Khaki Malayalam Movie

May 20, 2007 By Unni Nair

Khaki is no doubt a good film when we consider that it comes from a debutante director. But reviewing a film as a work of art requires overlooking such factors and appraising it in isolation. And when we look at Khaki as a film, the impression it creates is mixed with pluses and minuses.

Scripted by T.A. Shahid, Khaki has a good storyline and a rather well-written script. The film focuses primarily on two brothers, Ramakrishnan and Unnikrishnan. While Ramakrishnan is a Head Constable, Unnikrishnan is a Sub Inspector. For Ramakrishnan, who is the elder of the two, his job is a means to look after his family and it is by dint of his job that he managed to educate Unnikrishnan and their sister Meenakshi.

Ramakrishnan, who has a wife Sethulakshmi and two daughters, is a practical minded policeman who would close one eye and shut the other when some one who is affluent and influential does something that is not exactly above law. There are of course many, including those within his family, who ridicule him as being cowardly.

Unnikrishnan, who is much younger to Ramakrishnan, is an idealistic and a daring Police Officer, who is tough on the baddies, never sparing a thought as to how high or low they may be. And when Unnikrishnan is transferred to the very same station where Ramakrishnan is working in their native town, Ramakrishnan is shocked.

Unnikrishnan joins duty, and while they are loving siblings at home, Unnikrishnan sees Ramakrishnan only as a subordinate at work. Unnikrishnan begins his battle against crime. Ramakrishnan tries to prevent him from locking horns with the affluent and influential malefactors but to no avail.

Unnikrishnan soon comes to clash with the very influential City Corporation chairman Jagannatha Varma and his crony, the ex-MLA Karunakara Menon (who incidentally is Ramakrishnan's father-in-law), both of whom are engaged in many shady activities. Unnikrishnan is often assisted by girl friend Parvana, who is a television reporter. When Unnikrishnan arrests Jagannatha Varma and Karunakara Menon for immoral trafficking and attempting to molest a young girl, things take a dramatic turn. What ensues forms the rest of the plot.

Prithviraj is perfect as the daring Unnikrishnan while Mukesh, as Ramakrishnan, is his very convincing, lending credibility to his character. Manasa as Parvana doesn't have much to do and doesn't make much of an impression. P. Sreekumar is good as Jagannatha Varma and so is Jagathy Sreekumar as Karunakara Menon. Meera Vasudev as Sethulakshmi and Chandra Lakshman as Meenakshi are good. Nedumudi Venu as Balakrishnan Nair, who is Unnikrishnan's and Ramakrishnan's father is also good, but we have seen him in many such roles, and hence he doesn't leave a lasting impression. Same is the case with Janardhanan and Bindu Panicker, who respectively play uncle and aunt to the heroes.

Cinematography, editing and art-work are in tune with the mood and the tempo of the film. And so is the background music by Deepak Dev. Director Bipin Prabhakar and scenarist T.A. Shahid have worked well as a team. They have succeeded in blending family entertainment with action. The film is above average and presents the clash of ideals in a lighter vein while focusing strongly on family relationships. Though a laudable effort coming as it does from a debutante director, there is nothing in the film that could make it into a big hit. How it performs at the box office remains to be seen.