Eesho Movie Review: Nadirshah's controversial Malayalam film, Eesho, starring Jayasurya in the lead, skips theatrical release and goes for an OTT debut on SonyLIV. Apparently, some in the Christian community were unhappy with the title of the name, which the court dismissed their plea to halt the release. If any one should have had an issue with the film, it should be with how Eesho trivialises sexual assault and rape and turns it into a male-dominated revenge-seeking thriller, where women has little or no say at all. Eesho Trailer: Starring Jayasurya and Directed by Nadirshah, This SonyLIV Malayalam Thriller Might Blow Your Minds Away!

Eesho is about a honest ATM security guard, played by Jaffer Idukki, who is going to be a prime witness in a crime that would implicate a sleazy businessman (Suresh Krishna), who, of course, wants him out of the way. On the night before his deposition in front of the judge, the guard meets this stranger (Jayasurya) while on duty, who claims that his vehicle had a breakdown.

Seemingly stuck with nothing to do at this forlorn junction, the stranger strikes a friendship with the guard and they get to know each other better. Soon it is revealed that the stranger is not a mere passerby as he claims, and whether he is a guardian angel or a devil in disguise is what the rest of the film is about.

Watch the Trailer:

Eesho begins with showing us this mother and her little daughter living their happy life, which is soon shattered when the latter is sexually assaulted by her school teacher. This episode seemingly is shown having no connection with the main premise, but of course, we should know better. Which is also a problem with the screenplay of Eesho. It thinks it knows better, but it is easy to pluck out the red herrings and figure out the whole deal.

Eesho, going against Nadirshah's usual penchant of making comic entertainers, is more of a serious thriller that wants to think of itself as smart. However, even if it tries to hide its cards as slyly as possible, the gameplay is pretty evident with regards to where it is heading, especially how it unravel Jayasurya's character. Even the way it tries to connect the main premise with the opening episode is lamely predictable. Jayasurya Celebrates 18 Years of Togetherness With Wife Saritha by Sharing Lovely Pics on Instagram!

But I believe Eesho's biggest failing in its subject is how it wants to take a stand against sexual assaults, but gives the female characters, including Namitha Pramod's lawyer, hardly anything to do. (Also doesn't it feel like hypocrisy when the director is a close friend of a superstar who had been accused in a sexual assault case to make a film on the same subject? Just asking...)

Still, Eesho has its moments, and they are primarily driven by the performances of Jayasurya and Jaffer Idukki. Jayasurya nails the unpredictable nature of his character very well, while Idukki, who is one of Malayalam Cinema's best character artistes right now, is very convincing as the morally upright guard. Their scenes together make Eesho watchable and somewhat riveting at least in the second act before it heads towards a meek finale.

Yay!

- Jayasurya and Jaffer Idukki

Nay!

- Predictable, Unconvincing Thriller

Final Thoughts

As a thriller, Eesho works in parts purely because of Jayasurya and Jaffer Idukki, and the second act that is engaging because it depends on their performances. Otherwise, Eesho does little justice to its central theme, and the predictability of its suspense does the remaining damage. The movie is streaming on SonyLIV.

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 07, 2022 03:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).