Malayalam Crime Story
Verbena Reynoso
With thriller dramas becoming more popular nowadays, the Malayalam thriller movie Padavettu serves as an absolute delight for all the popular genre lovers out there. The story focuses on a young man from a small village in North Kerala, who sets out to win freedom from oppression. The film stars Nivin Pauly and Aditi Balan in lead roles.
IMDb rating: 7.9
A film based on true events, Pada revisits the shocking event of 1996 when a group of men revolted against a controversial bill by taking the collector hostage. The Malayalam thriller stars Kunchacko Boban and Joju George in significant roles.
IMDb rating: 7.8
When Michael takes over the family business, a few young members of the household join hands with his enemies to bring him down. But will they succeed? The interesting twists and strong performances by the likes of Mammootty, Farhaan Faasil, Soubin Shahir and others, promise to keep you on the edge of your seat till the very end.
IMDb rating: 7.7
Starring Navya Nair, Vinayakan and Saiju Kurup, the Malayalam crime thriller tells the tale of a middle-class woman, who encounters a series of traumatic situations. A boat conductor by profession, watch her overcome the hurdles with courage in this engaging drama which is available on Amazon Prime Video.
IMDb rating: 7.6
Popular south actor Jayasurya teamed up with debutant filmmaker Abhijith Joseph for an intriguing thriller that follows a workaholic police inspector, who ends up putting his career in jeopardy while solving the case of a missing teacher. The gripping narrative of the Malayalam thriller movie received a positive response from the audience and critics will keep you hooked to the screen.
Known for raising the bar with each film, megastar Mammootty left no stone unturned with his latest release Rorschach. From a gripping narrative to adrenaline-pumping action sequences, the neo-noir psychological thriller that revolves around a man with a mysterious past adamant to seek revenge serves as a real treat for all movie buffs out there.
IMDb rating: 7.2
The Malayalam thriller movie is a story of a mechanic who ventures into the real-estate business but ends up penniless when he gets dragged into an enticing deal involving a couple of greedy politicians and rich men. The thriller drama which is full of unexpected plot twists stars Saiju Kurup and Aju Varghese in lead roles.
IMDb rating: 7.2
He said that Anweshippin Kandethum and its main character are totally different. Even though it's based on a real crime, the story is made to keep you on the edge of your seat and be suspenseful all the way.
He explained that the story takes us back to 1993, when there weren't many cameras or mobile phones like we have today. The scriptwriter, Jinu V. Abraham, said it was tricky to write because, in the 1990s, solving crimes depended a lot on guessing and evidence. Nowadays, with advanced forensic science, things are different.
He added, a cool part of making the movie was when a real police officer talked to the writer about a missing person case from 2018, called the Jesna case. Even though it didn't directly help with the movie, it made the writer more sure about the story.
Jesna Maria James, a 20-year-old student from Kerala, went missing in 2018 after leaving for her aunt's house. Despite investigations by Kerala police, the Crime Branch, and later the CBI, her whereabouts remain unknown. The CBI concluded its inquiry, citing a lack of evidence, making Jesna's case one of the state's unsolved mysteries. Jesna had sent messages expressing concerns about her life to a friend before disappearing, but no substantial leads were found. The case closed after the CBI submitted a report to the court, stating the investigation had hit a dead end.
When you tune in to the movie on March 8, following its release on Netflix, brace yourself for a thrilling journey inspired by real-life events. Tovino Thomas's excellent performance, Darwin Kuriakose's direction, and Jinu V. Abraham's storytelling create a captivating blend of cinema and real-life experiences in Anweshippin Kandethum.
Suksham Sharma is a news junkie with a demonstrated history of working with TV and digital platforms. As a copy editor with IndiaTimes, she works towards providing new ideas and creative content while maintaining consistently high standards for readability. Besides work, Suksham loves to travel, especially to her native place, Himachal Pradesh, where she can relax and recharge.
Main theme seems to be about making choices. Its closing line is "we make the best mistakes we can," although the idea seems to be more about not regretting poor choices than about taking responsibility for choices made.
Characters are mostly criminals who tend to get away with their crimes. One character, Tommy, seems to be the only kind one, although he does aid the main character in pulling off his crimes and his revenge. Characters are all White except for two of the robbers, who are Black, and the attendees of a convention at which a politician is trying to win the Latino vote.
