Seniors : Malayalam Movie Review
Producer- Vaishak Rajan
Director- Vysakh
Cast- Jayaram, Biju Menon, Manoj.K.Jayan, Kunchacko Boban, Padmapriya, Ananya, Meera Nandan etc
Music- Jassie Gift, Alex Paul, Alphonse
Cinematography- Shaji
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues- Sachi-Sethu
review by : Unni
I won’t say that Vysakh’s ‘Seniors’ is an outstanding movie. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad movie either. I liked it, but to be frank I expected it to be much better, a full-length laugh riot in pace of a comedy-suspense mix. And the suspense aspect, it didn’t work that well with me, I guessed the whole thing much before half time. But I did like the movie, it’s OK for one watch. There are some good moments, there are things that could have been better but I should add, as an after-thought, that there are scenes that could have been worse too. So, just enjoy the movie, forget it and go home. You won’t take back anything with you, just time pass.
Padmanabhan alias Pappu (Jayaram), Rex (Kunchacko Boban), Rasheed Munna (Manoj.K.Jayan) and Philip Idicula (Biju Menon) are friends and were classmates in college. A girl, Lakshmi (Meera Nandan) gets killed while they are in college and Pappu gets jailed for that. Now, 12 years later, he is back from jail. His friends have got ready for him a house and are happy to have him back. They wants life to go on its normal course after that. But Pappu has his own plans. He wants them to go back to college, to join the PG course and start life from where it had broken off for him. (We do doubt his intentions, don’t we? For there is Indu (Padmapriya), who was their collegemate and who now teaches in the same college; she could be the reason for his wanting to come back to college. Or maybe, there is something to be found out, about the killing of Lakshmi…well, keep guessing).
So, the seniors return to college, seeking admission by blackmailing the principal (played by Vijayaraghavan). They have some fun; and so do we. And then, it’s time for some action, some suspense to be unravelled, some revelations to be made and some misconceptions to be cleared. But no, things won’t happen the way the ‘Seniors’ want it to happen.
You’d expect the film to be an outright comedy-caper, as I did, but no, go expecting a mix and you’ll come out more satisfied than me. There are jokes that won’t make you laugh, but if you are bent on having a laugh, you can; well, that was what many of my neighbours in the theatre were doing, laughing at silly jokes. Of course there are some real good ones too. The film is OK, good I’d say. It could be a hit, I want it to be a hit as the director is a friend. Well, it’s not a bad movie, paisa-vasool kind of stuff you may say. Go and watch it.
Performances
The best of the lot, as for performance, is Biju Menon. Manoj.K.Jayan is also good. Kunchacko Boban is good. Jayaram is his usual self. The ladies don’t have much to do. Veterans Jagathy Sreekumar and Vijayaraghavan are wasted in insignificant roles. Suraaj Venjaramoodu repeats himself.
Technical aspects
Shaji’s cinematography and Mahesh Narayanan’s editing suit the mood and the tempo of the film. There is nothing outstanding to mention.
Music
Songs are just so so. Background score by Gopisunder suits the mood.
Script
Sachi and Sethu have definitely done better than their last film, ‘Doubles’, which was totally insufferable. But compared to their earlier films like ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Robin Hood’, ‘Seniors’ lacks something. The premise that they had in hand, that of senior guys going back to college, could have been worked out in a different and better way.
Direction
Vysakh’s direction has bettered. The guy who gave last year’s biggest hit ‘Pokkiri Raja’ has done even better and the film may even be a big hit. Mainstream Malayalam Cinema can hope Vysakh to deliver more hits in the years to come.
Overall verdict- Comic, funny first half . Second half a mix. Balanced…could have been better.
Rating: 2.75/5
