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Bhramaram is more of a sticky assemblage of hysterical high-points than a touching, emotional indictment on the profound sense of loss.
By VN  2 Stars
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2 stars In spite of its many plus points, the film becomes to a large extent a wasted effort, coming as it does from a director like Blessy, who has demonstrated his capabilities with films like 'Kazhcha', 'Thanmathra' and 'Palunku'.
- Thomas T    Mon, 29 Jun 2009
Blessy's fifth film, 'Bhramaram', is no doubt a well-crafted movie, with excellent performance by the lead artists and the supporting cast, and spectacular camerawork and editing. But the theme, the development of the plot and the screenplay leave much wanting. In spite of its many plus points, the film becomes to a large extent a wasted effort, coming as it does from a director like Blessy, who has demonstrated his capabilities with films like 'Kazhcha', 'Thanmathra' and 'Palunku'.

'Bhramaram' tells the story of a guy named Sivankutty (Mohanlal), who comes to Coimbatore from the high-range area, and seeks out Unnikrishnan (Suresh Menon), who is a very busy stock-broker. The two were in fact classmates in school, but Unni fails to recognize him. Unni is well-settled, with wife Uma (Lakshmi Gopalaswamy) and two daughters, one of whom is in a boarding school.

Since Unni doesn't recognize his old time classmate, Sivankutty prefers to give out a false name. But later, when Unni realizes who the visitor is after a tip off from his friend Alex (Muralikrishnan) who too is an old time classmate and now a doctor, all hell breaks loose. Why has Sivankutty come all the way seeking Unni and maybe Alex too? Is it to avenge some past wrong? Unni doesn't know what to do.

Sivankutty, who behaves sometimes like a friend and sometimes like an enemy, tries to convince Unni that he is not out for revenge. All he wants is for Unni to accompany him to his place and tell his wife (Bhoomika) and daughter that he (Sivankutty) is in fact innocent and what had happened in the past was all a big mistake committed by Unni and Alex. Unni is reluctant to go. Sivankutty then changes his approach and threatens Unni with dire consequences, following which Unni agrees to go with him. And from here the story of 'Bhramaram' takes off.

The biggest plus point of the film is Mohanlal, who has done full justice to his role and has delivered an electrifying performance. Suresh Menon suits the role of Unni in all ways, while Muralikrishnan, though he has only a few scenes to do as Alex, does them commendably well. (It's to be mentioned that Murali is the son of the late Bharath Gopi, one of the most versatile actors that Indian Cinema has ever seen). Bhoomika as Sivankutty's wife is good, though she appears in just a few scenes. Lakshmi Gopalaswamy also is good, though she doesn't have much to do in the film. The music and the songs are among the film's plusses. Full marks to Ajayan Vincent, the cinematographer who has composed some brilliant frames for the film.

Coming to the minus points, it's Blessy himself who deserves most mention here. A plot that could have made for a fairly good movie has gone totally off track. And it's the script, penned by Blessy himself, that's to blame. It would perhaps have been better if he had made someone else write the script. In spite of excellent performances and equally good technical support, the film fails to deliver.

The film is touted to be a road movie, which it certainly is not. We have seen many road movies made in other languages, and 'Bhramaram' does not fit into the genre represented by those films. So, which genre does 'Bhramaram' represent? A revenge-drama? Well, Blessy could have learnt a lot from Bharathan's 'Thazhvaram', one of the best-made revenge movies in Malayalam, with subtle performance from the very same Mohanlal.

Has success gone to Blessy's head? When a filmmaker however great, starts presuming that whatever he churns out will be outstanding work, failures are bound to happen. Has that been the case here? 'Bhramaram' is better than 'Calcutta News', but only just. We expect better stuff from Blessy.


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