Admaker turned director Madhav Ramdas has selected the much famous play 'Melvilasam' by Soorya krishnamoorthy for his debut film, titled the same. Though the movie is an experimental one with a gripping tale, single location, no heroines or song and dance sequences, 'Melvilasam" could have been an impactful one if the director has taken a little of the new age cinematic liberties.
The movie set in the late seventies tells the events of a court martial of Sawar Ramachandran (Parthiban), who is alleged to have shot two of his officers, killing one and gravely injuring the other.Colonal Puri (,Nizhalgal ravi) is there as the government counsel while Captain Vikas Roy (SureshGopi) comes up as the defence counsel. Upright colonel Suraj Singh is the presiding judge before whom the accused , witnesses and others are brought up for questioning.Since Ramachandran has already acknowledged his attempt to kill the officers, Vikas Roy is now after throwing some light into the events that could have prompted Ramachandran to do the crime.
The 110 minutes movie is shot in the single court room, the first card of the movie itself publicises it as a real time movie, which follows the actual happenings in the two hours of court martial proceedings.Soorya Krishnamoorthy's finesse in telling stories is famous and his script is the biggest highlight of the movie. Unleashing a complex tale of life, the power and subdued characters in the army which is not much known to outer world, the movie also stick to the every proceedings that is followed in a court martial.
But the choice of the subject may not find many takers in current Mollywood. It could have worked better as a play on television but the feature film format doesn't seems too inviting. The biggest drawback is also that the director Ramdas and crew has seldom attempted to present it as a convincing movie.Apart from the breakdown into filmi shots and lighting patterns, there is nothing much that the crew has done to give it a filmy look
Suresh Gopi has a well written role as Captain Vikas Roy and he excels in it with his usual manoeuvrings. Parthiban is excellent in a subtle role which offer a very few dialogues.But the real performer in the cast lines is Thalaivasal Vijay as Colonel Surat Singh, who makes the movie a showcase of his emoting proves. Nothing short of an accomplishment, the actor stands strong on every dramatic moment displaying every nuances of men in power with their share of anguish, respect,shrewdness and kindness, with elaan. Krishnakumar as Captain B D Kapoor, and Ashokan as Captain Dr. Gupta performs impressively but looks quite younger for their roles.
The technical side of the movie is topnotch with Anand Balakrishanan behind camera giving fine visuals. The BG's by Samson Kottor and editing by Sreenivas is also impressive.
Melvilasam' is indeed a movie for niche audiences and has something for the festival circuit. At the Box office, the prospects appear a little bleak for its heavy experimental nature.
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