‘Best of Luck’ marks the coming together of two teams – that of ‘Neelathamara’ and of ‘Rithu’.

There would be two couples in the film, the first one of which would be that which we saw in ‘Neelathamara’ – Archana Kavi and Kailash. There would also be another couple in the film – Reema Kallingal and Asif Ali – whom we had seen in Shyamaprasad’s ‘Rithu’.

Director M A Nishad who is known for serious cinema, and whose last film ‘Vairam’ was much critically acclaimed tries his hand at comedy this time with ‘Best of Luck’.

Besides the enterprising youngsters, the film also has two veteran actors doing key roles. Prabhu, who was recently seen in ‘Pramani’ with Mammootty, and Urvasi who is back with a bang with her awesome performance in ‘Mummy and Me’.

Prabhu plays a filthy rich entrepreneur by the name of Vinayaka Naickar. While Kailash plays his step-brother, Asif plays a struggling filmmaker.

Music lovers in the state are not unfamiliar with Dr Palash Sen and his band Euphoria. ‘best of Luck’ would also mark their entry into Malayalam films.

The film, assures its director is aimed at the youth, and tells their story. Produced by A & M Entertainments, ‘Best of Luck’ would reach the theatres by June end.

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He is even known to have handed over money orders to people whom he likes. The problem is that it is Raghu who often bears the brunt of his father’s actions.

Raghu on the other hand is a far cry from his father. He is quite hard working and does any job that comes his way. He works as a Postman at times, canvasses for mutual funds and even teaches at a PSC exam coaching class. And he is also in love with Usha (Meera Nandan), his student.

Raghu is adored by the villagers, and he plays the mediator in most of the village’s major issues. In one such attempt to bring peace, he meets Yasin Mubarak (Sarath Kumar) and this meeting changes his life forever.

Shaji Azeez, who had earlier directed ‘Shakespeare M A Malayalam’ along with Shaiju turns independent director with ‘Oridathoru Postman’. The film has been scripted by K Gireesh Kumar who had scripted the hugely successful ‘Veruthe Oru Bharya’.

The music of the film has been composed by Mohan Sitara, and the lyrics are by Kaithapram and Anil Panachooran.

Produced by Shaji and Basheer under the banner of Nila Creations, ‘Oridathoru Postman’ would shortly make it to the theatres.

Cast : Mohanlal,Santhanu Bhagyaraj,Nitya Menon,Mamta Mohandas
Banner : Creative Team Productions
Director : S.L. Jayasurya
Producer : K. K. Narayanan
Music Director : Ouseppachan
Lyricist : Subhash and Saseendra Varma

Someone told me, after seeing ‘Angel John’, that the problem was with the story, the concept of the angel coming to help the young chap. But that seemed no problem at all for me. There was nothing wrong with the story, the concept. But it was the scripting, the direction, the over-all treatment and the packaging that has gone all wrong, eventually making ‘Angel John’ a mess of a movie.

The plot of ‘Angel John’ is simple. A spoilt youngster Maradonna (Shanthanu Bhagyaraj), who never pays heeds to the words of his father Joseph (Laloo Aalex) and whose mother Mary (Ambika) pampers him like anything, creates all kinds of troubles for his loving parents. And then one day, when things cross all reasonable limits and Joseph ends up in the hospital following a minor heart attack, all because of Maradonna, Mary gets irked and asks him to get lost. Maradonna gets drunk and climbs on to a lighthouse, all decided to end his life. As he gets ready to take plunge to death, there appears an angel, who introduces himself as Angel John (Mohanlal), who not only saves the young chap from committing suicide, but gets ready to give him two choices. He tells Maradonna that he is destined to live a normal life till the age of 66, with all the fortunes and woes that are part of human life. But at the same time, he is ready to give him a life of happiness alone, sans all woes, but he would be able to live only one-third of what is destined for him. So, if he chooses the second option, he will have to bid adieu to the world at the age of 22. Maradonna chooses the second option and wants to live a life of joys and blessings till the age of 22. So, the angel, Angel John, stays with Maradonna, all set to grant his wishes. (Hey, does that remind you of Dr. Faustus and Mephistopheles?). What follows forms the rest of the plot.

Till half-time ‘Angel John’ goes on, like a mediocre flick that can be tolerated; and then, just before interval, as the angel comes in, things start getting out of control. It all seems ridiculous and rather poorly executed. Even ardent fans, who give out a loud applause as the superstar makes his entry, tend to stand up and boo loudly the very next minute. And post-interval, it all turns into a dull affair, with people even getting impatient and some even on the verge of murmurs and yawns. The climax, which is treated shoddily, kills it all.

Performances

Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, who makes his debut in Malayalam playing Maradonna, is just about OK with the role and doesn’t do anything spectacular. Mohanlal seems to be doing the angel part in a rather detached and disinterested manner, for there seems to be something rather cold, rather uncomfortable about his performance. The others in the cast- Laloo Aalex, Ambika, Jagathy Sreekumar, Vijayaraghavan etc are all just so so. Nithya Menon impresses us as Sophie, the girl next door to Maradonna whose heart is full of love for him.

Technical aspects

Nothing in fact is there to mention about the technical aspects of ‘Angel John’. Of course the subject, if handled well, had enough scope for all kinds of technical brilliance, including graphic work, which however hasn’t been made use of. The talent of Ajayan Vincent, the cinematographer who gave us dazzling frames in ‘Bhramaram’, seems all wasted here in a ‘neither here neither there’ kind of film.

Music

The background score by Ouseppachan is not bad, but the songs are very much unimpressive.

Script

It’s the script and the dialogues that play the villain in ‘Angel John’. The scenes are conceived in the least convincing of manners. The problem is that even kids won’t like to suffer such a badly written movie these days.

