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Release date:
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Kerala: September 10, 2016. Delhi: September 23.
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Director:
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Sundardass
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Cast:
Language:
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Dileep, Vedhika, Aju Varghese,
Renji Panicker, Thesni Khan, Hareesh Perumanna, Cameos: Vinaya Prasad, Siddique
Malayalam
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Few Indian stars can do ludicrousness quite like Dileep. The Malayalam film
actor is in full flow in director Sundardass’ Welcome to Central Jail in
which he plays a habitual prison-goer constantly seeking excuses to get himself
arrested. Weird? You see, he feels at home behind bars since his parents died
in custody, and he finds himself bereft of love in the outside world.
Then one day he falls for local photographer Radhika (Vedhika) and in
her, finds a reason to value freedom. A murder follows, leading to a second
half in which comedy shares equal space with suspense, corrupt politicians,
policemen who are on their payrolls and extreme bloodshed.
All’s well as long as Dileep’s Unnikuttan indulges in inoffensive, over-the-top
antics. After all, everything about his character is unapologetically
caricaturish and crying out not to be taken seriously.
Fair enough. I giggled each time Unnikuttan refers to the jail as his tharavadu
(ancestral home). There are plenty of laughs to also be had from the banter
between the hero and a prison superintendent played by Renji Panicker, an
inmate played by Hareesh Perumanna and a friend played by Aju Varghese. These
portions work on the strength of the actors’ comic timing, energy levels and some
well-thought-out silliness.
Sadly
though not surprisingly, cliched juvenility, sexism
and squirm-worthiness too are par for the course in Welcome to Central Jail.
In one scene a man’s wig is accidentally lopped off in public and ice creams
fly around. Yawn. There are bawdy references to female
breasts, Unnikuttan describes a policewoman’s bottom in detail and as an
afterthought makes a wisecrack about her male colleague’s rear. Cringe. But when a dwarf
falls into a food container, you have to wonder how low-IQ and insensitive a viewer
must be to find humour in a disability.
It gets worse.
Writer Benny P. Nayarambalam couches rape ‘jokes’ in concern. There is
a pointed conversation between Unnikuttan and two cops – one of the few sobre exchanges
initiated by the protagonist – in which he expresses his revulsion for rapists
and a belief that imprisonment is a kindness to them. Yet, other mentions of
rape are made in a deliberately comical tone. Guess Team Central Jail knows
their audience. You should have heard the sniggers in the hall where I watched
the film, when a character casually tells Unnikuttan
to next time make arrangements for a longer prison sentence with a
rape or murder charge.
I could tell you more about Welcome to Central Jail. I could
tell you that Dileep’s dance moves to the film’s title track – part of a stage show
by the prisoners – are hilarious. I could discuss the amusing contrast between
his gawkiness and Vedhika’s lissome grace as they groove to the song Sundaree. I could reveal that Welcome to Central Jail lifts from the Pink Panther theme for the background
music to a break-in scene. I could critique the gruesome violence in two long-drawn-out
scenes that come as a shock in the middle of a UA-rated comedy. Or I could say
what I really want to say.
And what I really
want to say is that I am tired of stars who sacrifice not just intelligence but
decency and humanity too while wooing the lowest common denominator in the
audience for box-office success. Absurdity is acceptable as fun, but not when
it descends to callousness.
Rating
(out of five): *1/2
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CBFC Rating (India):
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UA
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Running time:
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152 minutes
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This
review has also been published on Firstpost:
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