he gains some superpower after being struck by lightning and he turns into a superhero. After turning into a Superhero his life started to get upside down and something big was waiting for him, who is it and how Minnal Murali can’t handle it is the rest of the story.
•ANALYSIS INTO DIRECTION, STORY, SCREENPLAY AND DIALOGUES:
Minnal Murali is directed by Basil Joseph who had previously made hit films like Godha and Kunjiramayanam. The story, screenplay and dialogues are written by Arun Anirudhan and Justin Mathew. The movie is produced by Sophia Paul under her production company called Weekend Blockbusters and the movie is currently streaming through Netflix. The movie is available on Netflix in the languages of Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada with a running time of 158 minutes making Minnal Murali the first pan Indian release of Tovino Thomas.
Malayalam industry and even any industry in India is not well accepted by the superhero fantasy film, except Krish all others haven’t worked out but now it has ended because Minnal Murali has struck thunderously to prove that Malayalam Industry is capable to make a stunning superhero movie, too precisely clear Minnal Murali is a work of brilliant execution. Basil Joseph and his whole team can be proud of Minnal Murali, I enjoyed every single bit of it, it is one of the best works of this year.
When I saw Basil Joseph’s first film Kunjiramayanam I was sure that this guy was having the potential for making some good films, and after his second film Godha I was sure that Basil Joseph will do some wonders in future. So when he and his team announced Minnal Murali I was excited and eager to know what type of film he was going to make and after knowing the genre the expectation on Minnal Murali had grown twice and I strongly believed that this time
Basil Joseph through his making is going to show some wonders. Finally, after finishing the film I was so happy, the whole movie was a big time of entertainment, Basil Joseph had done an incredible job to beat the expectations.
The making of Basil Joseph deserves huge applause, his strategies and ideas on how to make this film had worked out luminously without any fade and while watching we can clearly recognize all his hard work and efforts which he carried. The entire making from the beginning till the end was moving on the right balance, the movie has many crucial things happening and nothing gets diverted from the track. The making was on a steady balance and Basil Joseph had successfully maintained an adequate momentum to give a complete engaging watch. The film had a duration of two hours and forty minutes but the long duration was not felt in the viewing because of the direction and by the wonderful script. Everything was told systemically, Basil Joseph and the writers had made sure to give the proper detailing and explanation so no one would feel any kind of confusion or distraction. Till the end, the movie flourishingly gives us various elements to entertain, the fantasy concept, its related happening and after-effects were made effectively without making it complicated so this will help the viewers to relate with the content and one can easily digest the premise of the film.
The script by Arun Anirudhan and Justin Mathew is the next winning factor of Minnal Murali. The entire writing was amazingly written, the story prevailed with startling fantasy elements. The way of storytelling was promising from the beginning, the plot had made a good start with a spark. The occurrences of fantasy segments had grilled the complete script steadily to make the way forward and without any sort of obstacles, the various events which leads the way for the climax were having the right continuity and proper explanation. The fantasy concept from the writers was satisfying, it had a genuine standard and the reasons for various happenings was written faultlessly.
One can easily relate to the concept, how the main character is becoming a superhero and a supervillain was told convincingly. Their powers and their strength was written authentically without making anything overdramatic. The various flashback which connects the story was matching for the scenarios, it was placed at the right time and the writers haven’t dug that flashback unnecessarily to make a drag, those scenes were told in a limited timewthiut making exaggerated.
In the screenplay, the writers have correctly blended their superhero and supervillain according to the local surrounding. How the people will react, what will be their reaction and will they accept one of them as their heroes were written elegantly. The only drawback is the predictable ending and also some scenes of saving innocent people made me remember other superhero movies. But through the powerful making and by the productive screenplay these errors won’t be sensed while watching, the writing and making generate proper impact to make the moments of curiosity and thrill. The building of emotions was greatly written by the two writers, the feeling of true love and the pain after losing our beloved once was gorgeously written. Those scenes rectify the true emotions of romance and Basil Joseph had directed those scenes passionately and it vigorously made an influence in my viewing experience. The villain’s life, his love, his pain, his thinking and finally why he turned out as a villain was easily able to connect, the character Shibu was the best in the film who took the movie to another level.