Guns and shooting; characters shot and killed. One character hits another with a crowbar, smashes his hand in the hood of a car. Child hit by bus; blood dripping from mouth. Two characters struggle over a gun. Angry protestors at rally; a person's body is thrown and lands on someone. A man viciously slaps a woman's face. Bombs explode in garbage cans. Intense arguing. A cop handles a woman roughly. An elderly character is robbed. Woman screaming. A character has cancer, another character is in hospice care.
A pornographic movie is briefly seen on television; naked breasts are briefly visible, moaning sounds heard for several long moments. A man appears to be masturbating, but the lower half of his body is off-screen. An elderly woman is bathed in the shower; her buttocks are somewhat visible. A married character cheated by sleeping with their maid.
Sporadic strong language includes several uses of "f--k" or "f--king," plus "s--t," "son of a bitch," "hell," "goddamn," and "frickin'," plus exclamatory use of "Jesus." Racist slur "wetbacks" is used.
Parents need to know that Crime Story is a drama about a former criminal (Richard Dreyfuss) who falls back into his old ways after his life savings is stolen. It's violent, with guns and shooting; characters are killed and injured. A character is hit with a crowbar, and his hand is smashed in the hood of a car. A man slaps a woman, a child is hit by a bus (blood is shown running from his mouth), a man's body is thrown and lands on a woman, and bombs explode in garbage cans. A pornographic movie is briefly seen (with moaning and bare breasts), and a man appears to be masturbating. An elderly woman's buttocks are partly visible in a nonsexual context. A backstory includes the detail of a man cheating on his wife and getting his maid pregnant. Language is sporadic but includes uses of "f--k," "s--t," "son of a bitch," and more. Some scenes take place in a bar, and there's background drinking plus cigarette smoking. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
In CRIME STORY, Ben Myers (Richard Dreyfuss) is a former criminal who's gone straight. He lives with his wife, Nan (Megan McFarland), who suffers from dementia. His estranged daughter, Nick (Mira Sorvino), is a homicide detective who also works for a crooked congressman, who has a former relationship with Ben. Nick comes to Ben to ask him to help send his nephews to a special school, and Ben reveals to Nick that he's dying of cancer. Meanwhile, Ben's home is robbed, and his huge stash of money is stolen. He jumps back into his old ways to find the thieves, using surveillance footage and his wits, as well as his right-hand man, Tommy (Pruitt Taylor Vince). Everything comes to a head at a rally held by the congressman, where secrets are revealed and violence changes things forever.
Despite teaming up two Oscar-winning actors, Adam Lipsius' generically titled crime drama is an overwrought, often confusing assembly of twitchy camerawork and a relentless score. The first 10 minutes of Crime Story have an irritating quality, opening on a flash-forward to Ben in an ambulance, with woozy, out-of-focus cinematography accompanied by Ben's disorienting narration. The latter continues "12 hours earlier" as Ben prepares for his day. The scene somehow recalls the caffeinated rhythm of Uncut Gems, but less energizing; it's more like the end of a caffeine jag, accompanied by a sickly feeling and frayed nerves.
Crime Story continues like this as Dreyfuss and Sorvino act mightily, throwing lots of intensity into their scenes. Sometimes they're magnificent, but most of the time their performances feel unshaped or too strained. The story and its twists feel rather muted compared to the intensity of the scene-by-scene exchanges. There's no real suspense. Additionally, the camerawork frequently obscures certain details, and it's often difficult to even tell what's going on -- or what happened during a split-second moment. At least wonderful character actor Pruitt Taylor Vince is on hand, giving a quiet, touching performance among the chaos.
'Kerala Crime Files', which features Lal and Aju Varghese in prominent roles, has released on Disney+Hotstar. Ahammed Khabeer, who helmed the six-episode series, says he and writer Ashiq Aimar stumbled upon the story while visiting the Central Police Station in Kochi for a reference for another project.
According to him, making a web series definitely has it's own set of challenges. Unlike a film, you always you need to ensure cliff-hanger endings for every episode, which is a huge challenge. However, the journey has been exciting."
Ahammed adds there is no difference to how a web series and film are shot. We wrapped up our shoot in two schedules (Kochi and Kollam) within 54 days. The scenes were shot at 78 locations. So, that way, there was no difference between shooting a film and a web series. However, the script for a web series is definitely different from the ones penned for films."
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