Lailaa O Lailaa Malayalam Movie
Joshi's 'Lailaa O Lailaa' is a sparkless action caper that digs through implausibly convoluted cinematic cliches to narrate a tale that seems to scoff at us for being told. Of the many bullets that are fired in the film, none remain engraved in our memory as much as the colossal style-over-substance misfire from scenarist Suresh Nair who has penned this massive fiasco that fittingly qualifies as a foggy snoozer.
'Lailaa O Lailaa' starts off as an emotional caper that strives to sketch down the turbulence that an undercover agent Jai Mohan (Mohanlal) goes through, particularly when he tries to pass himself off as an executive at an export firm, to his newly wedded wife Anjali (Amala Paul)! He is Super Man and several other super heroes rolled into one, as he struggles to masquerade himself as a layman to his lady love, while ensuring that the crooks around him aren't spared one bit!
The biggest surprise is that 'Lailaa O Lailaa' that talks of such tremendous issues as terrorism does not have a strapping antagonist in it. For a while you believe that Victor Rana (Rahul Dev) is the chief villain, before he is wiped off the scene like a speck that was never there. More rogues are brought in from Bollywood and at the end of it all, none of them make any real difference.
For that matter, the film does not even appropriately explain as to why it has brought in the title character named Laila (Kainaat Arora) except for the fact that she has an eternal pout on her face and some real curves that are on display. When the plot finally divulges as to what the Lailaa mission is all about, you knock yourself on your head and certify that you aren't sleeping and having a bad dream.
The audacity of the writer becomes evident when Anjali tries to open a high security VIP tracking software on her hubby's laptop and when it asks for a password, hubby dear proudly announces her name! Anjali is obviously all moved, and we are equally taken aback for very different reasons, since even the novice who frantically tries to find a footing on the internet knows that even an email password should be anything else but a close family member's name!
Writer Suresh Nair is apparently oblivious of what has been happening down here or he would never have made Jai Mohan do what he does in the film. He is asked to make use of his very special aptitude in cracking passwords, and after a trial or two when he fruitfully logs into a password protected file, discomfiture reigns.
Much later, Jai also turns out to a bomb deactivator, when he finds wifey strapped on to a chair all ready to blow up any moment. The bomb suspiciously looks like a few Kuruvi crackers wrapped around in cello tape with the customary red and yellow wires protruding from behind. Jai gets to work with a player in no time and snaps off a wire,the right one of course, and the bomb stops ticking in no time.
Since it's a bomb that Jai renders ineffective in the latter half of the film, it becomes obvious that the climax is likely to have a much bigger explosion in store. And it sure is as the baddies plan to bring down a former US president who is about to land in the country with a missle. It takes a while though to assemble the huge thing, especially since the projectile seems to have been bought from some online shopping site that must have sent it across in parts.
Jokes apart, 'Lailaa O Lailaa' that runs for almost three long hours is unbelievably stretched out and with almost four songs that could be chucked out without a second thought is appallingly protracted. With the non-existent tension and flat characters, it becomes an inert adventure that is preposterous to the core.
As much as this role is an embarrassment for Mohanlal, we need to hand it out to the much loved actor for making do with whatever little he has been offered, and coming up with a positive performance. Amala Paul is made to mouth some real inane dialogues, and manages to draw in some flak for no fault of hers. It fails us though to comprehend how the makers convinced both these actors to agree to do 'LOL'.
'Lailaa O Lailaa' is thus a wannabe crime thriller that is also one of the director's worst films till date. It's the kind of movie that you simply do not want to think about much, now that the hell ride is over and done with once and for all.
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