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Churuli Review : A 'thriller' that goes in circles

Users' reviews.

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive . Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

amanrattu2006 57 333 days ago

Good story but I liked the locations more. Hats off to whole team. Thanks

Rama Kumar 5 801 days ago

Worst movie ever seen. Miserable to the core. I wonder what was the director wanting to do. I am sure he spent less than 1 Lac to make this movie. Absolute waste of time.

raghu6300386775 raghu 110 829 days ago

Director Play With Your Mind.

Adarsh Parthan 870 days ago

No story..<br/>those who gave more star please tell me the story.. climax<br/>camera is good<br/>only bad words

Josh George 888 days ago

Excellent. Still in a time spiral.

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Churuli Review: Lijo Jose Pellissery's Film Seduces And Stumps In Equal Measure

Churuli review: lijo jose pellissery embarks on a cinematic journey with a map that has no boundaries..

Churuli : A still from the film. (Image courtesy: YouTube )

Cast: Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, Joju George, Geethi Sangeeth, Brian Rodger and Jaffer Idukki

Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery

Rating: Four stars (out of 5)

In Churuli , Lijo Jose Pellissery's new Malayalam film streaming on SonyLIV following its international premiere earlier this month at the 34th Tokyo International Film Festival, the director makes a radical departure from his last three films. He embarks on a cinematic journey with a map that has no boundaries. It takes him away from the crowded, tangible, familiar community spaces of Angamaly Diaries, Ee.Ma.Yau and Jallikkattu and into a world of mysteries.

He explored power and human aspirations in the pulsating Angamaly Diaries , death and grief in the funereal Ee.Ma.Yau and masculinity and its manifestations in the unbridled Jallikkattu , all of it in a manner that was rooted in the here and now. In Churuli , however, Pellissery steers clear of the certitudes of life - are there any? - and conceals far more than he reveals. The film deals with happenings that are otherworldly, that are beyond life and death, beyond quests and discoveries, beyond comprehension and contradictions.

How much one takes away from the conundrums at the heart of Churuli depends almost entirely on how willing one is to dive into the maze of stimulations and befuddlements that the film is. Cinematographer Madhu Neelakandan composes striking visuals that evoke a range of perceptions and emotions, while the sound design by Renganaath Ravee creates a low-key, meditative ambience far removed from the more insistent soundscapes of Pellissery's films of the immediate past.

On one level, Churuli tries to approximate through a synthesis of sound, image and conflicting emotions mankind's ceaseless attempts to understand the flow of time. There is as much magic in these forays into the unknown as there is a complete, even disorienting, negation of clarity. On another level, Pellissery tells a perfectly lucid story of two men condemned to repeating the very acts that they have been deployed to stamp out. Only, they find themselves in a place where the inhabitants and the passage of time do not follow familiar rhythms.

The mysterious occurrences in a sparsely populated village up in the misty hills are interspersed with elements steeped in science fiction. The unfathomable and the commonplace, which is denoted by a toddy shop where the men of the village while away their time drinking and bickering, sit in perfect harmony with each other in this setting.

Opening with a card with lines of a poem by Kalpatta Narayanan in which the 'Lord of Time' is likened to a cat that gives a doomed mouse in its grip the hope that it has a chance of being spared, the film leads us into a short animation segment in which a woman (voiced by Geethi Sangeetha, who also has a role in the film) narrates a story of a monk who goes into a forest to look for a phantom and ends up perpetually wandering through the maze, carrying an anteater on his head.

Churuli is indeed about a search without end, about the movement of time in concentric circles. Two undercover cops, an assistant sub-inspector (Chemban Vinod Jose in his third successive major role in a Pellissery film) and a constable (Vinay Forrt), travel to the remote mountain village to hunt for a fugitive named Mayiladumparambil Joy.

The former calls himself Antony, the latter becomes Shajivan. The woman's narration about the monk, the phantom and anteater is, intriguingly, addressed to a man who bears the same name. Reality and fantasy intermingle.

The bus carrying the policemen makes its way up a winding road through a dense jungle that mirrors the one that we see in the spoken prelude about the monk who got lost in the woods. This path and a subsequent ride on a rickety jeep - the only mode of transport here - across a narrow, decrepit bridge that creaks under the weight of the vehicle anticipates what is in store for the duo.

Once the driver and the co-passengers, silent and benign to begin with, cross the bridge, they suddenly turn aggressive and cuss words begin to fly thick and fast. But Antony, who must guard his real identity, has to take the abuse lying down. "Undercover policemen," Antony says to Shajivan in an earlier scene, "are like mongrels in a fish market. Nobody notices them but they notice everything."

But do Antony and Shajivan really notice everything that is going on in this disarmingly idyllic but ominously strange place? They don't. Or maybe they notice without understanding. There is something in the air here that isn't quite right and it is beyond Antony and Shajivan's powers to grasp what exactly it could be.

Antony and Shajivan pose as daily wage workers who have arrived in Churuli to dig pits in a rubber plantation for a man (Joju George) who, they are told, is away from the village. Waiting for his return and hoping to find the fugitive soon, the two cops rent a place in a toddy shop and pay the manager (Jaffar Idukki) by serving the customers and tidying up the place.

"This isn't an ordinary land," the toddy shop manager tells them. Shajivan, who is in the habit of wandering around in the jungle, finds out for himself why and how. But he is none the wiser despite all the encounters that he has during his peregrinations. They only leave him increasingly perplexed. All that he can sense in a muddied sort of way is that the forest is a like snake lying coiled up and still.

Antony keeps reminding Shajivan about the need to remain incognito but never stops telling him who the boss is. They aren't the only ones, every single person in Churuli has something to hide. The film, in keeping with its chosen stratagem, thrives on following its own uncompromising logic and vision.

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The twists and reveals that it keeps for the very end are, like everything else in Churuli , stuck in the penumbra between light and darkness, between the tantalising possibility of stumbling upon what is one looking for and the real risk of being caught in a never-ending spiral.

In a sense, the hypnotic and redolent Churuli addresses the thematic concerns that are central to Ee.Ma.Yau and Jallikkattu but does so in a way that sets it free from the regular, established rules of engagement with an audience. In terms of methods and meanings, Churuli is a flight of whimsy that seduces and stumps in equal measure.

Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, Joju George, Geethi Sangeeth, Brian Rodger and Jaffer Idukki

Lijo Jose Pellissery

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Churuli Movie Review: A wild, captivating trip to a lawless world 

Rating: ( 4 / 5).

