Minnal Murali Movie Review: Tovino Thomas Gives Malayalam Movie Buffs a Superhero Worth Rooting for in Basil Joseph’s Netflix Film (LatestLY Exclusive)

Minnal Murali Movie Review: So Malayalam Cinema now has its own superhero in Minnal Murali, whose powers include lightning speed, super-strength and unwavering aim. So what's new there, would ask many one-man army superstar movies from most of our film industries, for these flicks feature their leads (99.9% of them men, yes) doing superhuman feats without the need for a super serum (sorry, Cap!), gamma radiation, or in the case of both The Flash and Minnal Murali's hero, a special bolt of lightning! Considering that case, Tovino Thomas' new film is an aberration for sure. It gives the protagonist a legitimate channel to own his powers. Shankar's heroes would scoff at that! Minnal Murali Review: Bejoy Nambiar Calls Tovino Thomas’ Superhero Film ‘An Absolute RIOT’.

Minnal Murali, directed by the supremely talented Basil Joseph, is set in a village in Kerala in what I believe to be the late '90s. It is the right period setting for the mindful obliviousness of the residents there about the concept of superheroes, though the kids are at least aware of three most popular comicbook heroes then, Batman, Superman and Spider-Man. Why no, Phantom or Mandrake? They were quite popular too then! Or even Mayavi!

It is also the time when X-Men movies, the first franchise that popularised superhero film globally, hadn't released yet, and also didn't Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. Otherwise, the American Dreams-obsessed, narcissistic Jaison (Tovino Thomas) wouldn't be clueless about superheroes when his nephew refers to them.

Jaison is a tailor aiming to go to USA to become rich with his tailoring skills, because he thinks Americans only get readymade clothes. He also thinks Adidas is a ripoff of 'Abibas', so that's his skewered knowledge of American culture in a nutshell. He is recently jilted in love, when his long-time girlfriend, the daughter of the local SI (Baiju Santosh), ditches him to get engaged to another man

Anyway, Jaison's life takes a weird turn when he gets struck by a bolt of lightning while creating fracas at the SI's house. While he miraculously survives the hit, Jaison begins to develop bizarre characteristics, which his nephew identifies as superpowers. However, since M Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable hadn't also released then, Jaison realises very late that for every superhero to become one, he needs a supervillain. For he didn't know then that the very same lightning that struck him that night also struck another person in the village at the same time and gave him also superpowers.

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On a parallel track runs the story of Shibu (Guru Somasundaram), a Tamilian worker at a tea-shop who is in unrequited love for years with Usha (Shelley Kishore), a woman who is separated from her unfaithful husband and whose brother (Harisree Ashokan) works at Jaison's tailoring shop. How this features into Jaison's storyline is something that I will leave out of the review for SPOILER reasons.

It is quite cool that Malayalam cinema has a proper superhero movie, that thankfully, is smart, well-made and entertaining while it lasts. What's more, while it refers to American superheroes, Minnal Murali is very much rooted in the ethos of rural Kerala. The premise and the setting combined is brimming with so much potential, that, unfortunately, isn't completely utilised, but whenever it does, Minnal Murali is fun!

I have been an admirer of Basil Joseph's body of work since his short film days. His Priyamvadha Katharayano?, that was a viral sensation then, was a well-directed funny short film with a surprise twist in the end. Even when he turned feature film director, I have enjoyed both movies that came before Minnal Murali, be it Kunjiramayanam or Godha. Both the films were high on humour, especially the former which continues to have a hit run on Asianet whenever televised.

Minnal Murali, surprisingly, takes a toned down approach when it comes to humour. I didn't mean to say that the movie lacks comedy scenes. Basil's regulars like Mamukoya, Aju Varghese, Bijukuttan appear here, and there is a light-hearted touch to the proceedings in the first half. But when compared to his previous movies, Basil keeps the humour here contained, as if he knew beforehand that with Minnal Murali's exclusive Netflix release, he is catering to a wider audience beyond us Mallus. Minnal Murali Song Aaromal: Tovino Thomas Is a Charmer in This Delightful and Breezy Track.

