Jithu Joseph, the debutant director proves that he is here to stay with his first venture, Detective. Closely following the footsteps of C.B.I. film, the best of the genres in Malayalam, Jithu has tried to be with the original in every possible way as his protagonist walks, talks and dresses and speaks like Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer!
The film which has shaped out into a fast moving investigative thriller has a plenty of twists and suspense till the end. Even though the scripts hold you to your seats most of the time, a little overly dramatic sequences at times makes you yawn a little.
The highlight of the movie is again Suresh Gopi, this time in a double role. As a simple down-to-earth politician Mohan Kumar, he is comfortable but as his half brother a shrewd intelligent investigative cop, he is smart and keeps us guessing all the way with his new maneuvers.
The story begins with Reshmi, the wife of young politician Mohan Kumar, who is found dead in her own bedroom, presumably killing herself consuming rodenticides. Mohan Kumar is getting ready to contest the coming assembly bye-elections to the state Assembly and considering his mass appeal, his victory is certain. He is considered as an honest leader with integrity. However, when the police arrive on the scene, they get a note from the site written by Reshmi which says that she is committing suicide, not able to cope up with her husband's torture. Following this, the party replaces another youth Kumbalam Jose as the candidate for election and Mohan Kumar is arrested and is send to jail.
The Chief Minister of the state, to whose party Mohan belongs, has high appreciation for the young leader and finds the case unbelievable. Meanwhile Reshmi's father Prabhakaran Thampi, using his influence on the opposition leader, presses for the investigation to be handed over to Shyam Prasad, a brilliant officer known for his quick and meticulous investigative methods. Prabhakaran Thampi believes that it is Mohan who killed his daughter, and feels that if the investigation is not handled properly, Mohan would go scot-free. The opposition also has another reason as Shyama Prasad is actually Mohan's step-brother but hates Mohan because he feels that his birth has brought disgrace on the family.
But Shyam working on his ways with a young team slowly unveils the mystery behind Reshmi's suicide. He finds that it was a calculated cold blooded murder by one of the most intelligent criminal he has came across in his career. How he uncovers the mystery forms the rest of the plot.
Jithu Joseph who has also written the screenplay has made the film an edge-of-the-seat thriller especially in the later half. Only the flaws in the scripts are that the reasons for the murder are not convincing and lack logic even though Jithu has tried to present it believable.
The film whose narrative takes us immersed rather doesn't give any specific clues to the final lead where you realize the real culprit. Suresh Gopi is again at his strengths filling every frames walking all around in slow motions and is overly active. Sindhu Menon as Reshmi is also ok. Jagathy Sreekumar as Chandrachoodan is his usual comic self.
Saikumar as S.P. James Joseph, Prem Prakash as the Chief Minister, Cochin Haneefa as the opposition leader, Augustine as Mohan's neighbor Thankachchan, Babu Namboothiri as Reshmi's father Prabhakaran Thampi, Baiju as Reshmi's cousin Suresh and Koottikkal Jayachandran as the milk-man Ashokan are all apt in their roles.,
Cinematography by Anandakuttan and editing by P.C. Mohanan suit the subject and the mood of the film. Background scores sometimes go overboard but the theme music for the Detective is impressive. The debutant director has overdone some sequences like the entry
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