Minnal Murali is not just all about the superhero stuff it has a great path of an emotional journey. It was intense with many touching moments. After a long time, the pain of broken love was told wonderfully in a cinematic way without making it overdramatic. Basil Joseph through the atmosphere of the film makes a strong remembrance about the emotions of our superhero and supervillain. It doesn’t matter what superpower they have when it comes to the emotion they are just normal human beings like us with haunting pasts and sorrows. The mixing of emotional factors was needed for the script and execution of Basil Joseph on these scenes creates some unforgettable moments. Also, the humour was placed at the right time and created some funny moments. Also, Basil Joseph had tremendously used the acting talents of his actors especially the skills of Guru Somasundaram and Tovino Thomas, his advice on how to perform and how to undertake the character was evident in the film. Basil Joseph’s creative ideas on how to make the climax wonderful were beautifully seen. The whole climax was taken without making any errors, the fights went well with impressive VFX, and the characters played their part well with glorious acting, the set looked accurate to make an attractive atmosphere and his way of directing all these aspects together ended flawlessly to give a massive impact, in the end, Minnal Murali will land on our hearts.
•PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS:
Minnal Murali comes with some interesting star cast, Tovino Thomas as the hero and Guru Somasundharam as the villain. Vasisht Umesh is the child artist and Femina Geroge does the heroine role. Aju Varghese, Mammukoya, Baiju Santosh, Biju Kuttan, Jude Antony Joseph, P. Balachandran, Azeez Nedumangad and Rajesh Madhavan join with the casting.
Tovino Thomas as Jaison, also known as Minnal Murali did a fantastic job. He was suited to do the superhero, his physical shape and gymnastic body was matching to set the outlook. His attitude looked cool when he was turned into a superhero, the performance was filled with his innocent cute behavior. When it comes to emotional scenes his acting showed natural skills and the dialogue delivery was smooth. His look and costumes for Minnal Murali were stylish and the way he undertook the character with the superhero mannerism was pleasing to watch. Guru Somasundaram as Selvan, the antagonist, did an outstanding performance. It was his stellar show, his character and his performance was remarkable. The way he portrayed the character was fascinating to watch, the building of sentiments on emotional scenes looks natural. The dialogue delivery was in perfect timing, especially during the climax. His combination scene with Shelly Kishore was sentimental showcasing the emotion of true and sincere love. During that scene, his acting with tears and happiness was magical to watch. The characteristic quality of a supervillain was tackled charmingly, the mood swings seen on his face were enchanting to show true acting skills. His combination of scenes with Tovino Thomas was entertaining and thrilling to watch especially during the climax. Both Tovino Thomas and Guru Somasundaram had done a great job of bringing out true emotions. How someone will react when they are having superpowers was acted out truly by both of them, the curiosity, eagerness, shocking realization and the final hit after knowing that I am special was felicitously delivered by both of them naturally, their performance is one of the winning highlights.
Aju Varghese as P.C Pothan, Baiju Santhosh as S.I. Saajan and Rajesh Madhavan as P.C. Titto shines as the police officers and everyone did a fine performance, their investigation to find Minnal Murali was interesting. Harisree Ashokan as Dasan and P. Balachandran as Varghese did their role well, it was filled with sentimental scenes and both of them did their best. Vasisht Umesh as Josemon was interesting from the very beginning, he looked cute and shared awesome screen space with Tovino. Femina George as “Bruce Lee” Biji as the heroine did a good job, her action skills looked lovely with an impressive smile. Shelly Kishore as Usha delivered impressive acting, her character plays a crucial role and she did her part well with a natural touch.
•MUSIC AND BACKGROUND SCORE:
The musical work for the film is composed by Shaan Rahman and Sushin Shyam. The background score is tuned by Sushin Shyam and the songs are composed by both Shaan Rahman and Sushin Shyam.
The song “Uyire” composed by Shaan Rahman was melodious to hear with good touching lyrics. The vocals of Mithun Jayaraj and Narayani Gopan stood higher to create the romantic mood and symbolized the true love of couples and their dreams. The lyrics of Manu Manjith were meaningful with touching words and it pointed to the dreams and affection of true lovers. The song was having a supreme power to regain the memories of our loved ones, it was powerful to remind our most loved ones. The high pitch notes by both singers will take us into some sweet memories. Another song called “Aaromal” sung by Nithya Mammen and Sooraj Santhosh was nice for the scenes, the bus travel and its situation matched the premise. The next song “Raavil” sung by Pradeep Kumar composed by Sushin Shyam and Pradeep Kumar was beautiful with its voice and tunes. The song showed the deep love of a person, his attraction, his love towards the girl and his sorrows. The song was filled with various kinds of emotions of a crucial character, the silent sounds of the instruments and the vocals of Pradeep Kumar made my mind dive into many memories of pain. I loved the ending of the song.