Whenever a new Lijo Jose Pellissery film comes out, everyone begins behaving as though an unofficial competition has been greenlit -- the competition for coming up with the most intelligent analysis of the film. One gets the feeling that LJP has been turned into Malayalam cinema's David Lynch by some. When someone says that his work is not hard to get, the person is assumed to be a snob (which is true in some cases). When someone says the opposite, they'll most likely get the response, "I don't think you got it properly." I'm not interested in getting into this competition. I now believe that if you have an interpretation of an oddball film with a fair amount of ambiguities, you should keep it yourself instead of sharing it with others -- unless, of course, it's your closest pal or spouse or parent. If you put out your 'decoding' on social media, there are chances of someone stealing it and passing it off as their own to appear intelligent in front of their buddies. Or, there is a chance of someone mocking your take to look more knowledgeable about cinema than you. I have seen Churuli twice by now, and I don't think it would be fair to come up with just one interpretation of it. I'm not implying it's an obtuse film. I found it relatively easy, although I have to admit a couple of images went over my head. I'm sure a lot of people who grew up on a steady diet of science fiction -- even the most bizarre and frustrating kind -- and are familiar with most of the concepts explored by international filmmakers who dabbled in the genre will find Churuli to be a fairly straightforward film. If I even give a minor hint of the central concept, I might give something away. I can, however, describe what Churuli made me feel. Last week, Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham played with references to The Shining for laughs. In Churuli , LJP comes close to capturing the wild, otherworldly spirit of the Stanley Kubrick classic. By this, I don't mean that they are both telling the same story. I'm merely implying that, just like that film, Churuli takes its central characters to a strange place that seems to exist on a whole different plane, detached from the rest of the world. It pulsates with unreal energy, but not in a way that made me anxious. I was completely caught up in its world and the behaviour of its inhabitants. Ordinary Malayalis in appearance, the people are blessed with the extraordinary mastery of spewing multiple cuss words with the same vigour as Joe Pesci in Goodfellas / Casino . References to male and female genitals often show up in what can be now regarded as the most expletive-laden Malayalam film ever made. It's not off-putting. On the contrary, I was so glad to see a director breaking free of the shackles of conventional filmmaking and going wild with his actors who don't hold back either. Now, all of this is not done for the sake of appearing radical. The characters' behaviour makes complete sense when the setting is taken into consideration. When the two central characters get past a dangerous wooden bridge (a scene that recalls William Friedkin's 1977 film Sorcerer ), they find themselves in the company of individuals that make them feel uncomfortable just minutes after making them feel at home. At one point, someone calls this a place where a man can do anything as he pleases without fearing the law. "Isn't that what paradise is?" he asks. The laws that bound our world don't seem to apply to this place aptly named Churuli . This quality reflects on LJP's filmmaking style too, which is as unrestrained as it can get.

Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery Cast: Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, Jaffer Idukki, Joju George Streaming on: SonyLIV I don't know which version of the film was shown at IFFK -- I couldn't get a seat then -- but I've had conversations with those who felt two completely different things. Some found it frustrating, while others found it gratifying. Churuli is a minimalist sci-fi film, but, oddly enough, the film reminded me more of a Western than anything else. Chemban Vinod Jose and Vinay Forrt feel as unwelcome as Spencer Tracy in Bad Day at Black Rock . Perhaps it has to do with most of the activity centred around the makeshift bar run by Jaffer Idukki's character. The actual sci-fi stuff happens in the last 30 mins although the groundwork begins much early, in the form of eerie occurrences. (Two distinguished names from the current crop of actors make cameos, one of which was a surprise for me.) Aside from Jaffer Idukki, who seems to get better and better with each film, Churuli is kept alive by Chemban Vinod Jose and Vinay Forrt as undercover cops on the trail of an elusive criminal. Some of the dialogues cracked me up, like the one about Sukumara Kurup. The comical effect is enhanced further by the knowledge that a film on Kurup is currently running in theatres. As the senior cop and his subordinate who often get ragged like college freshers by Churuli 's residents, Chemban and Vinay nicely complement each other. Cinematographer Madhu Neelakandan takes advantage of the misty location to conjure some of the most exquisite images put to film. The CGI is minimal and neatly done, but the most striking visual effects in Churuli don't involve CGI. The other share of the credit goes to sound designer Renganath Ravee's wonderfully innovative sound design that reminded me of Frank Warner's work in Close Encounters of the Third Kind . In terms of structure, I found Churuli to be a more coherent and less ostentatious film than Jallikattu . However, both films (especially the latter) share a common problem: the over-the-top hype -- probably kickstarted by international critics -- that makes these films seem more profound than they are. What makes Churuli superior to Jallikattu is that it doesn't seem too eager to please (whether that was the intention or not) and is all the better for it. 

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Two undercover cops who go in search of a fugitive enter another dimension occupied by uncivilized residents who are crass and rude. There, the two men get stuck in an apparent time loop as ... Read all Two undercover cops who go in search of a fugitive enter another dimension occupied by uncivilized residents who are crass and rude. There, the two men get stuck in an apparent time loop as inexplicable events begin to occur. Two undercover cops who go in search of a fugitive enter another dimension occupied by uncivilized residents who are crass and rude. There, the two men get stuck in an apparent time loop as inexplicable events begin to occur.

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CHURULI MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

Churuli, now streaming on OTT platform Sony LIV, is critically-acclaimed director Lijo Jose Pellissery’s new directorial work. The much-awaited film finally reached an eager and expectant audience after a wait of almost a year. It is easy to think the delay in release reeks of a theatrical release until we hear about the direct OTT release. Just 10 minutes into the movie and you will understand why the freedom of a streaming platform is perfect for this film—Churuli simply deserves to be showcased raw with expletives to get immersed in the world.

The story of Churuli revolves around two undercover policemen who have set out to catch an infamous and particularly hard to catch criminal and fugitive Mayiladuparambil Joy. In their quest, the duo enter the mysterious village Churuli, rife with a mind-boggling duality in each inhabitant. How the mufti cops get lost in the labyrinthine village, losing the sense of time, forms the crux of the film.

Touted to be a Sci-Fi thriller, Churuli sees Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Fort, and Joju George in pivotal roles. However, Joju’s character doesn’t show up in the movie until the fag end of the movie, around the time the movie picks up its pace after a relatively drawn out first and second half. In all its glory, Churuli has all the ingredients that make up a Lijo Jose Pellissery movie: non-linear storytelling, long takes, malevolence and rough masculinity, and an immersive environment.

With splendid art direction by Gokuldas and riveting cinematography by Madhu Neelakandan, Churuli manages to take you into the small and mysterious village and its enchanting forests. When coupled with Sreerag Saji’s haunting score that manages to turn even a sequence as benign as laughing malicious, you get certain scenes that leave you in the anticipation of what follows next. The first few minutes of the film with the voiceover about Churuli’s legendary tale of a phantom and a Brahmin hunting him sets the tone for the film, leaving you to wonder who the devious phantom could be.

