KQ Malayalam Movie
I kept wondering why the film has been titled 'KQ' and was glad when the interval card came up with 'KQ' and the explanation of the acronym right beneath it - 'Keep Quiet'. Wonder who that instruction was for - the few people around to watch the film, or the fewer ones around who intended to write about it.
Vembala Benzir(Baiju Johnson) and Anali Roshan (Anson Paul) have been friends for long, and together they roam the streets of Fort Cochin on a bike that suspiciously sounds like actor Janardhanan. Yes, it does tell you that it has a story of its own and that it has travelled far and wide. When dusk falls, the duo hits their house that has been unimaginatively named 'Pambu House', where they soon offer lodging to a journalist Sunayna (Parvathy Omanakuttan) who is on the lookout for a story for London Times.
Sunayna has a sinister air about her that does suggest that she is interested in much more than the songs of Mehboob. Quite obviously it turns out that the journo is trying hard to crack a case about her girlfriend who had mysteriously gone missing for some time now. It is here that 'KQ' is expected to shift gear into a different film.
'KQ' could mislead you all the way, and for a while it seems like it would tell you a triangular love tale. And a love tale it is, though all on a sudden, it brings in a few fresh characters into the film and throws in a suspense element, with a murder to boot, thereby making it look like a mystery thriller. That it convincingly becomes neither of these is another matter.
The writing is uniformly bad, and barring an instance that has Benzir confessing his love to Sunayna, the rest of it could very well be a silent film, and nothing much would have changed. When people do talk, it's new gen realism at its worst, with beeps and curses galore. And yes, officially one more swear word in Malayalam has been cleared without a beep by the censors and it hastily adds itselfto the ever growing list.
'KQ' tires you down like on one of those evenings when everything that you watch on TV seems and sounds tedious. It chugs along, leaving us wishing that something stirring would lie in wait for us round the corner.
For a film that is infinitesimally low on content, 'KQ' is surprisingly rich when it comes to its visuals and musical score. Jomon Thomas is the DOP, who has managed to place several stunning frames across the film, some of which look like picture post cards. Stephen Devassy's musical score could very easily boast of at least a couple of real hummable numbers.
Baiju Johnson is more convincing an actor than a director no doubt. Anson Paul is imposing no doubt, but the real star of 'KQ' is none other than the former Miss India, Paravthy Omanakuttan. Perhaps 'KQ' is a wrong launch pad for Parvathy into Malayalam films, but she absolutely has it in her to be a confident performer.
The uncompelling and sketchy story telling in 'KQ' makes the film a squelchy mess. Uff...I could just go on and on. I better shut my trap and 'KQ'.
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