Kallam Movie Review
Kallam: A Promising Mystery Undermined by Flawed Execution
Despite its intriguing premise of journalists investigating a teenage girl's death, Kallam falters with inconsistent storytelling, lackluster performances, and an unconvincing climax.Anu Ram-directed 'Kallam' sets the tone of a murder mystery drama by showcasing the death of a teenage girl at the outset. The film has all the tropes of a regular police investigation drama that usually follows the familiar pattern of interrogation. Here, Anu Ram has two visual media journalists who take over the task of investigation when the police frame a juvenile boy as the prime accused. Police officers appear only through the references to the case and the two journos, who are the protagonists, try themselves to unravel the mystery. In the process, the plot demands a neat order in its assortment of events but the execution struggles to maintain a consistent flow. The contrived events in the latter half are devoid of the vital impact required for an effective climax.
While doing a crime series named 'True Detective' for a visual media (the film says only 'channel' and not sure if it's YouTube or television), Anand, played by Adel Ibrahim, and Shemin, played by Nandhana Rajan, stumble upon the mysterious death of a teenage girl, Sreekutty, at home. They decide to identify the real culprit when police arrest a juvenile boy, named Niyaz (Ajaz Kollam). They also realize that police have ignored certain vital evidence related to the case. Sreekutty's parents Bindu (Savitha Bhaskar) and Suresh (Jeo Baby) pin their hopes on the two media persons to know the truth.
An autorickshaw driver-cum-politician, Suresh engages in an altercation with Niyaz's brother Shiyaz (Shameen Siddique).Though Niyaz acknowledges his relationship with Sreekutty, he denies his role in her death. Now 'Kallam' poses the intriguing question of 'Whodunn it?' This phase of the movie is able to trigger the suspense element in the tale to an extent. Yet, the treatment is hardly befitting to a crime thriller and the film consistently sustains its disheveling trait. The troubled family life of Shemin also gets a reference, only to highlight the depth of her affinity towards Anand.
Low-key performances are another debacle of this film which has its share of dramatic moments towards the climax. As a journo, Adel fits the bill while Nandhana Rajan gives a convincing appearance as a woman with liberal and feminist ideas. The screen space of Jeo Baby is limited to make it a notable outing as a hapless father.
Written by Arya Bhuvanendran, the writer has ensured a mysterious premise surrounding the death of a teenage girl. A lot of possibilities are scattered in the tale to function the guesswork overtime regarding the real culprit. The political angle in the plot is one of them. The animosity between political party functionaries Sabu (Kailash) and Suresh crops up as if to give another dimension to the unanswered questions in the minds of the two journos. The script shows its potential inconsistently and the order of shot sequences falls short of perfection, disrupting the needed flow in the narration.
Anand and Shemin interview people in the village and one of the interview episodes leave a clue to the climax; still it incoherently blends with the finale. The incompatible family life of Sabu and his wife Devi (Devi Krishnakumar) gatecrash the events and the below par performances in the vital areas of 'Kallam' take the sheen off the tale. The climax is infested with a forced 'twist' and apparently, it lacks conviction. The loosely woven narrative also plays its part to sever the potential intriguing factor in the script. This murder mystery of a teenage girl gives promises at the outset but it takes a downward journey due to slipshod treatment and lack of gripping moments.