The song “Edukka Kaashayi” composed by Shaan Rahman and sung by Swetha Ashok has followed the typical style of Shaan Rahman music pattern. The humor was filled in the song and the combination of Tovino and Vasisht Umesh was funny to watch through the song and situations matched for the song. The song “Thee Minal” sung by Marthyan and Sushin Shyam was energetic with the tunes and lyrics. The song was embarking to show the superheroic sides of our hero and the fast passing lyrics with the catchy voice of Marthyan made it enjoyable. The background score was composed by Sushin Shyam and his BGM was lifting the movie successfully to the actual target. The background score stood higher to build the emotions and the feelings which the characters express was strongly balanced by the phenomenal background score. The background score pushed to make an impact for the important scenes, it was having the power to dominate the mindset of viewers to make an extra influence. The background scores at the climax were accurately matching for the scenes to showcase the superhero powers. The silent tunes at the emotional scenes were drawing the mind to remember some painful memories and it was strongly creating an additional impact of true love. Both Shaan Rahman and Sushin Shyam had done a sensational effort on bringing out some refreshing musical work.
•TECHNICAL ASPECTS:
The technical aspects of the film were rich with the best teamwork. The cinematography, the editing, the costumes, the VFX, the art direction, sound design, and the stunts and action were dazzlingly implemented by the respective department. Among them, the cinematography by Sameer Thahir was the one with top-class brilliance. A superhero movie demands many particular types of frames to showcase the fantasy elements and to exhibit the superhero in a heroic way. The cinematography needs extra skills of brilliance and without making any flaws Sameer Thahir had delivered excellent work. His frames had the power to portray the superhero stuff, the actions happening between the hero and villain were captured interestingly which created a right cinematic impact. The frames which were captured to showcase the emotions of the character deserve special mention, the focus was on the right track to exhibit the emotions and mood. The camera movements for the action was shocking to see, the fast movements and the track and shot was superb. The lighting techniques was on another level, the lighting method used at the climax portion was maintaining the right balance to give the right tone and contrast. The different types of angles and the various types of shots were brought genuinely to set the premise. The wide-angle frames were truly impressive and those frames were rich to give a proper influence, the action sequences at the wide-angle frame looked powerful. The editing by Livingston Mathew was errorless without giving any sort of mismatches in the viewing experience. The cuts were precise without any errors and the viewing experience had given a smooth delightful feel. The color-grading was maintained accurately, several types of grading was beautifully seen and it was perfectly maintained till the end. The climax portion and it’s color grading was gorgeous, those effects with the terrific action was like a visual treat. The transition of the scene to the next scenes was neatly made and hasn’t given any mismatched feel. The work of the art department was nice but the climax felt different, the arrangements and the making of the church were giving an authentic feel and nothing felt artificial. The sound mixing was also amazing and the action and stunts choreographed by Vlad Rimburg was terrific and thrilling at the same time. The action sequences between Tovino Thomas and Guru Somasundharam were magnificently choreographed by Vlad Rimburg to give a compelling and exciting feel. The action style of Tovino Thomas looked cool, as a superhero the stunts and it’s style was matching the qualities for the character. The costume department had also done a fine job on bringing out the best outfit, the dress of Minnal Murali looked stylish and suited for a superhero. The VFX was great, nothing felt unnatural, the climax visual effects were interesting to watch and all the graphical works synced perfectly in the whole film.
•CONCLUSION:
So overall to conclude Minnal Murali has given me an enjoyable cinematic experience and I will strongly recommend this film to every type of audience. It has all the best elements to entertain and the fiction story has worked out brilliantly. The superhero and supervillain from Minnal Murali will show us the key to a complete entertaining full-filled film. So what makes Minnal Murali special from other Indian superhero movies is the direction and making from Basil Joseph, it is extraordinarily crafted followed by a fantastic script. The performance from Guru Somasundharam and Tovino Thomas is a treat to watch and never miss watching Minnal Murali with your loved ones, a great selection by Netflix.
•VERDICT: MUST WATCH
•RATING: 4/5
