Movie: Bhramaram

Unni(Suresh Menon) lives in Kovai with his family. His family consists of his wife, Latha(Lakshmi Gopalaswami), a daughter, Lachu, and a son. His son is away, studying in a residential school. Unni works as a stock broker.

One fine day, a stranger(Mohanlal) turns up at Unni’s doorsteps when Unni is away. The stranger has a small travel bag which he holds close to his body and has a disheveled look. The stranger is looking for his classmate, Unni. Both of them studied in the same class around 30 years back in the 7th Standard.

Latha is suspicious about him. Before she could protest, the stranger walks into the house recounting tales from the past. When Latha starts to protest, Lachu wakes up crying. The stranger comforts Lachu and becomes friendly with her in a short period of time.

Unni has a sudden business trip to Chennai and returns home to pack his bags. At the house, he meets the stranger. But, he is unable to identify the stranger. Unni fails to recall the stranger even after he identifies him as Jose.

Jose leaves the home with Unni to the railway station. Since Kovai was rocked by bomb blasts on that day, the cops are all over the place. They stop Unni and Jose to check their baggage. As a result, Unni gets delayed and escapes from a blast at the railway station.

The two classmates – Jose and Unni – celebrate their escape by drinking at a local bar. Jose end up staying at Unni’s house. Latha does not approve of this. The next day, Jose tells Unni that he needs to talk to him personally on a serious matter. Assuming the serious matter to be financial help, Unni gives his number to Jose. Jose writes the number on his palm. When Lachu enquires about the reason for behind writing this on palm, Jose replies he never forgets anything written on his palm.

Later at work, Unni calls up his friend Alex(Muralikrishnan). Alex is also not able to place Jose. But on hearing about the peculiar habit of writing on the palm, Alex is shaken. He informs Unni the stranger could be Shivankutty. Now, Unni is also terrified. He calls Latha to warn her about Shivankutty and not to let him in. But it is too late as Shivankutty turns up at their house and starts cooking chicken biriyani for everyone.

Unni rushes back to home to confront Shivankutty. Shivankutty warns Unni to keep quiet as the truth will only hurt Unni.

Shivankutty has an agenda. The rest of the movie reveals the real reason for Shivankutty’s visit. In order to unravel the mystery, Unni is forced to go on a trip with Shivankutty and transported to a life which is alien to him.

Blessy directs this thriller. He maintains the suspense on Shivankutty’s agenda throughout the movie and gives us many red herrings. But, in certain places, he extends the scenes thereby testing the patience of the audience. He, along with the photographer, Ajayan Vincent, has chosen never-seen-before breathtaking locales without leaving India. The drive to Shivankutty’s house through the dangerous terrain instills awe and fear in us. Blessy has relied a lot on VFX in many scenes. Although VFX is better than most of the movies, these shots can easily be identified.

Mohanlal stands out in his portrayal of Shivankutty. He is excellent as a man who is walking the thin line that divides sanity and insanity. He keeps us on the hook with his smile, his eyes and his energy.

For Suresh Menon, this is a departure from his comic image. He proves his ability to enact a serious role. During the fight, on the way to Shivankutty’s house, Suresh Menon displays the dark nature of Unni effectively.

Bhoomika Chawla has a small role as Shivankutty’s wife. She and rest of the cast are dwarfed by Mohanlal and Suresh Menon.

This thriller is recommended.

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Thriller

Rating: ***

Picture Courtesy: http://www.thecompleteactor.com/

Tags: Movies,Mohanlal,Suresh Menon,Lakshmi Gopalaswamy,Muralikrishnan,Bhoomika Chawla,Blessy,Ajayan Vincent,Thriller

Comments

  1. wow,thanks, looks like a good movie. Will watch surely. Cheers:)

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  2. ok, u have cleared..so have to watch..hopefully...cheers buddy

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  3. I was told that Suresh Menon has given an extremely matured performance.

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  4. @ZB - Watch it and let me know!

    @Ramesh - Thanks.

    @BKC - Suresh Menon is good. Compared to his performances in "Crazy 4" and "Partner", this is very different. He is talented! But, unfortunately he gets to do only the comic roles in Hindi!

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  5. I am a big fan of Mohanlal, although I have watched him only in a few hindi movies like kalapani and Company. He is such a natural and subtle performer! This movie had a gripping storyline!

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  6. @Sucharita - I have not seen the Hindi version of Kalapani. But he acted well in Company with an atrocious accent. :)

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  7. Again feeling lost. Again wishing for a post on Malayalam cinema.

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  8. At least this has been one of the watchable Lal flicks. Nowhere a classic but I could catch glimpses of Lal's acting prowess in the movie. The Director needs appreciation for that.

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  9. @scorpiogenius- I agree with you. In fact, I was a bit apprehensive about the movie after seeing "Calcutta News". But this turned better out to be better!

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  10. @Nona, i have a humble request for you. Your post reveals a huge amount of plot details, and it could spoil viewer's movie goig experience. When I went to watch the movie I had absolutely no idea about the story, and I was at the edge of the seat from the very first reel till the last. I strongly believe that after reading your plot details, viewers will find the first half of the movie not as thrilling!!!

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  11. @trouble_monger- Thanks for dropping by. Will keep this in mind while writing reviews in the future.

    When I write the review, I take extreme care against revealing the plot lines and then spoiling the movie going experience. For a movie like Brahmaram, there are a lot more than is written in my review.

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  12. i am sorry, but i really disagree with you. I only have the words of the director himself to quote.

    http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/06/26/stories/2009062651350100.htm

    --quote
    However, Blessy is unwilling to reveal even the name of Mohanlal’s character. “It is a key ingredient in this thriller and I want viewers to see it for themselves"
    --unquote

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  13. @trouble_monger - I don't think the name of Mohanlal's character is going to kill the suspense. But if i told the movie has traces of inspiration from Korean movie "Old Boy", then the suspense is affected!

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