Mission 90 days Malayalam Movie

Jul 17, 2007 By Unni Nair

Coming from the maker of Keerthichakra, the Major Ravi-directed Mission 90 Days was no doubt one of the most awaited films of the year. But the film disappoints on the whole and leaves much to be desired.

Mission 90 Days revolves around the operations embarked upon to nab those behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Major Sivaram, who is a commando officer with the NSG (National Security Guards), is heading the commando unit that is to function under the Special Investigation Team headed by Mr. Parthipan. Sivaram, who has just reached home on leave, is called back and asked to head the operation.

A dedicated commando officer, Sivaram is back on duty with all promptness. He and his 'boys' use all their resources and expertise to trace the assassins. They leave no stone unturned in their efforts to nab the culprits. They wish to catch Sivarasan, Subha and others alive. Major Sivaram gets all assistance from DIG Raju, who has utmost trust in him and his method of operation. When the team led by Sivaram is set to corner and catch Sivarasan and his gang of militants, things take a totally new turn and Sivaram and his team of commandoes find themselves in a totally helpless situation. That is what forms the climax of the film.

As for the story, which is based on Major Ravi's real-life experience (for he had headed the commando team on the mission to nab Sivarasan and others in real life), it is no doubt good. But the screenplay, which has been penned jointly by Major Ravi and S. Tirru, has many loose ends that mar the whole film. In the first place, the film doesn't have much of commercial appeal, though the makers obviously wanted it to. And right from the beginning, you hear the audience booing loudly, rather disappointed by what's on show. Major Ravi has tried to put in all the ingredients necessary to make the film a commercial success. But there is something terribly wrong with the packaging that affects the film's commercial potential very adversely.

Commercial aspects aside, there are other major flaws with the film. Firstly, it must be remembered that Keerthichakra was loved and accepted for the novelty and freshness and also for the shocking candidness and deftness with which the subject was treated. It should be noted that in very many ways, Mission 90 Days lacks these qualities. Major Ravi has tried to make the film on the very lines of Keerthichakra, moving on the very same track. The inclusion of a Hindi song, the sequence where a lady-journalist and Major Sivaram frequently clash with each other, the scene where Major Sivaram is summoned to join duty just when he is sharing some moments of privacy with his wife, the scenes depicting the family life of the hero etc may be justified as being integral to the plot, but from the viewer's point of view, this is repeated stuff and it affects the film very badly.

Another point to be noted is that while Major Ravi could overlook the star in Mohanlal to a very great extent in Keerthichakra, in Mission 90 Days he seems to be overwhelmed by Mammootty. The scene where the actor is introduced is very similar to such intros in any Rajnikanth film or any other superstar film.

The film is 100% truthful to facts, but narration of facts with some amount of technical brilliance doesn't make for a good film. There have to be elements that make the narration gripping and cinematic. Emotional quotient too is imperative as far as a film is concerned. But Mission 90 Days seems to be deficient in all these. The scenes depicting the family life of Major Sivaram and the scene in which he has to leave his critically-ill son and rush back to duty need to be more convincingly executed.

The Kannada film Cyanide (dubbed into Tamil as Kuppi) fares better on this account and is better made and more gripping. And as for documentation in a detached manner, Major Ravi could have used the narrative technique used in Black Friday.

Mission 90 Days is neithe