The cast itself becomes a crown jewel for the movie as each actor immerses himself or herself in their respective characters. Chemban Vinod as Anthony and Vinay Fort as Shajivan were just as convincing as the rest of the cast. Together, they showcase the malicious duality that the Churuli village embodies in the film.

For all its glorious visuals and world-building, Churuli severely lacks what a good thriller requires—a tight screenplay and a sensible story. In a quest to create the perfect atmosphere of a rather xenophobic small village, Pellissery and Jallikattu fame, S Hareesh have created a film that feels drawn out in most of its sequences with conversations and sequences that could have been clipped. The result is a slow-moving film despite its 114 minute-run with one of its pivotal characters entering only in the concluding moments of the film.

To further dampen the effects a movie like Churuli could have had on the audience, we have a lack of clarity in the story. While Pellissery is known for his ambiguous climaxes and storytelling, this film takes the cake in ambiguity. The vagueness is further heightened (perhaps intentionally) with trippy visuals.

Churuli has stunning visuals and a haunting score, both of which pull you into the atmosphere of the village, as is Pellissery’s style. While being one of the most awaited movies, will it meet your expectations? Well, if you love a nice artsy and immersive thriller regardless of the story, you are in for a treat.

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பிரேக்கிங் சினிமா செய்திகள், திரை விமர்சனம், பாடல் விமர்சனம், ஃபோட்டோ கேலரி, பாக்ஸ் ஆபிஸ் செய்திகள், ஸ்லைடு ஷோ, போன்ற பல்வேறு சுவாரஸியமான தகவல்களை தமிழில் படிக்க இங்கு கிளிக் செய்யவும்      

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Churuli Review: Flawless performance by Chemban Vinod, Vinay Forrt

21 november 2021, 07:55 am ist.

A ce Malayalam director Lijo Jose Pellisery, who has ensured resounding box-office successes by narrating the stories of the villages of Kerala's high ranges in his earlier movies such as 'Angamaly Diaries', 'EeMaYu' and 'Jallikettu', has unspooled yet another movie set in the high ranges, and it has equal doses of mystery, humour and fantasy.

The director, however, seems to have set a standard for himself with a distinctive style of filmmaking and there are shades of 'Jallikettu' in some shots of the movie, and the deep wild and misty forests show certain resemblances.

The idea of 'Churuli' comes from the short story 'Kaligeminnarile Kuttavalikal' by Vinoy Thomas, one of the most brilliant writers in contemporary Malayalam literature, and is almost an adaptation of the story but for the elements of fantasy that the director introduces into the film.

Two policemen, Antony (Chemban Vinod Jose, who co-produced the movie ) and Shajeevan (Vinay Forrt), are in pursuit of a criminal in a long-pending case (LPC) and they cross a bridge and reaches a place that seems to exist in a different space altogether. Both the policemen are in disguise.

The movie revolves around a toddy shop, which is also a makeshift church and leads the viewer into a makeshift world where there is an element of mystery.

The central idea of the film seems to be of history repeating itself and one of the policemen, Shajeevan, says that he seems to have been living in the village for ages even though he had stepped into it just a day earlier.

The similarity with 'Jallikettu' is in the pace and mood of the movie, as raucous ribaldry is common to both. Women, as in the case of 'Jallikettu', do not have much of a role in the movie, even though the Malayalam film industry has been experimenting with woman-centric movies such as 'Great Indian Kitchen'. Nonetheless, the movie charms with excellent performances by Chemban Vinod and Vinay Fortt.

'Churuli' commences with a man from the dominant Namboothiri caste going out in search of a 'perumadan', or a phantom, but unknown to him, the 'perumadan' was in the basket he was carrying.

The film has its fun moments, doses of fantasy and scary scenes, but there seem to be no straight answers for the viewers as they get acquainted with the strange behaviour of the people of Churuli.

The driver of the jeep who takes the policemen to Churuli is polite and expressive as also the other fellow travellers, but when they cross a particular bridge, the manner of the people changes and they become roguish and overly brash.

The toddy shop is run by a foul-mouthed person played beautifully by Jaffer Idukki and interestingly, the two policemen also change their behaviour upon reaching Churuli.

The movie is all about exposing the hypocrisy behind the mask of the civilised world, but there are times when it seems the director has lost the plot.

The camera work by Madhu Neelakandan is endearing and the screenplay of S. Hareesh is in sync with the story by Vinoy Thomas. As a director, Lijo Jose Pellisery, however, has to shrug off the baggage he has been carrying of 'Jallikettu'.

Still, 'Churuli', though at times it does meander, works because of its tight script, brilliant camerawork and flawless acting by Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, Jaffer Idukki and Joju George.

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Churuli Explained (Plot And Ending Explained)

Churuli is a Malayalam  psychological-thriller   horror  directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and written by Vinoy Thomas. The film is centred on two undercover cops who head to a village called Churuli to apprehend a criminal named Joy hiding there. The cops begin experiencing bizarre events and appear to have gotten themselves into something they might not be able to get out of. Here’s the plot and ending of the movie Churuli explained; spoilers ahead.

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Where To Watch?

To find where to stream any movie or series based on your country, use This Is Barry’s Where To Watch .

Oh, and if this article doesn’t answer all of your questions, drop me a comment or an FB chat message, and I’ll get you the answer .  You can find other film explanations using the search option on top of the site.

Here are links to the key aspects of the movie:

• – What is going on in Churuli?
• – What is the endless cycle of Churuli?
• – Who is Joy?
• – Plot Explained
• – Churuli Ending Explained
• – Who is the Enchantress (The Vedic Massage Woman)?

What is going on in Churuli?

Churuli is a place where people are trapped in an endless cycle set up by an alien settlement conducting some sort of experiment. The clues to the fact that this is alien driven are:

• The strange beings that we constantly see as part of Shajivan’s visions.
• The conversation about aliens mentioned by two other diners at the small restaurant at the film’s beginning.
• And finally, those lights that aggregate into a mini-moon of sorts at the end.

Regular folks become really aggressive and mean upon entering Churuli, indicating to the audience there is something abnormal about the place.

What is the endless cycle of Churuli?

The movie begins with a story about a priest who goes looking for an evil forest entity. Under the disguise of an anteater, the entity misdirects the priest deeper into the forest. The events of the film as analogous to this story where we see a duo on the hunt for a criminal who eventually gets them lost in the forest.

4 critical roles performed by different people in each cycle are:

• The Bait:  A criminal involved in poaching, child abuse and murder.
• The Prey:  The unsuspecting victim.
• The Persuader:  An enchanted person who goes from Churuli to find the next Prey using the Bait.
• The Dead:  A person who is eventually killed by The Persuader.

