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Release
date:
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February 1, 2019
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Director:
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Bilahari
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Cast:
Language:
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Kunchacko Boban, Krishna Shankar, Aparna
Balamurali, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Sreenath Bhasi, Salim Kumar, Hareesh
Perumana, Assim Jamal, Kochu Preman, Chandni Sreedharan
Malayalam
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A split-second,
blinkered decision by one man wreaks havoc in another’s life.
The victim sets out
to take revenge.
His unusual
vendetta has a ripple effect that could, though he does not realise it, destroy
multiple lives including his own.
His primary target
avenges the harm done.
Gentleman No. 2
strikes back.
And so it threatens
to go on, and on and on and on.
At a macro level,
director Bilahari’s Allu Ramendran is
a reminder that even our most seemingly minor actions have consequences
that could be far graver and more far-reaching than we realise. At a micro
level it is about Ramendran (played by Kunchacko Boban), a policeman and
designated driver at his police station, who finds the tyres of his official
and personal vehicles repeatedly getting punctured. This obviously leads to
chaos in his life and messes up the schedules of the colleagues he transports
around. Much to his chagrin, he also earns the nickname Allu (Spikes/Nails)
Ramendran in his town.
With humongous
nails showing up on road after road down which Ramendran drives, it becomes
evident that these are not accidental occurrences. Who done it then? And why?
Bilahari, who drew attention for making a feature film called Porattamon a budget of just Rs 25,000 in 2017, has his hands firmly on the reins
through most of this unconventional storyline. Allu Ramendran takes time to get into the groove, but once it does,
it is an unexpectedly interesting and thought-provoking experience.
A flat tyre in
ordinary circumstances does not count as a tragedy, but it certainly always is
a terrible inconvenience. Now imagine how you would be impacted if you got 35
flat tyres within a short stretch of time. Imagine the harm to your career from
work associates considering you, at the very least, an ill omen. Imagine the
psychological stress of consequently constantly being aware that someone out
there is out to get you yet has, for reasons known to them alone, chosen not to
cross a self-laid line. Would you be reduced to a mental wreck wondering
what they will do next or how far they will go? Ramendran, for his part,
becomes fixated on finding out who is doing this to him.
This is not the
stuff that suspense sagas are usually made of, and it takes a special kind of
person to envision a full-length feature in this concept. It is worth noting,
anyway, that though what is happening to Ramendran is puzzling, the writers and
Bilahari do not treat the narrative purely as a thriller but combine the
mystery with a slice-of-reality tone and insights into everyday life in
Ramendran’s community.
My favourite part
of Allu Ramendran is when two men
fight over the sister of one of them that the other is in love with. “I will
not give you my sister,” says the brother with a proprietorial attitude that is
so
typical of how women are viewed by their families
in a patriarchal society. Cut to the next scene, and the lady in question has
made her choice, in defiance of her male sibling’s wishes. It is hard not to
chuckle at the point being made here by the writers.
Although Allu Ramendran flows naturally for the
most part, the film shooting scene featuring actor Neeraj Madhav and director
Nadirshah feels superfluous, and comes across as an excuse to stuff a song and
dance interlude into the proceedings. This is not the kind of film that needs
that kind of break. Allu Ramendran is
more in the league of the likes of Maheshinte
Prathikaram in terms of tenor, and should have stayed true to itself all
the way.
The writing of
Ramendran is convincing, as is the second lead Jithu (played by Krishna
Shankar), an unemployed youth who hangs about with friends, plays football for
a local club, and pursues a feisty college goer called Swathy (Aparna
Balamurali) when he falls for her.
The screenplay is
dotted with quirky supporting characters, the quirkiest of the lot being
Jithu’s slightly wacko older female relative who is the exact opposite of being
the voice of his conscience. They are a believable lot. The only exception is
Swathy. She is a spirited creature who knows her mind but it comes across as a
stretch when she lashes out at a dear relative and continues to hold a grudge
against him for punishing Jithu for certain truly unconscionable behaviour. It
is not as though these two have shared a deep, long-standing friendship – this
is one of those boy-girl relationships popular among Malayalam film writers
where the only thing a couple have going for them is that they saw each other,
and he told her he likes her. For an intelligent, bright young woman to risk
her everything for this tenuous and fledgling bond, be willing to turn her back
on that beloved relative and even leave her family if required, as she assures
Jithu she will for him, seems improbable. Yet she does.
The saving grace is
that Swathy is played by Aparna Balamurali who is impossible to look away from
even when she is cast
in an inadequately written part.
The other
under-written character is Ramendran’s wife. The only one of the supporting
players whose acting is problematic is Salim Kumar, who overacts here, as he
often does elsewhere.
Krishna Shankar is
effective as the second lead, managing to bring out both the comicality and
seriousness of Jithu’s circumstances.
Kunchacko Boban in Allu Ramendran plays a man who is a far
cry from his real-life nice-guy image. The titular character is not
particularly likeable, and becomes increasingly less so as his obsession with
tracing his harasser rises. Boban’s look and styling in themselves are interesting,
the receding hairline setting him apart from his seniors in the industry
who are struggling to come to terms with their age. Boban embraces the role
with both hands, giving Ramendran a menacing edge at places, and suggesting,
without overstating the point, that he is on the verge of falling apart.
It is a pleasure to
see this fine actor in a role that is deserving of him.
Rating (out
of five stars): **3/4
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CBFC Rating (India):
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U
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Running time:
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135 minutes
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This review has also been published on Firstpost:
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