Udayapuram Sulthan (1999)

Once again we are presented with yet another lame excuse for humor. A Muslim singer enters a palace pretending to be a namboodiri (Upper Cast Hindu)and impresses upon the His Majesty, the "Thampuran" and falls in love with his grand daughter. No this is not the review for "His Highness Abdulla" It may sound similar, but it isn't.

The idea of photography, according to the genius who made this film, is to light up the set with flood-lights from all directions. Shadows and dark tones are simply absent throughout the entire film.

The makers of this cinema try hard to make the audience laugh with physical comedy and silly one-liners. The usual cast of clowns (Jagathi, Haneefa, Hari Sri Asokan, Innocent and a few mimicry artistes) are mixed into the potpourri. Malayalam Cinema is heading for troubled waters not due to presence fatty-porn queen Shakeela, but because of sheer lack of talent from script writers and directors. There are a few laughs but not enough to sit till the rather predictable ending.