The Prey  is lured to Churuli by  The Persuader , saying  The Bait  is hiding in Churuli.  The Persuader  is enchanted and doesn’t even realize that he is drawing  The Prey  to Churuli. Upon reaching Churuli,  The Persuader  begins committing the same crimes that  The Bait  allegedly did. In the process,  The Persuader  kills someone in Churuli.  The Prey  hurts himself and is taken to  an Enchantress  who casts a spell while healing him.  The Prey  and  The Persuader  attempt to leave Churuli with  The Bait , and the entire cycle begins again. But this time, the roles change:

• The Bait  is trapped permanently in Churuli and becomes one of the residents.
• The Persuader  becomes  The Bait  and is bedridden/paralyzed.
• The Prey  becomes  The Persuader  who goes out of Churuli to find the next victim while not realizing he’s part of an endless cycle.

Confusing? Let’s start by answering the most pressing question…

Churuli: Who is Joy?

Though Joy is a supposed criminal, we’ll need to step back and see what might have happened in the previous cycle, meaning the events that happened before what we see in the film Churuli. 

In the previous cycle, Joy was  The Persuader  and was enchanted and sent out to find a victim. 

Joy finds Shajivan,  The Prey,  and the two reach Churuli   looking for an undisclosed criminal,  The Bait.

Shajivan ( The Prey ) eventually hurts himself and is taken to the Enchantress, who casts a spell on him.

Joy ( The Persuader ) commits various crimes – poaching, child abuse and murder. We don’t know who Joy murdered, but it is someone in Churuli.

Joy ( The Persuader ) and Shajivan ( The Prey ) try to leave Churuli with the undisclosed criminal ( The Bait ) and are intercepted by that mini-moon to start another cycle.

Now, Joy becomes  The Bait  and is paralyzed. 

Shajivan becomes  The Persuader  and leaves Churuli, not knowing he’s enchanted to find the next victim.

This takes us to the start of the movie Churuli.

Churuli Movie: Plot Explained

Shajivan ( The Persuader ) brings Antony ( The Prey ) to Churuli, saying a criminal named Joy ( The Bait ) is hiding there. Shajivan doesn’t know that he is enchanted. They come under the guise of trench diggers who’ve come to work for a man named Thankan.

Since this is Shajivan’s second trip to Churuli, he feels he has already been there before, and the people also find him to be familiar. But these residents like Shajivan are all enchanted, so their recollection is hazy. When Shajivan participates in the  slapping game , he recollects the Enchantress’ house, which he has already been in as part of the previous cycle. Shajivan’s dreams and visions of alien activity can also be attributed to what he saw during the last loop. 

This time, Antony ( The Prey ) hurts himself and is taken to the Enchantress. 

Shajivan ( The Persuader ) commits various crimes – poaching, child abuse and murders the guy from the slapping game.

Shajivan and Antony disclose they are cops and head to meet Joy, lying paralyzed. The village people enter and taunt Shajivan and Antony and are unaffected when Shajivan shoots at them, disclosing that they are in a group trance. Joy agrees to leave Churuli with the duo.

Shajivan ( The Persuader ) and Antony ( The Prey ) try to leave Churuli with Joy ( The Bait ) and are intercepted by that mini-moon to start another cycle.

Churuli Ending Explained

The ending of Churuli discloses that Joy, controlled by a mysterious force, misdirects Antony and Shajivan to the center of a spiral path in the forest, just like the story in the prologue. The appearance of the bizarre moon indicates the start of a new cycle.

Joy’s mysterious recovery from his paralysis shows that he has also been enchanted and was never in control, to begin with. As the jeep levitates, we see that Joy and Shajivan have switched places. This indicates that Shajivan has now become  The Bait,  and the film ends.

The speculation of what will happen next is as follows:

Shajivan,  The Bait , will become paralyzed. 

Joy will become one of the disillusioned villagers.

Antony becomes  The Persuader  and leaves Churuli, not knowing he’s enchanted to find the next victim, and the cycle continues.

Who is the Enchantress (The Vedic Massage Woman)?

The Enchantress perpetuates the cycles by putting these men under mind-control through drugs. Her enchantment appears to make each of these men go and fetch another unsuspecting person to Churuli. If what is happening in Churuli is because of an alien presence, then the lady might not be human. Her form is only to trick the people and keep the loops going making her the most central character in this film.

If you want a more in-depth analysis, check out this  writer’s answer  on Quora. Do drop your thoughts and questions in the comments section below.

Barry is a technologist who helps start-ups build successful products. His love for movies and production has led him to write his well-received film explanation and analysis articles to help everyone appreciate the films better. He’s regularly available for a chat conversation on his website and consults on storyboarding from time to time. Click to browse all his film articles

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Churuli: A Cinematic Labyrinth Of Spiraling Masculinities

Spoiler alert: This review contains mild spoilers and is based on the OTT version of the film

Based on a story by Vinoy Thomas, and written for the screen by S Hareesh, director Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Churuli opens with an aphorism about a mouseling trapped before a cat with enormous eyes. It imagines how different Gods would respond, had they been watching over. A gentle God would ensure softness in the paw strikes of the cat, whereas a patient God would take a few hours to finish. A kind God would promise life to the mouseling, the possibility of hope, several times. But the God of time is in no hurry to put an end to this predicament.

Soon after, an animated, anecdotal story of a Monk (belonging to a dominant caste) unfolds on screen, narrated by a woman. He sets out to tame the phantom in the forest who misleads travelers, and picks up an intriguing ball like object on the way. The ball, revealing itself to be an ant eater, playfully leads him through different pathways, eventually having him go in circles for eternity.

The plot is set into motion with two policemen disguised as Antony (Chemban Vinod Jose) and Shajivan ( Vinay Forrt) venturing into the dense hamlet of Churuli on the lookout for a fugitive. They board a jeep, traversing thickly forested, treacherous terrains and get stuck at a log bridge, the link between Churuli and the rest of the world. They manage to cross it after numerous attempts and introduce themselves as labourers looking for work at a rubber plantation, the owner of which they are told is away. The duo is then taken in by a local toddy shop owner, who lets them stay around.

The spiral, a curve that widens into a series of winding circles is perhaps one of the most naturally and abundantly occurring patterns in nature. Churuli uses the spiral motifs generously, as if to depict that the map of the village of Churuli is an infinite, winding spiral, reminiscent of the loop the Monk gets trapped in. From the onset, Churuli is established as a place removed from the society as we know it. The inhabitants display a wild sense of unreliability and are united when it comes to keeping their land protected. Shajivan is instantly sucked into the eeriness of Churuli. He feels that he may already have been in Churuli longer than he can tell.

The duo maintain their clandestine act, secretly trying to extract information about Joy, the criminal they have come in search of. But the serpentine landscape of Churuli with its lores, lawlessness and primal liberties has something else in store for them. The film, which shuttles between genres, seems to tell us that we are all caught in a simulation. But is this loop merely metaphysical, or is it a political metaphor for the primitive within the human?

