Cheriya Kallanum Valiya Policeum Malayalam Movie

Feature Film | 2010
Critics:
The best thing to do would be to gather your childhood chums around and go for a re-run of that classic cops and robbers game instead of staying around to find out what this film is gonna be all about. No two questions that it sure should be more worthy of your time.
Feb 28, 2010 By Veeyen


Cheriya Kallanum Veliya Policeum is too obvious that it's almost possible to predict the last scene after you have seen the fifth. There is very little here that should make the film work; almost everything is sadly missing.


Cheriya Kallanum Veliya Policeum tells the story of a mysterious man Sadasivan (Mukesh) who walks into a house at a village called Pancharakkara, knowing that the man of the house Kumaran (Jagadeesh) has committed suicide. Soon he becomes dear to everyone around, and is a big help to Kumaran's widow Soumini (Vidya) who has been left high and dry after her husband's demise.


The whole film has been set around a house, where a death has taken place. Everyone who could probably add to the village scenario is around; starting from the Panchayat President who sneaks around with ulterior motives in mind at midnight, to the comrade, the local tea shop owner, the tailor and the drunkard to name a few.


Amidst these several caricatures, most of which serve no definite purpose, one surprisingly stands out. Kuttappan (Kochu Preman), the blind man who hops into a car to show the guests their way is an eye-opener. He is there on almost every scene and there are quite a few occasions when this diminutive man throws in some big surprises at us.


To run out of ideas is quite natural, and filmmakers often run the danger of running into dead ends. Some of them make ways out of it quite imaginatively, while some others mask it all up smoothly so that none would notice. There is a third category that would beat a dead horse for a long time and finally ape much accepted and popular ideas, that those who are watching would be able to do so only in amusement.


There is this joke for instance that was (for want of a better word) 'invented' by the incomparable Siddiq Lal duo about a decade back which saw a man mistaking a group of fleeing men to be charging after him. He takes off without a thought, and since then we have seen variations of this man in any number of films, the last one being the one being discussed. That is pardonable.


What is not pardonable is when an entire song sequence looks like it's a straight lift off another very popular song that had ruled the hit charts for long. I am referring to the Kumara song that looks like a poor copy of the immensely accepted crowd song in Katha Parayumbol. What could be worse than the same actor singing the song in both the films?


I remember those days in the early 90's post-Harihar Nagar, when Mukesh and Jagadeesh (sometimes joining hands with Siddiq) appeared in several flicks, some of which minted money and some of which sank without a trace. Times have changed indeed, and I wonder if the audience of the day would still be interested to see the duo making a go for similar films.


That said and done, Mukesh and Jagadeesh do display that on screen chemistry for which they have always been famous for. Vidya plays the female lead, and she has landed yet another role when she gets to weep buckets after her debut in Parayan Marannathu. But weep, she does well. Suraj gallops around unreined, and so do most others that make up the supporting cast.


The best thing to do would be to gather your childhood chums around and go for a re-run of that classic cops and robbers game instead of staying around to find out what this film is gonna be all about. No two questions that it sure should be more worthy of your time.


Veeyen

   

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