Peruchazhi Malayalam Movie
I'm not really sure if it's a tribute that the film maker had in mind, when he laid down the much remembered and much adored dialogues from erstwhile Mohanlal films in the opening credits of 'Peruchazhi'. For, if he really had any such an intention in mind, he should have thought instead, of having a fine tale to tell in the two and a half hours that were to follow.
Mohanlal plays Jagnnathan in the film, a man with dreams of starting a sports academy for the downtrodden kids in Kerala. Dressed in an electric combo of white and gold, the dapper looking man is invited to the US by Sunny (Vijay Babu), to help the Republican Candidate John Cory win the Los Angeles Governor Elections.
Off he goes on the assignment with his two aides Jabbar (Baburaj) and Varkey (Aju Varghese) in tow. There is plenty for the election camapigners in the US to learn apparently from Jagannathan and team, and in no time, he appears even on the Time cover for his stupendous achievements that involve truck loads of buffoonery.
For Jagannathan, maneuvering the Los Angeles Governor elections seems to be child's play. In fact he spanks a couple of bottoms and rakes up a racial riot and without much ado sips a drink at a bar and cooks up yet another. The basic adage that drives him forward is that there is no country in the world where you can't manipulate caste politics.
When John Cory finds himself caught in a sex scandal, Jagannathan has to deal with the slime too. He dons the garb of the Superman and goes on a Mission CD retrieval, which is plain embarrassing to say the least. With so many micro storage devices available at the moment, one wonders why Hope decided to stash Cory's carnal adventures away on a CD of all things!
Which brings us to the statutory advice right at the start of the film to switch off both our mobile phones and logic. Any film which requests us to throw logic to the winds most likely suffers from the lack of a proper script, and 'Peruchazhi' without any doubt is no exception to the rule. And try hard as you may, the logiclessness of the whole film stares you right back at the face, making it quite a disparaging night at the movies.
There is a love track that is thrown in that has Jagannathan entering into a Pretty Woman contract with Jesse (Ragini Nandwani), a hooker whom he meets in the US. It even includes a romantic number and towards the climax emerges into a liability that simply wouldn't let the film end.
If it's a satire that the makers had in mind, it totally escapes the viewers, limiting itself to some sporadic mentions on issues such as that of the Mullaperiyar dam. Ofcourse there are the very obvious digs on the air crew of a very popular airline, but that's as far as it gets.
Arun Vaidyanathan's attempts to cash in on the image of the superstar go terribly haywire on occasions, like when he makes him drape the US flag around just before he decides to have a fight. The first time Jagnnathan meets a woman a hit song of the star comes up, bringing a smile along with it. But a few minutes later he meets another woman, and yet another song starts, quickly replacing the smile with a smirk.
Mohanlal looks impressively good especially in mundu, but there is nothing in 'Peruchazhi' that would excite someone who's on the lookout for a special feat from the actor. He leisurely lets himself loose this time around, as if well aware of the fact that all he needs to do is just be himself.
'Peruchazhi' suffers from some severely weak plotting and tries to cover it up with the silver sparks that emanate from the stardom of its lead actor. But with virtually no story to tell, it's an irredeemable fiasco that totally takes its viewers for granted.
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