A primal, masculine labyrinth

Lijo Jose Pellissery’s thematic engagement with the animal within the human has surfaced prominently since Angamaly Diaries . Jallikettu interpreted it in more concrete terms, and Churuli seems like yet another spin on the same.

Set in the sub-genre of folk horror, Churuli’s world building is primal, illusive and masculine – a labyrinth that leads you astray, while attempting to bring you closer to your evolutionary essence. Antony and Shajivan, two gatekeepers of law, enter Churuli with a sense of justice and the belief that their mission contributes to the maintenance of social order. Churuli is a place where there is no policing system, governance or laws. The characters have interchangeable names, and spew expletives like the most natural thing.

If we examine the politics of the plot, Churuli taps into the conflict between the primal human spirit with our need for civilization against the omnipresent, inescapable indifference of time itself – perhaps the most fatalistic essence of the survival loop that human beings are doomed to be perpetually caught in. The most fundamental idea the film anchors on is whether or not we are inherently designed to live in a social structure that mandates the binary order of the good and the bad. If we were to live in a society that did not ask to us have moral boundaries, who would we be? Perhaps, the inhabitants of Churuli.

The women in Churuli do hold some power, standing up to the men in some situations, but they are always labouring, serving, healing or covering up for the men. The house of Pengal (Geethi Sangeetha) is where Antony’s inner self, alien to conditioned morality is birthed. Even though Pengal assumes agency over her sexual desires, her function in the plot is still feminine – birthing and healing. Having women utter profanities just like men does not make the conscience of a narrative gender equal. The question is how much decisive power women hold in it

By positioning Churuli as a place away from reality, buried deep within the world as we know it, the characters seem like people who have achieved a sense of autonomy that comes with the acceptance of their animalistic selves. The use of symbols from mythology and religion, sprinkled with the mysteries of black magic, make Churuli’s lucid premise visually plausible. The alien apparitions that occur occasionally, the Theechamundi (fire ball) that travels back and forth, and probable time machine found in one of the inhabitant’s house, all seem extremely natural in the universe built by Madhu Neelakandhan’s visual sorcery, backed by Sreerag Saji’s background music and Renganaath Ravee’s sound design.

But the obsession of the plot with turning everything into an anecdote shrouds the narrative with a heightened sense of wonder. If we strip Churuli off its cinematic and executional grandeur, the question we must ask is – does this mean that the primal instinct in us cannot ever be streamlined? If a world like Churuli is where we truly belong, what about those among us who are more vulnerable than the others? Does our possibility for a conscience as a species have no meaning at all?

Though it is easy to lose track of the thematic standpoint of Churuli in the midst of its metaphysics, it is important to analyse where the film stands with respect to its extrapolation of Lijo Jose’s seemingly favourite ‘ man himself is the biggest beast’ theme, and how women and children fit into this context.

The women in Churuli do hold some power, standing up to the men in some situations, but they are always labouring, serving, healing or covering up for the men. The house of Pengal (Geethi Sangeetha) is where Antony’s inner self, alien to conditioned morality is birthed. Even though Pengal assumes agency over her sexual desires, her function in the plot is still feminine – birthing and healing. Having women utter profanities just like men does not make the conscience of a narrative gender equal. The question is how much decisive power women hold in it.

Even among the men of Churuli, social stature is determined by the capacity for conquest, which is a hyper masculine positioning of physical dominance. There is mention of pedophilia and children may not entirely be safe in this set up.

Shajivan experiences fragmented dejavus of having been at many places in Churuli before. This is perhaps indicative of the collective memory of human beings as a species, the innate understanding that we were all once the same kind of animals. But the ‘ we ’ here is exclusive of women. The conscience of Churuli , both the land and the film are masculine, with little room for the possibility of building an alternate world that is kinder and egalitarian.

Also read: PUBG And The Glorification Of A Hyper-Toxic-Masculinity

Engaging with a hyper masculine cinematic universe as a woman

Watching Churuli as a woman is quite an alienating experience, because the women on screen are for one scarce, and on the edge of being thrust into violence. Most of the expletives used also refer to the female genitals in a derogatory manner. While discussing the appropriateness of cuss words in the film, the larger debate must also be about why genitals of any sex, or the caste locations of people double up as foul language in the first place. The narrative could have subverted the use of expletives by using different words, and this is possible because anything is possible in the world of Churuli. But the decision not to is conspicuous and disturbing.

Patriarchal morality considers nudity as obscene, and female nudity, even more so. In a particular scene when one of the characters speaks about his reluctance to go looking for a certain someone in his house because only a woman would be there at the moment, he is asked a question, “ Will the woman squish you between her thighs? ” The fact that the men of Churuli immediately associate a woman, any woman, with what lies in between her legs be it to describe them or to abuse other men is perhaps a reflection of the male gaze on women in real life. But to be privy to a cinematic universe that is unwavering in its repetitive reliance on this gaze is frustrating.

One could argue that in a chaotic, lawless land, this is how men behave – they hunt, conquer, dominate and fornicate at will. But that in itself is proof of the fact that a world like Churuli which romaticises the anthropomorphic chimpanzee in us cannot be stomached without dread by those who would be most affected by its violence – women.

The civil society we are trying to build may not be the best scenario which addresses all our needs as human beings. The social order we consider acceptable draws from popular morality, and harbours in its heart many questionable double standards. Art need not be puritan in its conceptualisation or critique of these double standards. But the alternative to the misgivings of one kind of social order cannot be the embracing of disorder itself. Churuli may not be asking us to, but its mystification of this netherworld is quite concerning

Both Jallikettu and Churuli play with the wild within, and though neither seem to idealise or embrace the resultant chaos, they also do not remotely mention the possibility of an alternative. Churuli seems to be comfortable in its acceptance of the age old ‘ men will be men ’ narrative. The masculine conscience can of course, take this lightly and be comfortable with passing it off as an exploration of the grey within us, or cinematic liberty, because even if this fantasy were to become a reality, it would still advantage men.

But for women, children and members of other marginalised gender and social locations, the normalisation of this narrative is deeply threatening. The modern society has been in a constant attempt to negotiate parity, and diffuse the hierarchical use of power. In that context, to obsess over the untamed within us, and to perhaps suggest that eventually everyone gets sucked into their own whirlpool of chaos without redemption, is problematic.

Normalising the primal want for control, domination and coitus in man as his inescapable destiny does push us to scrutinise ourselves, but it also in a way, posits this primal state as one that cannot or perhaps need not be transformed into something more suited for respectful coexistence. Towards the climax, as Antony and Shajivan try to exit Churuli with Joy, they are unable to find the log bridge that they traversed while entering into the village. Shajivan is almost relieved, because he always felt he belonged in Churuli.

