Kurup Movie Review: Dulquer Salmaan’s Panache in Playing the Anti-Hero Doesn’t Extend to Its Lumbering Screenplay (LatestLY Exclusive)

Kurup Movie Review: Why am I not surprised that the best part about Srinath Rajendran's Kurup revolves around the recreation of the crime that Sukumara Kurup was accused of? The whole sequence arrives in the middle portion of Kurup, with an inclusion of a couple of surprise star cameos and ruled by a pulsating mix of thrill and revulsion. After a lukewarm first act (more on this later), I was truly arrested in these sequences, as I believed Dulquer Salmaan's latest film - the first major Malayalam film to release in theatres after second wave of COVID-19 - is about to be entering the masterpiece territory. Kurup: Ahead of the Film’s Release, Dulquer Salmaan Teases Fans With an Enticing Video From the Srinath Rajendran Directorial!

Alas, that was not meant to be. Kurup is an ambitious film with an ambitious vision and a bold outlook, but it is severely let down by a screenplay that refuses to acknowledge where it needed to stop. But if you are a big Dulquer Salmaan fan, pretty sure that his handsome mug, with a suiting yesteryear hairstyle, might distract you from the lethargic pacing and wonky writing that troubles the film in the first and the last act.

Kurup might be inspired by the infamous murder of Chacko in 1984 and the resultant escape by the chief perpetrator, Sukumara Kurup, who is now India's longest wanted fugitive. The man has turned into a living legend because the police is still clueless about his whereabouts, gaining mythical proportions in the process, that Kurup the movie wants to cash in.

Kurup, however, isn't a true recreation of the events that lead to the crime, and its aftermath. For one, Sukumara Kurup becomes Sudhakara Kurup, and the victim Chacko becomes Charlie. The inspiration might be real, but the writers (KS Aravind and Daniell Sayooj Nair) have taken plenty of liberties and flights of fancies to fill in the gaping holes.

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The story is narrated through the case diary of DYSP Krishnadas (Indrajith Sukumaran), the cop assigned to nap Kurup, on the day of his retirement. We get to hear Kurup's story through these pages, though occasionally, the movie forgets this narrative device and takes its own flashback routes.

The first two accounts are of Kurup's IAF friend Peter (Sunny Wayne), and then of Kurup's lover and then wife Sharadha (Sobhita Dhulipala). Both describe the man before he become a criminal - when his name was Gopikrishnan - his friendly nature, and above all, his natural affinity towards deceiving people as a prankster. These portions uses the charisma of its lead actor very well, though they don't exactly set him up as a villain. Moreover, Peter disappears from the movie after his track is over, and Sharada, despite the strong way she is established when she rebuffs her high-caste admirer's lusty advances (which comes out of the blue, I must add here), never gets much scope once her flashback ends. Both these portions leave major gaps in between, that take its sweet time to fill you in.

The third account is of Krishnadas who recalls the incidents that lead to the murder, and how Kurup's plan did not go as smoothly as he expected  after the deed is committed. This remains the best part of the movie. The whole scheming, plotting and ultimately the killing of an innocent man and later the disposal are shown in a meticulous manner. Funny part is Dulquer actually takes a backseat here, as the show is mostly dominated by Shine Tom Chacko, who is absolutely riveting and dangerously terrifying as Kurup's drunkard brother-in-law. While it is Chacko who dominates these proceedings, Vijaykumar Prabhakaran who plays fellow conspirator Ponnappan also deserves a mention. Kurup: The Curious Connection Between Dulquer Salmaan’s Thriller and 1984 Film NH 47 That Goes Beyond Sukumara Kurup!

The investigating portions, while arresting enough, felt a little too fast-paced, as if the movie wanted to return to its biggest name, who was mostly absent in these portions, as soon as it can. While this doesn't do justice to the actor in Indrajith who is decent in the role, we also never get to spend time to the victim's family much to understand their pain and anguish.

So yeah, the final act returns to Dulquer's Kurup who is tasked to fill up the gaps in the previous accounts and explain why he did what he did. These portions might have nothing to do with reality and are very much inspired by the theories around his escape. This, I felt, was the weakest part of the whole movie, despite the frenetic editing to make it look pacy. At 157 minutes, that tactic didn't really work. Also, can't help but feel that Kurup did to some extent end up eulogising a real-life criminal, with the finale even entering into Lucifer territory. Just a little more effort needed to be taken to make Kurup look more antagonistic, rather than making him feel as if he is ready to audition for Dhoom series in leather jackets.

While the director should have had a better rein on the pacing and in framing the movie, Srinath's execution is polished and stylish enough to be invested in. He gets a major help from Banglan's production design and in Manoj Arakkal's art direction, in doing a fantastic recreation of the '60s to the '80s era. Nimish Ravi's cinematography is another major plus. Susin Shyam's score complements the film well.

Now, let's talk about the man that made Kurup come to life. There is hardly any denying that Dulquer is swag personified in the movie, and he handles the grey shades of his character really well. It is a fine performance, that should have been better if the writing around his character was more focussed, if the greys were darker. Kurup, ultimately, felt more of a starry performance for this affable actor than an exemplary one!

Yay!

- Dulquer Salmaan

- Shine Tom Chacko

- The Technical Aspects

Nay!

- The Writing is a Major Letdown

- Some of the Secondary Characters Deserves to be Fleshed Out

- The Length

Final Thoughts

Kurup draws you in with Dulquer Salmaan's magnetic appeal and the fascination around its real-life inspiration, but struggles to maintain that hold over you as a viewer. It is brilliant in patches, but those patches needed to be bigger to make a proper impact.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2021 11:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).