That said, there are a couple of fantastic comedic touches that left me guffawing. My fave being the scene preceding a bus-fight sequence (move over Shang-Chi, we have our own bus stunt here!) where Jaison's panting is humorously merged with a very popular song from Mammootty-starrer, Hitler.

Minnal Murali feels like Basil Joseph's ode to not just superhero movie culture that is ruling cinema these days, but also to our yesteryear cinema. From the annoying brother-in-law trope - here that die lands on Aju Varghese's character - to funny use of Sudheesh's cameo of playing himself (I regret non-Mallus not getting the 'kindi' reference), Minnal Murali has quite the nostalgic feel to it, that it doesn't overdo at all. The director himself makes a fleeting cameo of a speech-giving politician, which I believe him to reprise his similar cameo in Kunjiramayanam, and thereby making his own cinematic universe in the process.

The VFX is also surprisingly good, especially for a Malayalam cinema. In a couple of scenes, there is a noticeable observance of green screens. But otherwise, the special effects are flawless, especially the third act when the hero takes on the villain at the village fair. There is also some smart editing (Livingston Mathew) that helps the film show more of Minnal Murali's powers without the need for indulging in VFX, while Sameer Thahir lends some eye-grabbing visuals with his camerawork.

As for its narrative, Minnal Murali takes some time for its superhero to speed things up. Jaison discovering his powers, along with the villain parallelly and unbeknownst to each other, and then using them to his advantage are funny but nothing outstanding. This, I felt, was more of a missed opportunity as the idea of a superhero in a Kerala village offers so much hilarious and unique possibilities. Minnal Murali actually begins to go full-steam, when the antagonist decides to step and thereby bringing him to clash with Jaison, starting off at the police station and then leading to aforementioned bus fight.

I also liked how the movie treats the villain's track and the tragedy in it, which makes it even better than the protagonist's storyline. But a negative I have to say is that Minnal Murali continues on the superhero movies' flawed approach of seeing mental illness as a sign for supervillainy. This is frustrating, when Spider-Man: No Way Home, that is running in India presently, tries to rectify this trope by its 'cure not kill' approach.

Minnal Murali, while grounded in its treatment, still doesn't escape the trappings of a superhero film. I believe this might be the director's way of paying an ode to the genre - deceased parent, hero-villain having similar powers, and other beats - but we are living in a time, when superhero movies are in abundance, where Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home have done better business than many other Indian releases. So the tributes end up being frustrating deja vu tropes, that are noticeable especially when the film takes some very serious turns in the third act. Thankfully, Minnal Murali underplays the romantic arc for Jaison and his friend 'Bruce Lee' Biji (Femina George), only hinting at a chemistry that might develop later, but instead uses her as a confidante and later a saviour in her own way.

Speaking of the performances, Tovino Thomas effortlessly works his charm as the relatable Jaison, a role that uses his likeable screen presence and physique well enough. But it is the fantastic Tamil actor Guru Somasundaram who stands out in the movie, lending enough credibility into his complex, conflicted character. He is particularly brilliant in the scene with his ladylove in his hut, near the third act. Also a special callout to Shelly Kishore, popular television actress, who leaves an impact as Usha. The rest of the cast, including Femina George, Aju Varghese, Baiju, Harisree Ashokan,  the late P Balachandran, et al, are all fine. Shaan Rahman and Sushin Shyam's music complements the film well.

Yay!

- Well-Directed Grounded Treatment of Superhero Genre in an Entertaining Format

- The Performances

Nay!

- Repetitive Superhero Tropes

- The Flawed Approach to Mental Illness

- Buildup Could Have Been a Little Better

Final Thoughts

With Minnal Murali, Basil Joseph earns his stamp as one of Malayalam Cinema's most intelligent commercial directors in present times, who loves movies as much any geek does. The film is earnest, polished, funny without going overboard and enjoyable when it allows Tovino's protagonist to go full superhero mode. While I still have a few misgivings about its screenplay, the movie deserves full marks for its successful attempt to launch a superhero. I am all on board for a sequel that will hopefully go beyond the cliched narrative and turn out something even more novel. Minnal Murali is streaming on Netflix from December 24.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 22, 2021 02:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).