Crocodile Love Story Malayalam Movie
So here we go, down and down below again, with a crocodile for company. Anoop Ramesh's directorial debut 'Crocodile Love Story' touches new depths of ineptitude with a stiff jointed plot that fails to hold its own.
The film has Praveen Prem playing Kiran, an engineering student who has been pretty much lazing around in life. Until Nithya (Avantika Mohan), a piping hot neighbor develops the blisters for him. The guy is overjoyed as life takes him on a roller coaster ride thereafter and he drags us along, leaving us all dazed and worn out.
It's all a bit bloated, and I am talking of the story here. The craziness and irrationality of it kills you, and it tries you to goad you into submission, all the while trying to impress you in vain like a badly drawn comic book.
The real action (yeah you could call it that) begins when the couple, fleeing from their near and dear ones, opposed to their love, land on a spectacular island. Little do they realize that they would be offered a company of the reptile kind, and a crocodile sneaks up behind them, forcing them to clamber up a tree.
Well, it might sound a bit interesting when you hear me dishing out the details but on screen it is more of a test of stamina, fortitude and endurance. I found it very disappointing that the crocodile is around just for a very little time. Somehow it appeared much more appealing than the actors around.
One is left wondering what the writer must have been thinking about while penning down this mess of a tale that is all ready to lap you up like the croc that plays a key role in it. I wish it was at least mildly funny, because I could have really done with those occasional respites.
I didn't have a clue as to why that cricketer called Sreeraj (Manikuttan) is wedged in between, since he makes the going all the more tough. Evidently inspired from someone whom we know in real life, Sreeraj and his antics leave a lot to be desired.
To be fair to the makers, let me admit that the best thing about the movie is the crocodile. Thanks to some decent animatronics by Sajayan MAdhavan, the creature looks believable and the visual effects pretty cool.
Acting is pretty much uneven, be it that of Praveen Prem or that of Avantika Mohan. For one, they seem to be at a loss about the happenings around. Added to that, are the apparently interminable happenings that put them in highly embarrassing corners. To cut a long story short, they make a muddle of it. And what on earth were actors like Kalabhavan Mani, Ashokan and, Manikuttan doing in it?
'Crocodile Love Story' makes you want to count the number of times that it actually wanted to have you laughing your guts out and the number of times it miserably failed. I have seen worse movies this year, I admit, but 'Crocodile Love Story' does make it to my Keep-at-bay list without much of an effort.