Cleopatra Malayalam Movie
Weird is the word that springs to mind, when you get to watch the initial few scenes of the film 'Cleopatra', which has decided on its name for some real unknown reason. I couldn't make even a real wild guess as to why it has been named 'Cleopatra', and if there was some clue lying somewhere around, I'm sure I must have missed it.
So here is this woman wannabe director and her cameraman hunting around for the perfect story for their debut film. She wants it to be decidedly different from the usual stuff, and hence wants Ramdas, the celebrated writer (Manoj K Jayan) to write a tale for her. He reluctantly agrees, and moves into a funny looking mansion in the midst of what looks like a jungle, so that he is alone and at peace.
Well, the news however, is that he isn't really alone, and has a beautiful ghost for company. She comes visiting at nights, and he starts by telling her his story. It's not much of a story really, except that he was married once to a woman, whom he was late to discover as the perfect woman ever. She develops some unpronounceable sickness and in no time, takes the bus skyward.
That isn't much of a sob story when you get to hear the tale that the ghost (Aswathy) tells him. She was actually an orphan who fell in love with another orphan (Vineeth), who in turn, used to look after several orphaned senior citizens. It was all nice, until he moved abroad, and she got killed. That's what the suspense is all about, and I better not get into the gory details.
Phew! So that's what 'Cleopatra' is all about, and after many discussions, he starts writing her story. The villain does walk in too, and gets bumped off in no time. It's all pretty abrupt, and you are definitely glad when it's all over.
To say that the writing is bad would be an understatement. And the making does no justice to the writing, and together it's a mishamash of a movie that is a royal pain. The redeeming factors, are non-existent, and I couldn't find a reason why I should recommend this for a viewing.
This is the kind of a film that drives you into a passive mood, and before long, you have resigned yourself to your fate. You grow non-expectant, murmur a bit to yourself and then fall silent, aghast at the way things are moving forward. It all culminates in pure dejection.
The film does have seasoned actors like Vineeth and Manoj K Jayan, but this is no 'Sargam', believe me. Aswathy is quite good in the role that she has been provided with, but there is little that any of these actors can do to salvage the film.
Technically there is nothing much to crow about either. These are times when you are fast getting used to stunning frames on screen, and when you see something mediocre, it has something of a shock value, which 'Cleopatra' offers in plenty. The same applies to the song sequences and choreography as well.
'Cleopatra' is a dull affair that gives even the queen of Egypt a bad name. Whichever way you look at it, it's a dud that delivers very little on screen.
