Leela Malayalam Movie Review
Leela directed by Ranjith is the release in Mollywood today and have to say that it is a much awaited movie from the date of its announcement. There are many reasons for that. At first this flick was planned with artists like Mohanlal, Mammootty, Murali Gopy, Shankar Ramakrishnan etc, but not materialized due to their busy schedules. Later it came to Biju Menon.
The screenplay of this film is written by Unni R, based on his story which was a great success as a literary piece. Ranjith’s Capitol Theater produced this film and the controversies that came related to the production and later the release of this film had made it all the more anticipated one. The posters, teasers and song making videos also attracted people to this film. Above all the trust people had in Ranjith is the one big factor that made this film one of the most anticipated films of this year.
The plot of this movie centers around the character named Kuttiyappan, who is a rich man. Kuttiyappan’s character is played by Biju Menon. His characteristics are unique and he is more or less appear as a womanizer in his behavior. Once he suddenly had a desire to buy an Elephant and also wants a young girl. But he never revealed what his true intention was. He along with his companion Pillechan, played Vijaya Raghavan goes I search of the elephant and that young girl he wants. The plot revolves around this.
Ranjith is really back with a bang as a director. Even though he had scored a commercial success with his last film Loham, there were complaints from people that the class which Ranjith films usually have is not present in the desired amount in Loham. So this time Ranjith had presented a terrific satirical entertainer which had its own class level. The narration style we saw in his film Pranjiyettan and the saint years before is used in this film as well even though not the exact way. The way in which developed the plot and placed the characters in it in a believable way was brilliant and that speaks volumes about his craftsmanship.
Unni R yet again proved that he is a writer who can bring Malayalam cinema back to its vintage best. His writings provides a whole new feeling to the audience and when his name comes on the title card as writer we all can expect something new and something very different that we never saw before. The dialogues were hilarious at places and have to say that this is one of the most entertaining screenplay written by Unni R. But at the same time he had done great justice to the original short story while made changes here and there in it to suit the big screen version. Specially, the climax part was just fabulous. Kudos goes to Renjith as well for that part of the movie.
Biju Menon had given his best ever performance till date in this movie as he had just lived on the silver screen as Kuttiyappan. His extraordinary skill to use regional language and the voice modulation to suit minor expression had just made Kuttiyappan awesome. He had to go through lots of emotions and that too in a brisk pace and he did it brilliantly. In fact he is the one who holds the whole film together with his splendid performance. Parvathy Nambiar, had got a great character and she had completely did justice to the trust kept on her by Renjith and crew.
Another show stealer was Vijaya Raghavan, who had played a wonderful supporting hand to Biju Menon’s Kuttiyappan. He had got applause from the audience many times in this film. Actors like Suresh Krishna, Jagadish, Indrans, Sudheer Karamana, Priyanaka also done their part finely.
Bijipal’s music was already a success before the release of the film and the tunes he created for background atmosphere and for songs was fantastic. Prashant Ravindran’s DOP was another highlight of the film as it gave the desired visual effect which the film needed. Sometimes the visuals directly conveyed the emotions and it was that perfect.
On the Whole, Leela is class entertainer and will be loved by everyone who loves good cinema. It may not be a cup of tea for the ones who looking for a mass entertainer. But it is fresh and unique cinema experience and will make you feel that you saw something really different in front of your eyes.
Director : Ranjith
Release Date : 22/04/2016
Cast : Biju Menon, Vijaya Raghavan, Parvathy Nambiar
Review : Harikrishnan
