Corona Papers Malayalam Movie
"Corona Papers" is an interesting title for a thriller, but Priyadarshan's new film has little to do with the pandemic in itself. Loosely based on the Tamil film "8 Thottakkal", Corona Papers tells the story of a missing gun that plays a key role in a bank heist and a series of murders in Cochin. Shane Nigam's Rahul takes charge at a police station in Cochin as a sub-inspector. Initially, Rahul tries to manage customer complaints in noble ways, but he soon realizes that nobility has little to no place in the force. He then loses a police gun, triggering a series of strange events that hark back to a dark chapter of the city's history.
For a Priyadarshan movie, Corona Papers is very intense and more in the mold of a film like "Oppam". There is hardly any comedy here. Whatever little comedy the movie has comes from the cop character of P P Kunhikrishnan, who is best known as the first magistrate in "Nna Thaan Case Kodu". A key character carries such trauma that it may even form the central part of a South Korean film. Like any Priyadarshan movie, Corona Papers has a long line-up of cast members, including Shine Tom Chacko, Siddique, Jean Paul Lal, Gayathrie Shankar, Vijilesh, Hannah Reji Koshy, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Sandhya Shetty.
The focus of the story seamlessly shifts between the characters of Siddique, Jean Lal, Hannah Reji Koshy, and Sandhya Shetty. Shane Nigam's young cop is sometimes at the forefront of the investigation and is a mere bit player in it at other times. Sri Ganesh's script gives enough substance to most of the central characters and avoids usual genre elements, such as red herrings, to name one. The makers do not focus too much on the budding romance between Gayathrie Shankar's investigative journalist and Shane Nigam's character. The film returns to the couple only when there is a need for it.
Another highlight of the film is Divakar Mani's work behind the camera. Mani's camera work gives a great sense of urgency to the chase sequences involving the cops. A fight ends with a dash of blood splashing onto an illuminating light bulb. As with any Priyadarshan film, Corona Papers also has top-notch production values.
The only reservations I have with the film concern a few plot elements and some of the acting. Sri Ganesh's screenplay has some gaping plot holes and contrivances. How do the cops fail to recognize a familiar voice during an investigation? As for the contrivances, how does a character appear out of nowhere at a particular place without knowing the whereabouts of some of the other characters?
Jean Paul Lal and Sandhya Shetty begin their parts with a lot of confidence, but they soon go through a series of repetitive acting patterns. Maybe a lot of this is down to the slightly one-note nature of their characters, though.
The best performances in the movie come from Siddique, Vijilesh, and Shane Nigam. Siddique handles the different layers of his character with aplomb and is quite effective in the emotional scenes, as always. Vijilesh has a breakdown scene in a car that I absolutely loved. And Shane Nigam shines in the role of a cop with a great deal of verve.
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