Madhura Raja Malayalam Movie
There is an old-fashioned template that carries a few racy incidents aimed to glorify the eponymous character. 'Madhuraraja', a Vysakh directorial, has the apt format to herald its category and target right from the off. Its lethargic screenplay itself pulls it down from adorning the impressive embellishments. In its attempt to strictly adhering to the contours of a pot-boiler, the tale hardly manages to convey any riveting moments to be identified for appreciation. Here the filmmaker has gone addictive to the high-decibel milieu with added commotion from the characters. After creating a smidgen of curiosity, the film nosedives into the depths of hollowness.
'Madhuraraja' follows the lives of people in a small village, Pambinthuruthu, located in an island near Kochi. At a glance, the effort behind the writing is seemingly a rehash exercise about the conventional confrontation between good and evil. Scenarist Udaykrishna, who was also the co-writer of the prequel 'Pokkiri Raja' (2010), introduces the protagonist to iron out a solution for a social problem.
The backdrop created for Raja (Mammootty) is impressive but once he lands in the village, his actions generate an impression with hues of farce rather than humour. Raja's flawed English, meant for tickling the funny bones, proves to be an unsuccessful attempt, and Salim Kumar, who appears as Manoharan, with his witty ripostes scores in parts.
The plot becomes a blatant affair as Raja goes on solving the issues, including a police case against his brother-like figure from Madurai, Chinna (Jai). An effortless path is created for the hero to decimate the ruthless villain, who is engaged in hooch business. Once again, Jagapati Babu as Natesan sends scare waves among his opponents with his merciless acts.
Anusree appears as a feisty resort owner and her sister Meenakshi (Mahima Nambiar) falls in love with Chinna soon after his entry into the village. Apparently, Mammooty gets more of a descriptive space from the courtesy of other characters than emoting himself anything memorable. Here, Raja is disappointingly a shadow of the character that appeared in the prequel.
'Madhuraraja' is a rickety ride into the realms of heroism and everything falls in place sans nudging your senses in a fast-paced narration. Perfunctory writing has a good amount of share in sullying the totality of the movie, which has occasional charm lent by top-notch visuals by Shaji Kumar. The formulaic tale of a mass hero, who is fighting against a spurious liquor manufacturer in a small island, has everything as per the template. Heroic hyperbole lack the required punch and the finale is highly predictable.
Anusree diffuses the energy of the character and has neatly presented the fueling emotion of a responsible sister. Mahima has given a convincing performance while Jai has a mediocre appearance in his Malayalam debut.
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