The meaning of the word is basically Master.
And boy does it befit the actor who is taking method acting to a different level.
There are very few actors today who will match up to the depth of Fahadh faasil ( Nawazuddin comes close ) , kamal Hassan is way ahead
The film starts off with a long 11 minute mono shot of Ali akka the local god father hosting a dinner for poor people of his area. His disdain for the local politician played brilliantly by Dilesh pothan. And his change of tone when he is alone with him in the room with this politician is simply put brilliant.
I hardly understand Malayam and relied reading on subtitles while looking at the actors facial expression at the same time. ( I watched the movie twice )
The movie touches on multiple aspect Political manipulation , the struggles of fisherman, An upright mother , confused son who slowly walks towards crime, The religious conflicts between communities are sensitively handled and add powerful weight to each part of the story.
There is also a powerful scene where people are dumping all trash in the boundaries of local Masjid and the member of the community comments " if this was a temple the civic body would clear this dump right away" reflects some aspects of Modern India.
Coming back to Mallik, The acting is top class. The movie is basically a hybrid of Agneepath ( The friction between Sir Amitabh and his mother ) , Nayakan ( Sir kamal Hassan trying to do the right thing for his local community ) and Satya ( local gangsters trying to outdo each other to fight for supremacy ) with Sir Fahadh's amazing acting.
Even the actors will minimal screen appearance like Freddy who is the son of David played by Vijay Fort. ( he is brilliant too ) once a close friend of Ali akka now turned foe is simply put brilliant.
The manipulation games played by police to convince him to assasinate Ali akka aka suleiman. His confusion to either take up the job or not. His introduction scene where he hurls country made bombs toward police from his local school terrace , his eventual arrest and the pleading of this parents to try him as a juvenile is tightly scripted with some amazing background score.
And then there is Jiju George as a police officer who has sympathies for the young Ali akka the smuggler.
The thing about Jiju is that he doesn't have to put effort into his acting. He is that convincing no matter what role he plays ( I suggest you watch his "Joseph" )
I consider myself too small to even comment on Jiju George acting prowess.
The brilliant Nimisha Sajayan as a protected wife and a insecure lover is surely going to grab a few awards.
The beautiful locales of Kerala are a important character in the movie.
The execution of some scenes is really breathtaking.
Example :
* The murder of a rival politician by Ali akka and his friend David is tightly scripted and brilliantly executed.
* The scene between Ali Akka's mother and Freddy the contract killer for her son.
* The reaction of Suleiman when someone hurls stones at this mother for testifying against him in court.
* The jail sequence between the old Sulayman and the young Freddy.
* The death of young Sulaimans son and the scene which shows the depth of acting by both Faahid and Nimisha.
I stress this again. Malayalam cinema is way ahead of any industry today in India. Their technician are brilliant and they have Fahad (The prince of method acting ) , Jiju and a few more amazing actors at their Arsenal.
Take a bow Malayalam cinema. And you my friend Fahadh are the beacon of hope in method acting.
