Asuravithu Malayalam Movie
A K Sajan's 'Asuravithu' follows the conventions of an underworld film to the core, and very rarely does it even attempt to move a bit away. The killings for instance are laid down in tally marks, with one following the other, until you lose interest in it all.
This story of an angry young man being pushed into the big bad world of crime is nothing new. Young men, who have been severely wronged, have risen in revolt even before, and their stories are quite familiar to us.
Don Bosco (Asif Ali) is one such youngster, who is a seminarian to boot, who takes upon himself the task of bringing the Pathaam Kalam gang led by Abba (Vijayaraghavan) and his kids to book. It helps Don a bit, perhaps, that he is the son of a notorious goon who was killed in an encounter with Pathaam Kalam, years back.
Thus the stage is set, and not much later, Don discovers his rebel genes. He meets head on the Cochin underworld kings, and within no time rechristens himself as Don David. And henceforth his operations start bearing the brand of the D Company!
The script throws no extra surprises on us, and Sajan places the players exactly where you expect them to be. They move about on much recognized paths, and proceed towards well-known alleys without fail.
A bunch of crooked men who would stop at nothing to reinstate their power are at the other end of the line in 'Asuravithu'. They appear more like perverse sadists than manipulative thugs, and by their antics emphasize further, that not all is well with this world.
Asif Ali does justice to the title role that he essays, and as an ordinary man who has been pushed way beyond his levels of endurance, he delivers a knock out performance. As the Don however, he seems a little less convincing, despite the grimaces and smirks on his face, all remaining in tact.
There are three characters in this film that stand out from the rest, on account of the actors that play them. Baburaj, who plays a priest with a heart of gold, but with a tongue that's razor sharp, is a crowd pleaser, and gets to mouth some of the best lines in the film.
Lena, playing Don Bosco's mom, brings in some dignity to a character whom we have often met in similar films. And there is Samvrutha Sumil who plays Marty, the boat owner in love with Don - a girl, who has learned to accept that life isn't fair always and who have learned to live with it.
Perhaps the only optimistic thing in an otherwise disappointing start to 2012, is the suggestion that it doesn't always end bad. There is life beyond revenge; and there might even be life beyond a real miserable ending.