Churuli is an anarchic landscape that is tempting, and would make most men feel they belong in its winding spiral. It is liberating, limitless, and extremely gratifying. Even as it attempts to critique the vulgarities of the masculine ego, it does find relief in not having to put a leash on any emotion, in a world that lets one be, irrespective of the damage. A character says, “ You can hunt, kill and fornicate without care, If this is not paradise, what is?” Whose paradise is this, and what about the women and the children who become easy targets? No matter how magnetic the core of Chruruli is, women and children will only find a place in it after the men.

The civil society we are trying to build may not be the best scenario which addresses all our needs as human beings. The social order we consider acceptable draws from popular morality, and harbours in its heart many questionable double standards. Art need not be puritan in its conceptualisation or critique of these double standards. But the alternative to the misgivings of one kind of social order cannot be the embracing of disorder itself. Churuli may not be asking us to, but its mystification of this netherworld is quite concerning.

Churuli is the untamed within, the phantom that misleads our waking conscience into the abyss of the primordial in us. The film deserves to be watched for its cinematic vocabulary and fascinating world building. But we must also pause and see through the problems of normalising primitive, masculine temptations, and decide for ourselves if we must preserve the log bridge or not. As a woman, I sure hope we do.

Also read: Why We Need To Reject Toxic Masculinity For Better Mental Health

Sukanya is a lawyer-turned-journalist with experience in writing, editing, development communication, and advertising. She holds a graduation in law, a post-graduation in philosophy, and a post-graduate diploma in print journalism. She is also a published poet and was awarded the All India Poetry Prize in 2015. Her journalistic work is deeply focused on gender and intersectionalities, and they appear in Feminism In India, True Copy Think, and The News Minute.

Makes sense. Good review

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‘Churuli’ Review: Riveting Performances Uplift Malayalam Mystery Movie

The idea of 'churuli' comes from the short story 'kaligeminnarile kuttavalikal' by vinoy thomas, one of the most brilliant writers in contemporary malayalam literary..

Lijo Jose Pellisery

Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, Soubin Shahir, Jaffer Idukki and Joju George.

Ace Malayalam director Lijo Jose Pellisery, who has ensured resounding box-office successes by narrating the stories of the villages of Kerala's high ranges in his earlier movies such as 'Angamaly Diaries', 'EeMaYu' and 'Jallikettu', has unspooled yet another movie set in the high ranges, and it has equal doses of mystery, humour and fantasy.

The director, however, seems to have set a standard for himself with a distinctive style of filmmaking and there are shades of 'Jallikettu' in some shots of the movie, and the deep wild and misty forests show certain resemblances.

ALSO READ | Dhamaka Is Indeed Explosive, Boasts Of Kartik Aaryan’s Career Best Performance

The idea of 'Churuli' comes from the short story 'Kaligeminnarile Kuttavalikal' by Vinoy Thomas, one of the most brilliant writers in contemporary Malayalam literary, and is almost an adaptation of the story but for the elements of fantasy that the director introduces into the film.

Two policemen, Antony (Chemban Vinod Jose, who co-produced the movie ) and Shajeevan (Vinay Forrt), are in pursuit of a criminal in a long-pending case (LPC) and they cross a bridge and reaches a place that seems to exist in a different space altogether. Both the policemen are in disguise.

The movie revolves around a toddy shop, which is also a makeshift church and leads the viewer into a makeshift world where there is an element of mystery.

The central idea of the film seems to be of history repeating itself and one of the policemen, Shajeevan, says that he seems to have been living in the village for ages even though he had stepped into it just a day earlier.

The similarity with 'Jallikettu' is in the pace and mood of the movie, as raucous ribaldry is common to both. Women, as in the case of 'Jallikettu', do not have much of a role in the movie, even though the Malayalam film industry has been experimenting with woman-centric movies such as 'Great Indian Kitchen'. Nonetheless, the movie charms with excellent performances by Chemban Vinod and Vinay Fortt.

'Churuli' commences with a man from the dominant Namboothiri caste going out in search of a 'perumadan', or a phantom, but unknown to him, the 'perumadan' was in the basket he was carrying.

The film has its fun moments, doses of fantasy and scary scenes, but there seems to be no straight answers for the viewers as they get acquainted with the strange behaviour of the people of Churuli.

The driver of the jeep who takes the policemen to Churuli is polite and expressive as also the other fellow travellers, but when they cross a particular bridge, the manner of the people changes and they become roguish and overly brash.

The toddy shop is run by a foul-mouthed person played beautifully by Jaffer Idukki and interestingly, the two policemen also change their behaviour upon reaching Churuli.

The movie is all about exposing the hypocrisy behind the mask of the civilised world, but there are times when it seems the director has lost the plot.

The camera work by Madhu Neelakandan is endearing and the screenplay of S. Hareesh is in sync with the story by Vinoy Thomas. As director, Lijo Jose Pellisery, however, has to shrug off the baggage he has been carrying of 'Jallikettu'.

Still, 'Churuli', though at times it does meander, works because of its tight script, brilliant camerawork and flawless acting by Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, Jaffer Idukki and Jojo George.

ALSO READ | 'Animal' Release Date Out: Ranbir Kapoor & Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Film To Hit Silver Screens In 2023

Watch this space for more updates.

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• ENGLISH HINDI MALAYALAM TAMIL TELUGU KANNADA BENGALI  

Churuli Malayalam Movie

Churuli is a 2021 Indian movie directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery starring Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinay Forrt, Joju George and Jaffer Idukki. The feature film is produced by Lijo Jose Pellissery and Chemban Vinod Jose and the music composed by Sreerag Saji.

Churuli is based on the short story Kaligeminaarile Kuttavaalikal by Vinoy Thomas, one of the most exciting young writers in Malayalam. Antony (Chemban Vinod Jose) and Shajeevan (Vinay Forrt), two police officers, are traveling in disguise to a remote village in the hills, to nab an accused in a long-pending case. But once they cross a broken bridge, which is almost like a portal to this secret space, things do not turn out the way they intend to.

Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery Producers: Lijo Jose Pellissery , Chemban Vinod Jose Music Director: Sreerag Saji Sound Designer: Renganaath Ravee Cinematographer: Madhu Neelakandan Editor: Deepu Joseph Art Designer: Gokuldas Screenplay Writer: S Hareesh Original Story Writer: Vinoy Thomas

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Published: May 01 , 2024 02:05 PM IST

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നിവിൻ പോളി നായകനായി എത്തുന്ന ‘മലയാളി ഫ്രം ഇന്ത്യ’ തിയറ്ററുകളിലെത്തി. ആദ്യ ഷോ പൂർത്തിയാകുമ്പോൾ മികച്ച പ്രതികരണമാണ് സിനിമയ്ക്കു ലഭിക്കുന്നത്. ഒരുപണിയുമില്ലാതെ നാട്ടുകാർക്കും വീട്ടുകാർക്കും വെറുക്കപ്പെട്ടവനായി ജീവിക്കുന്ന ആൽപ്പറമ്പിൽ ഗോപിയായി നിവിൻ ചിത്രത്തിലെത്തുന്നു. ചക്രവ്യൂഹത്തിൽ അകപ്പെട്ട അഭിമന്യുവിനെ പോലെ, പ്രശ്നങ്ങൾ ഒന്നിനുപുറകെ ഒന്നായി വരുന്ന ഗോപിയുടെ ജീവിതമാണ് സിനിമ പറയുന്നത്. മൽഗോഷ് എന്ന ഗോപിയുടെ കൂട്ടുകാരനായി ധ്യാൻ ശ്രീനിവാസനും ചിത്രത്തിലെത്തുന്നു.

#MalayaliFromIndia superbbb movie ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 Malayalikal allelum pwoliyalle — Ansaf (@Ansaf08522449) May 1, 2024

സംഭവം അലമോല ദംദം ആണെങ്കിലും ശരിക്കും ചിരിച്ച് , കരച്ചില് വന്ന് , രോമാഞ്ചം കൊണ്ട് കണ്ട പടം #MalayaleeFromIndia 🔥 Pure Blockbuster 🔥💥 4.8/5 #NivinPauly ടെ 100 കോടി 🔥🎉 #Dijojoseantony 🔥🤌 #MalayaliFromIndia pic.twitter.com/xHqlhUO2x9 — Gokul Vasudev (@gokul_vasudev3) May 1, 2024

#MalayaliFromIndia First Half : As Expected The Movie Holds Entertainment & Socio Political Issues Hand In Hand. @NivinOfficial Show Backed With Good Writing & Making. Dhyan & Manju Pillai 👏 Moving To Second Half. Very Good pic.twitter.com/IeTV2uqRyc — Akshay 𓃵 (@Akshayk_2255) May 1, 2024

#MalayaliFromIndia started with an entertaining tone, but it has taken a completely political turn, as anticipated. The scenes featuring Muthappan gave me goosebumps, especially as a native of Kannur. Nivin and Dhyan combo was enjoyable to watch in the beginning. #NivinPauly pic.twitter.com/8DRUV1HQUm — Akshay Prakash (@storiesbyakshay) May 1, 2024

Malayalee from India is a must watch 💙💙 pic.twitter.com/Z9YIXyTsUp — Chaitanya. (@illusionistChay) May 1, 2024

#MalayaleeFromIndia Interval 🍿 DECENT 1st Half So Far. #NivinPauly is Perfect in His Role. Humour Portions Worked Well So Far. Film Handles Serious Communal Issues. Has Few Lags. Hope The 2nd Half is Much More Stronger 🤞 pic.twitter.com/tG9YKbcN9t — Cinephile Tweets (@TweetsCinephile) May 1, 2024

സൂപ്പർ ഹിറ്റ്‌ ചിത്രം ജനഗണമനയ്ക്ക് ശേഷം ഡിജോ ജോസ് ആന്റണിയും ലിസ്റ്റിൻ സ്റ്റീഫനും വീണ്ടും ഒന്നിക്കുന്ന ചിത്രം കൂടിയാണ് 'മലയാളി ഫ്രം ഇന്ത്യ'. ജനഗണമനയ്ക്ക് തിരക്കഥ ഒരുക്കിയ ഷാരിസ് മുഹമ്മദ് തന്നെയാണ് 'മലയാളി ഫ്രം ഇന്ത്യ'യുടെയും തിരക്കഥ നിർവഹിക്കുന്നത്. നിവിൻ പോളിക്കൊപ്പം അനശ്വര രാജൻ ,ധ്യാൻ ശ്രീനിവാസൻ, സെന്തിൽ കൃഷ്ണ, മഞ്ജു പിള്ള എന്നിവരും  പ്രധാന കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളായി എത്തുന്നു. ഛായാഗ്രഹണം സുദീപ് ഇളമൻ.സംഗീതം ജെയ്ക്സ്  ബിജോയ്‌. സഹനിർമ്മാതാവ് ജസ്റ്റിൻ സ്റ്റീഫൻ.

Excellent first Half 👌 #MalayaliFromIndia There is so much of fun elements scenes but also it's seeking into a serious subject #NivinPauly @NivinOfficial pic.twitter.com/3jNYviBBFi — Shabeeh (@shabeeh_shebi) May 1, 2024

First Half 🔥🔥 കിടിലൻ First Half 👌 #MalayaliFromIndia #NivinPauly pic.twitter.com/AKbuAMglB4 — Amar Nath (@ArminDfc) May 1, 2024

#MalayaleeFromIndia Review FIRST HALF: Entertaining & Engaging 👍 #NivinPauly & #DhyanSreenivasan shine in entertaining us 😄 Music is good ✌️ Some real turn in events in the story 👌 Interval makes way for 2nd Half 👍 #MalayaliFromIndia #MalayaleeFromIndiaReview pic.twitter.com/SUPaNkycm6 — Swayam Kumar Das (@KumarSwayam3) May 1, 2024

ലൈൻ പ്രൊഡ്യൂസർ സന്തോഷ്‌ കൃഷ്ണൻ. എക്സിക്യൂട്ടീവ് പ്രൊഡ്യൂസർ നവീൻ തോമസ്, എഡിറ്റർ ആൻഡ് കളറിങ് ശ്രീജിത്ത്‌ സാരംഗ്, ആർട്ട്‌ ഡയറക്ടർ അഖിൽരാജ് ചിറയിൽ. പ്രൊഡക്ഷൻ ഡിസൈനർ പ്രശാന്ത് മാധവൻ. വസ്ത്രലങ്കാരം സമീറ സനീഷ്. മേക്കപ്പ് റോണെക്സ് സേവ്യർ,   ചീഫ് അസോസിയേറ്റ് ഡയറക്ടർ ബിന്റോ സ്റ്റീഫൻ. പ്രൊഡക്ഷൻ കൺട്രോളർ ഗിരീഷ് കൊടുങ്ങല്ലൂർ സൗണ്ട് ഡിസൈൻ SYNC സിനിമ. 

