Munnar. Period. Drama. Epic. Lal. Fahadh Faasil. Jayasurya.
Considering Neerad's filmography, there were many that were (genuinely) concerned with Faasil's production company placing its faith in him for bringing this to the big screen. But (and I'm happy to report) the end result, though not perfect, shows how well-placed it was, and how little the media and the other naysayers knew/assumed/guessed/dissed.
The eye for period detail is fab (unless I'm missing something big, though I was not too sure about the rifles with telescopic lenses - there were snipers, sure, but in India at that time?) and never takes you out of the context of the movie, the way other mainstream efforts have done in the recent past. (Except for the choice of score during the delayed titles at the beginning - in my book, not very apt, but it did not take me outta the movie completely)
The Casting's spot on, and Faasil easily sheds the skins of all other characters he's played thus far to don the skin of someone in the forces, pre-independence. He looks fighting fit, and we don't have to suspend disbelief when he gets into the eponymous fray, and gives as good, and better than he gets. Kick-ass.
Lal, Faasil and Jayasurya do all the heavy lifting, and Padmapriya has to have one of the best roles in this ensemble, even though (in her case) it's more to do with how well her character is written, making the challenge of portraying her all the more easy. Compliments to both casting and direction, and kudos to the way she essayed her role too. Reminded me of Basu's turn in 'Omkara', though this one is more powerful and pulls no punches.
In fact, that's one of the best things about this one - it simply refuses to pull any punches. No shying away from death, and the depths to which human nature can sink - Neerad simply shows the way it might have happened, and keeps the camera running. Bold, maybe not bold enough, but it's miles better than similar efforts who need to tint everything with some candy-floss.
Isha Sharwani doesn't have much to do, but she does good with what she's given. And she's really easy on the eyes, so....no complaints. And why are leading ladies from the North better shot, better made up and look fab in all southern movies. I wonder. Maybe just me.
An epic tale of violence, loyalty, betrayal, loneliness, love and vengeance, certain key aspects are left to one's imagination towards the end (when I was past wondering why they were introduced at all), which makes the final denouement all the more effective. Each twist and turn, though telegraphed for veteran movie-watchers, still has the capacity to keep us involved all the way through.
Like I said though, its far from perfect. There are 2 songs that are retained in the final cut I got to watch at the local multiplex, and though it did not seem necessary for either of them to be included, they either could've just played 1 stanza for each and moved on, or eliminated them altogether. Major speed-breakers, both. And not good when your total running time comes to 159 minutes in all. Why do you need to pad it further? Epic does not mean epic runtime fo sho.
During the climax, there is one cut that (quite abruptly) takes us from a key scene's end to another scene so incompletely that I felt it was one of 2 things: that it was either chopped off by the censors, or ended up (wrongly) in the editing room, since it starts up from mid-scene of another (supposedly) ongoing sequence, and then ends abruptly, again. Bad, shoddy editing in that instance. There's still time for them to correct, if someone pays attention. It did not look like the projectionist wrongly splicing stuff to me, since the print I watched was digital, and the splice directly from the makers. Haven't seen such sloppiness in a big- budget production for a long time.
The change in the arc of one of the leads also didn't seem earned to me, and that was a disservice both to the characters as well as the actors essaying those roles. Perhaps of the makers had focused instead on these instead of those unnecessary songs...........
Notwithstanding those, all in all, an enjoyable watch at the multiplex, and worth perhaps multiple viewings.