

Not just Bollywood but even South Indian movies finally made it to the big screen.

Written by Dennis Joseph, directed by TS Suresh Babu, with its superbly written supporting characters (Sukumaran, Innocent, KPAC Lalitha, Ranjini) rest assured there is not a single dull moment.November started on a promising note with movies finally getting a theatrical release. Mammootty expectedly aces the Kottayam slang and the comical ruffian sits lightly on him (check out that iconic drunken brawl scene) making it one of his most loved characters of all times. Kunjachan is an affable variant of Sangam’s Kuttappayi (Mammootty again)-the quintessential Christian Achayan who does not take himself too seriously. But Kunjachan is also a lot of fun-after pledging to reform himself, he starts a new business in town, tries to make himself amiable to the townies and just as quickly falls for the charms of Mollykutty (Ranjini). As if to validate his formidable reputation, Kunjachan gets into a scuffle with his earlier employer and single-handedly vanquishes a dozen men who try to mess with him. Kunjachan’s entry echoes like a tom-tom, with a young lad running around, declaring his sighting to all and sundry. Two years ago, Neerad announced a sequel, Bilal, starring Mammootty again and the news was welcomed warmly on social media. Technically it is top notch with its stylishly choreographed action scenes, soundscape, and cinematography. Though the film didn’t do that well at the box-office, a decade later it is considered a cult action thriller. fashioned pithy lines for Bilal, and Mammootty intones it in a peculiar style, bringing his trademark nuances to the character. At a time when heroes were given lengthy verbose monologues in Malayalam cinema, Unni R. Bilal is enigmatic, ominously silent most of the time, and when he does speak, it’s mostly one-liners. Mammootty plays Bilal, the eldest, with whom she had a fallout owing to his criminal activities. The murder of Mary Teacher, a philanthropist, brings back to town her four adopted sons, who decide to find the people behind it. One of the earliest Malayalam films in the last decade that ushered in the new wave, Big B, directed by debutant Amal Neerad, was a loose adaptation of John Singleton’s Four Brothers set in Fort Kochi.
