Tovino Thomas

Cast: Revathi, Kunchacko Boban, Tovino Thomas, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Soubin Shahir, Indrajith Sukumaran, Madonna Sebastian and others.

Music : Sushin Shyam

Cinematography : Rajeev Ravi and Shyju Khalid

Editor : Saiju Sreedharan

Producers : Rima Kallingal and Aashiq Abu

Director : Aashiq Abu

When the deadly Novel Coronavirus outbreak began in India, acclaimed Malayalam medical thriller, Virus, was much-talked-about all over the country. The film, released in July, 2019, was based on the deadly Nipah Virus that wreaked havoc on Kerala in 2018. The film has been dubbed in Telugu as Nipah Virus and had its digital premiere on Aha on December 4. Let’s see how the film is.

Story:

The story is set in Kozhikode, Kerala, where the outbreak of Nipah Virus gripped the entire state. Zachariah Mohammad gets admitted to the Government Medical College with severe cough and vomitings. He passes away even before the doctors could identify his virus. After a few days, Nurse Akhila (Rima Kallingal) gets admitted to the hospital with similar symptoms. This gets the entire government machinery, including the state Health Minister and District Collector, get into the mission of tracing the root cause. How the government contains the virus outbreak and the issues the victim’s families faced in the society make for a thrilling and emotional watch.

Plus Points:

Director Aashiq Abu‌ comes up with a riveting thriller around the invisible virus that claimed scores of lives in Kerala’s Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. The way he realistically showcases the emotional turmoil of the victims and their families, the relentless determination of the doctors in saving their lives and the government’s mission to prevent the virus spread deserves a special mention.

Coming to the actors, even though most of the lead actors are new to Telugu audiences except Revathi, they arrest the viewers with their earnest and natural performances.

Minus Points:

Even though Aashiq Abu‌ chose a terrific storyline, the screenplay and treatment he followed to narrate the story should have been more pacy to make for an engaging experience. Certain scenes in the first half should have been trimmed to add some pace to the proceedings.

Technical Aspects:

All the technicians have done their best in assisting the director’s vision. Especially, music composer Sushin Shyam’s poignant background score adds to the pensive mood. Rajeev Ravi is one of the best cinematographers in India and he proves it yet again with his visuals, perfectly assisted by Shyju Khalid. The production values are decent even though most of the film is centred around hospitals and government offices.

Verdict:

Nipah Virus was a huge test to humanity. The director’s thought behind coming up with an emotional thriller that faced this greatest adversary must be appreciated. Barring the slow pace in certain portions, the film is quite riveting. Nipah Virus is recommended for those who appreciate emotional medical thrillers. The film will make a lasting impression especially when the Coronavirus pandemic has the entire world at its feet.

123telugu.com Rating : 3/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team

Click here for Telugu Review

Starring : Tovino Thomas, Mamta Mohandas

Directed by : Akhil Paul & Anas Khan

Produced by : Navis Xaviour, Siju Mathew

Music by : Jakes Bejoy

Cinematography : Akhil George

Edited by : Shameer Muhammed

So, continuing the series of reviewing movies and shows during the lockdown period, our today’s pick is the Malayalam thriller Forensic. The film is available on Netflix and let’s see how it is.

What’s it about

The film is about small girls being kidnapped and killed in a mysterious manner. Rithika Xavier IPS (Mamta Mohandas) is assigned the case. Joining her team is Samuel John Kaattoorkkaran (Tovino Thomas) ), a forensic expert and Shikha (Reba Monica John). But both Rithika and Samuel are not comfortable with each other as they have a troubled past. With each passing day, the case keeps getting intense with a link related to what happened ten years back. How will the two officers solve the case is the whole story of the film.

What’s good?

Tovino Thomas is good as the suspicious cop. His performance in key investigation scenes is pretty good. Mamta Mohan Dad gets a key role and she is top-notch. The glitches between her and Tovino and how Mamta reacts to all this in the case have been shown well. The interval bang is quite decent and lifts the film quite well.

Saiju Kurup and Renji Panicker are solid as always, lending support and adding to the guessing game. Jakes Bejoy’s music adds depth to all the tense moments, while Akhil George’s camera work is sleek. The way the guessing game of who the killer is started looks good.

What’s bad?

Director duo Akhil Paul and Anas Khan in their debut showcase a crime investigation by embracing nuances of forensic methods. But they do not score well in the narration. The start the film well and also bring the suspense elements and twist well in the break time. But from there routine moments happen in the film as subplots start taking center stage and just to mislead the audience, new characters are introduced. The ending is also a bit predictable in the film and the depth in the writing and the so-called thrills go down in the second half.

Final Word

Overall, Forensic is an investigative thriller that has a decent first half but things get bogged down in the second and crucial part. Mamta Mohan Das carries the film well for the most part but the been there done that kind of a feel in the last half hour spoils the mood of the audience. If you are the ones who are loving the Malayalam cinema these days, give the film a shot and the rest can take it easy.
Rating: 2.5

OTT Review : Nipah Virus – Telugu film on AHA

Lockdown Review : Forensic -Malayalam film on Netflix