ഫൈനൽ മിക്സിങ് രാജകൃഷ്ണൻ എം ആർ. അഡ്മിനിസ്ട്രേഷൻ ആൻഡ് ഡിസ്ട്രിബൂഷൻ ഹെഡ് ബബിൻ ബാബു. പ്രൊഡക്ഷൻ ഇൻ ചാർജ് അഖിൽ യെശോധരൻ. ലൈൻ പ്രൊഡക്ഷൻ റഹീം പി എം കെ (ദുബായ്). ഡബ്ബിങ് സൗത്ത് സ്റ്റുഡിയോ. ഗ്രാഫിക്സ് ഗോകുൽ വിശ്വം. കൊറിയോഗ്രാഫി വിഷ്ണു ദേവ്. സ്റ്റണ്ട് മാസ്റ്റർ ബില്ലാ ജഗൻ. പി ആർ ഓ മഞ്ജു ഗോപിനാഥ്. ഡിസൈൻ ഓൾഡ്മങ്ക്സ്, സ്റ്റിൽസ് പ്രേംലാൽ, വിഎഫ്എക്സ് പ്രോമിസ്,  മാർക്കറ്റിങ് ബിനു ബ്രിങ്ഫോർത്ത്. വിതരണം മാജിക് ഫ്രെയിംസ്.

Malayali From India Audience Review

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Malayalee From India review: Even Nivin Pauly’s honest performance can’t save this disappointing film

Malayalee from india review: nivin pauly makes a bland comeback with this mediocre film that doesn't quite know what it wants to be..

After the stupendous success of Nivin Pauly’s character in the recent Varshangalkku Sesham, comes the Malayalam star’s Malayalee from India. Helmed by the director of Jana Gana Mana, this dramedy sees Nivin Pauly team up with Dhyan Sreenivasan. (Also read: Heeramandi review: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's sprawling, sparkling debut show is blissfully free of his cinematic trappings )

Gopi (Nivin Pauly) lives in Mullakara, Kerala, where he whiles away time playing cricket or campaigning for a political party. His best friend is Malghosh (Dhyan Sreenivasan) and the two end up getting in trouble most of the time to the despair of Gopi’s mother, who earns a living doing various jobs to support the family.

One day while playing cricket, Gopi smashes a ball into a house where a group of men has come together for a meeting. A fight breaks out between Gopi's gang and these men but it settles down soon. But it is when India is playing Pakistan in a crucial cricket match that things go awry. Pakistan wins the match and to the dismay of a few people in the village, a bunch of kids burst crackers. The people around assume it is for India’s defeat and given that the kids hail from the Muslim community, they are enraged.

Malghosh drags Gopi from home and he ends up attacking those families and communal riots break out in the village. Numerous men are seriously injured and Malghosh and Gopi are wanted by the police as well community members. Gopi is forced to flee his village and ends up in the Middle East in the middle of nowhere on a camel farm, bang in the middle of the Covid pandemic. And his supervisor is a Pakistani who loves cricket. What happens to Gopi? How does the case against him get resolved?

The disappointing writing

Director Dijo Jose Anthony’s film has tried to combine various social issues in this film--ranging from communal politics and manipulation of religion by politicians--to the current political atmosphere in India. Unfortunately, the script is poorly written by Sharis Mohammed and though the intention to highlight the importance of communal harmony can be applauded, the execution is below average.

The story is not coherent and jumps from one issue to the other, haphazardly, with comedic bits peppered throughout. For instance, initially, we see Gopi involved in politics and romancing Krishna (Anaswara Rajan) and are led to believe the film is connected to politics in Kerala. But the theme completely changes a few minutes later - and Krishna also vanishes from the film. And from Kerala, Gopi suddenly ends up on a camel farm in the desert in the Middle East. Why a camel farm in the desert? In fact, this reminds us of the recent hit film, The Goat Life. One gets the impression that most Malayalis - for some odd reason - end up on goat or camel farms in the UAE and then try to escape their horrendous lives there.

Nivin Pauly doesn’t look fresh in this film and though he performs with all his heart, it’s not enough to save Malayalee from India. Dhyan Sreenivasan and Nivin share good chemistry on screen and the comedy between them works out for the audience. However, the more serious message that the director and writer want to convey just gets lost in this mediocre film. Malayalee From India is disappointing and is not the comeback that the talented Nivin Pauly deserves.

• Nivin Pauly

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'Malayalee From India': Nivin Pauly's much-anticipated movie struggles to find its footing | Movie Review

Nivin Pauly's latest film, 'Malayalee From India', directed by Dijo Jose Antony, hit the theatres today amidst high expectations. With the release of the 'Krishna' song, fans hoped for a return to Nivin's classic charm. However, the subsequent trailer painted a different picture, presenting the film in a serious tone. In reality, the movie is a combination of both, but unfortunately, it falls short of expectations.

The plot revolves around Gopi (played by Nivin), an unemployed individual from a quaint town in Kerala who lives carefree and indulges in political antics, often landing himself in trouble. His steadfast friend Malghosh (Dhyan Sreenivasan) stands by him through thick and thin, actively participating in his misadventures. The film chronicles Gopi's journey and the escapades he encounters along the way.

The film feels like a messy amalgamation of comedy, patriotism, and feel-good moments that fail to blend cohesively. While the initial parts show glimpses of Nivin Pauly's past performances, reminiscent of 'Oru Vadakkan Selfie,' the humour doesn't quite hit the mark. Although there are comedic moments between Nivin and Dhyan, they aren't sufficient to drive the story forward. One of the film's shortcomings is its attempt to juggle too many themes simultaneously, resulting in none receiving adequate attention—a flaw reminiscent of Dijo's previous work, 'Jana Gana Mana.'

'Varshangalkku Sesham' Review | A bittersweet tribute to tinsel town’s oddball residents

'Iyer in Arabia': This Mukesh-Urvashi starrer offers chuckles but not consistency | Movie Review

The film is undeniably Nivin Pauly's one-man show, as he remains energetic throughout, striving to engage the audience. However, Dhyan and Anaswara Rajan, have limited impact in the movie. Despite the buzz surrounding the 'Krishna' song, the dynamic between Anaswara and Nivin's characters remains unexplored in the film.

It appears that Dijo has included an abundance of elements in the film, leading to an overflow of feel-good moments that feel forced. The movie takes its time to convey its messages. For instance, there's a scene where Nivin presents a copy of 'Wings of Fire,' A. P. J. Abdul Kalam's autobiography, to a Pakistani girl. While intended to evoke applause, the scene falls flat as it echoes a formula seen in numerous other films depicting harmony between India and Pakistan.

In terms of performance, Nivin Pauly delivers solidly, playing his character decently well. Manju Pillai shines as Nivin's mother, delivering a natural and effortless performance. Dhyan provides excellent support to Nivin with his performance. The music is decent, though not exceptional.

The movie has its moments, eliciting applause from the audience at certain points. Dijo demonstrates an adept sense of timing in placing such scenes, where viewers experience an adrenaline rush. For example, the film here and there addresses the current political landscape in Kerala and India and touches on the divisive nature of religion, which is commendable. Nevertheless, the film tends to become overly preachy at times. It's a one-time watch, and not too bad if you're seeking something light.

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