Kaashh Malayalam Movie
Chaos overrules 'Kaashh' after a while. Strange indeed, since it tells a kidnapping tale that has gone all right for a change!
Karunan (Tini Tom) is taken for a royal ride by industrialist Jayashankar (Jayan), and is left all bruised on demanding money for a favor that had been done. The former waits for the right opportunity to strike back, and on finding one, decides to kidnap his daughter Shreya (Leena Panchal) with the aid of Sarath (Rajeev Pillai) and friends.
This is a film that has been shot almost entirely indoors, barring the few initial sequences and the climax, and hence has to depend entirely on the momentum of the script to keep the viewer glued to the happenings. And it's this thrust that simply isn't there in 'Kaashh' and which leads to its downfall.
As much as the title stands for money, it reminded me of the Hindi word that suggests possibilities that could have been explored, but which have been left entirely unexploited. It could have made a much better film for sure, but sometimes things aren't meant to fall in place, as and when we would like them to be.
The kidnapper gang takes refuge in Devasya's (Innocent) house, where they hold the man's family captive along with the kidnapped girl. Soon a pizza boy (Dharmajan), his manager (Mamukkoya), a trickster (Suraj Venjaramoodu) and a money lender (Chembil Ashokan) enter the house, only to be held hostage by the gang.
As more characters walk into the film, the more messy things turn out to be. Dialogues turn out to be petty, and things get stretched a bit too much to evoke a giggle here or a guffaw there. The situations end up tacky as well.
All this and more might have an uncanny resemblance to the proceedings in the Bollywood film 'Darwaza Bandh Rakho' which in itself is said to have been inspired by the Korean film 'Attack the Gas Station'. We would never know how much of inspiration has crept into the making of 'Kaashh', but the similarities are definitely there.
The bunch of youngsters who have been entrusted with the task of carrying the film forward on their sturdy shoulders do the task decently well. Rajeev Pillai does have the makings of a star, and with the right roles could be a man to be on the lookout for.
The laughs are there in the film, but they are few and very far in between. Thankfully, a romantic track is missing and so are the songs that could have turned out to be extreme irritants in the given scenario. The best thing about 'Kaashh' is the cinematography by Prejith, that is surprisingly casual and yet remarkably slick at the same time.
Not all novel ideas have a desirable impact on the viewer, as 'Kaashh' proves beyond doubt. This could have been a fun ride perhaps, but as it is, the entertainment value that the film offers is abysmally low.
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