Baba Kalyani Malayalam Movie
Produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Ashirwad Cinemas and directed by hit-maker Shaji Kailas, the Mohanlal-starrer "Baba Kalyani" is an action movie for the new generation. Though it starts off at a fast pace, the film slows down in the second half and moves towards a typical Shaji Kailas style end, which bores us to some extent. "Baba Kalyani" is a one-man show by Mohanlal all the way.
The film zooms in on the activities of the Anti Terrorist Cell of the Kerala Police led by the very vibrant and daring Baba Kalyani. When an e-mail is received that an attempt would be made to assassinate a VVIP visiting the state, Baba Kalyani and his team set out on a hunt. Though the e-mail proves to be a hoax, the group gets a hunch that some terrorist activity is being planned in the State on a very large scale, and that a group of terrorists has moved to Kochi from Thiruvananthapuram. Baba Kalyani too moves to Kochi with his team.
In the meanwhile Arackal Ashokan, a very influential politician based in Kochi, who has some old scores to settle, comes to know of Baba's posting and waits eagerly for his arrival. Ashokan's daughter Madhumita, who is an advocate, too holds a grudge against him. Baba meanwhile develops a fondness for Meenakshi Amma who reminds him of his mother. She becomes a mother-like figure to him.
The film moves at a tremendous pace in the first half, giving you the feel of an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Slick editing, well-choreographed action sequences and excellent acting keep you glued to your seats. But post-interval the pace slackens. A romance track is started, but trails off without making any impact. The attachment between Baba and Meenakshi Amma, though well conceived, slackens the tempo of the film till she disappears from the film altogether. The action picks up again after that.
Mohanlal has played the part of Baba Kalyani with ease. His performance as the very controlled and cool-headed cop is excellent. The English dialogues that the writer S.N. Swamy thrusts into his mouth could however, have been avoided since they sound unnatural and don't really seem to suit Mohanlal. Biju Menon as Baba's aide Thomas, Jagathy Sreekumar as Sub Inspector Ramanan, Indrajith as Zahir Ahmed alias Babu, Saikumar as Iza Muhammed Haji, Kaviyoor Ponnamma as Meenakshi Amma, and Maya Moushumi as Thomas' wife Ammini do justice to their respective roles. Murali as Arackal Ashokan has nothing much to do. It's the same with Siddique, as Tamil Nadu DIG Reghupathi. Mamta as Madhumita doesn't impress much.
Though Mohanlal is the hero, the real star of the film is Editor Don Max. His editing gives the film a stylish appeal. Shaji lends able support with brilliant camerawork. The only song "Kainiraye venna tharaam…" is well rendered and well filmed.
Writer S.N. Swamy too has done a good job of the script. To sum up, if the pace set in the first half of the film was maintained post-interval too, Baba Kalyani would have become a really good action-thriller and would have had greater appeal. As such the post-interval portion does more harm than good to the film. It will however, prove to be a success at the box office.