Direction

S.L.Puram Jayasurya, the son of noted theatre-personality and scenarist, the late S.L.Puram Sadanandan, had made a rather impressive debut with ‘The Speed Track’. The film was rather well-made and that justified expectations about ‘Angel John’. But it seems Jayasurya had got carried away with the presence of a super-star and presumed that things would be OK and in place with Mohanlal playing the angel. He could have made it into an enjoyable movie if he had done it all in a better manner. Of course the film has messages to deliver, but the sad part of it all is that there are not many takers for the messages, as the poor turn-out at the box office at all centres indicate. The director has to take the blame, since the movie becomes rather insufferable and the messages thus remain undelivered. Poor show, Jayasurya. And better luck next time!

Overall verdict- Poor scripting and inept direction kills the fun.

Rating: 2/5

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Subsequently a proclamation was issued forbidding people from supporting the Raja, threatening confiscation of their property if they did so. In January 1797 the Raja’s men launched daring attack on the security personnel stationed at Pazhassi, exterminating the entire party save one. In pitched battles fought over three days, the Raja’s men using swords, spears, bows and arrows, overpowered the British forces armed with muskets. The British had to sign a temporary truce.

When the occupying forces broke the terms of the truce, the Raja revolted again, but by then the British had control over most of the south. The Raja, accompanied by his wife and immediate attendants, took refuge in the jungles. In 1804 the Raja’s properties were confiscated and a reward was proclaimed for his head. Towards the end of 1805, the Raja was surrounded and shot dead by the side of a stream.

Hariharan, MT Vasudevan Nair and Mammootty, the people behind Oru Vadakkan Veeragaatha, an epoch making film that became a milestone in Malayalam cinema, are in the making of another epic, which is to hit the screens during the Christmas season. The film, which is being shot with a Pan Vision camera and exploits the latest technical advancements, has Mammootty playing the lead role of Pazhassi Raja. Tamil actor Sarath Kumar makes his debut in Malayalam with this film, playing Edachena Kunkan, the best friend of Pazhassi Raja.

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Maradona is the only son of Joseph, a bank employee. Though he was reared with maximum care, facilities and fortunes, Maradona turned out to become a kind of spoilt brat who was never able to fulfill his parents ambitions. He couldn’t even pass his B Com exam even after many sessions. He had a friend in sofiya, but somehow he was falling into newer problems whenever he was attempting for something different.

It was at this confusing juncture that Maradona decides to end his life. He plans to commit suicide by jumping into a dangerous sea. But the fate has something different destined for him. From the very instant he appeared on the shore, he was being watched by someone who found something different in the young man’s manoeuvres and behavior. And when Maradonna tried to push himself to the sea from a nearby lighthouse, this stranger came up and extended his hand to sinking Maradona, thus saving his life. Who is this stranger? What was his intentions?  What was it that made him to rescue Maradona and revive his attitudes and made him a winner? ‘Angel John’ the new Mohanlal starer is all about this guardian angel and his different relationship with the young Maradana. An interesting hilarious plot written by Manaf is put to screen language by the young director Jayasuriya who debuted with the hit ‘The Speed Track’.

The film produced by K.K. Narayanan under the banner Creative Team, the film has Nithya Menon as its heroine. She was seen in Akashagopuram and Vellathooval.

Also in the cast are Lalu Alex, Vijayaraghavan, Baiju, Bijukuttan, Jagathy and Sona Nair. The film has been captured on camera by Ajayan Vincent who suddenly rose to fame with his brilliant work in Bharamaram, and will be distributed by Max Lab.

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Hit-making director Siddique, who gave us blockbuster entertainers like Friends, Hitler and Chronic Bachelor, now returns to Mollywood after a gap.Siddique makes his comeback to Malayalam with Bodyguard, teaming up with Dileep for the first time.

Bodyguard, scripted by Siddique himself, tells the story of Jayakrishnan, a young guy with a very strange habit. Ever since his childhood he was attracted to anyone who showed a trace of heroism. There was a time when he adored cops for their heroism. And then when he grew up to find that there were crooks who could out do the cops, he started admiring them.

Another strange thing about Jayakrishnan is that whenever he develops an admiration towards a person, he would prefer to move along with that person as sort of a bodyguard. It was thus that he started admiring Ashokan, a former liquor baron who is now a leading businessman and a very influential person. Jayakrishnan wants to be Ashokan’s bodyguard, but the fact is that Ashokan doesn’t need a bodyguard. But since Jayakrishnan approaches Ashokan with recommendation from someone he cannot refuse, he appoints Jayakrishnan as a bodyguard.

As part of his new job, Jayakrishnan moves along with Ammu, Ashokan’s daughter, as her bodyguard. Interesting things happen when Jayakrishnan accompanies Ammu to her college. What follows then forms the rest of the plot.

While Dileep becomes Jayakrishnan, Nayantara makes a comeback to Malayalam after a gap of four years, playing the role of Ammu. Thyagarajan becomes Ashokan. The film also features in the cast debutante actress Mithra (real name Dalma). Bodyguard, like Siddique’s earlier films, will have enough of humour, but is likely to be romantic too.

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The search goes on for quite a while and in between, he meets Ancy (Kaniha) in a shopping mall. She has no problems about his father and Alby marries Ancy soon. But certain things that happen later on, take the story ahead.

Kaniha is paired opposite Jayaram once again after their big hit Bhagyadevatha.

Director Mahesh P Sreenivasan has earlier directed Changathippoocha with Jayasurya, Radhika and Ramya Nambeeshan in the lead.

My Big Father has been scripted by Suresh Menon and Satheesh K Sivan, who have earlier scripted Sooryan and Boss. Vipin Mohan is the cinematographer and Alex Paul is the music director.Produced by Time Ads International, My Big Father will release in November.