Celluloid-The Next Step by the young brigade(Movie Review By Yoonus Mohyudhin)

You may not feel the way you felt after watching ”Harishchandraji Factory” but you are sure to feel good and contented to have something new on the Malayalam Celluloid. “Celluloid” may not be a trend setter but it will surely act as a path opener for the budding film-makers.

Film mania or Film style of living have very limited takers in our part of the country. And that might be the reason the director doesn’t follow the hardcore film styles but opts for a soft film feel in the movie. But he does a fine and competent job. Kamal comes up with a movie which has a fresh appeal, a perfect script with perfect character sketches which are capable to hold even the viewers who don’t know what “celluloid” is.

 The film is a biopic based on the life story of J.C. Daniel, the father of Malayalam cinema,^[1] the making of his filmVigathakumaran and the story of Vigathakumaran's heroine P. K. Rosie.  Apart from the direction, the revelation comes from the acting department as almost every person in the movie has given a soulful and energetic performance, highly enjoyable and entertaining.

Prithviraj Sukumaran as J.C Daniel  comes up with a lovable and superlative act with his own unique serius touches. Sreenivasan as Chelanghattu Gopalakrishnan surprisingly gives a controlled & subtle performance, which is really appreciable. Sreejith Ravi gives the best shot of his career, as Sundararaj and he is surely going to surprise people who called him wooden faced. Critics would find it tough to criticize him this time around.

And now the man who was way above the expectations, Ramesh Pisharadi. Before seeing the movie I was having the opinion that Ramesh has just tried one movie for fun and he was only satisfying his passion for mimicry and acting with this opportunity which came his way. But he proved me wrong. Ramesh is hugely impressive and convincing in his act of Pillai. He acts easily with no hassles at all and he is exactly like he was seen in the comedy shows he anchored. You may feel as he is your friend next door, having mood swings like we all have and nothing filmy at all.

The icing on the cake is the raw voice structure Prithviraj has and his singing style. It seems that he simply doesn’t care about the details to be taken care of .  And that’s the beauty of his un-comparable and fantastic realistic approach. At times he looks arrogant but that’s how his character is in the script. On the whole, with this fine attempt Prithvi moves miles ahead in his career and would surely win many more fans than he had .

Chandni gives an impressive and lovable debut performance. She is sure to go places as she works harder on her looks and styling. Mamtha Mohandas in her short role is sweet. Every other supporting actor in the movie provides the required strength to the narrative and is worth praising. Director Kamal raises the bar of expectations and now his next venture will be highly awaited.

The movie is very close to being perfect with only few point of the minus side. Firstly, there is no Camera man in the band, who is considered as the backbone of a film. But that is only for the people who know the film Requirements, otherwise this can be ignored. The only point where it lacked something is its music and lyrics. A musical movie with a film background certainly needed more good & hummable songs with some more youthful and energetic lyrics. The concert song “Kaatte Kaatte” is good but the “Enundodee” lacked the depth. You don’t remember any particular song from this musical movie while walking out. The only thing you remember is the surprising Prithviraj act and to some may be Chandni.

In my opinion as “M.Jayachandran” also have a good & healthy relationship with “K.J Yeshudas”. They could have brought Yeshudas in, as he has the experience of being the lead singer of a film industry and has performed in the music concerts for several years. May be he could contribute in the score and helped.

But keeping these thoughts aside, “Celluloid” is a new and fresh experience for our Malayalam Viewers. It is a must watch for every youngster as it teaches the importance of your passions in life and the strength of a good team. It will give you power to follow your own paths and be responsible for them. Rating : 4 / 5