To Harihar Nagar Review

The original `In Harihar Nagar' and its four able bachelors entertained the audience for the last 18 years like no other recent films, that it had attained a status of a Mollywood neo classic, in terms of slapstick comedy. The movie's every funny escapades and the punch lines including `Thomaskutty Vittoda.......' had become quite familiar even with the new age audience, thanks to their regular meetings with the adorable rascals in their TV sets.
 
While making the sequel to a film that he had jointly directed with Siddique, Lal seemed to have very well noticed that the success path lies in keeping the lead four in their same mould of behaviours, with their great bonding and camaraderie. He did it to the best with a delightful blend of high and low humour, pulled off splendidly in style and the result is definitely more than entertaining.
        
`To Harihar Nagar' definitely offers rib tickling comedy and delightful watch from the word goes, with apt mixing up of inexhaustible laughter and few moods of seriousness at intervals. The film starts with the three lead players Mahadevan, Appukuttan, Govindan Kutty  now well settled in various business enterprises in Gulf and Bangalore,  coming together to celebrate the betrothal of the fourth in their group, Thomas Kutty. Govindan Kutty is now a successful builder while Mahadevan is a new age personality development guru, teaching people to regain confidence and success, though he is very unsuccessful with his own life. Appukuttan is a dentist now, but have little change in his regular idiotic senseless dialogues. They decide to ignite their youthful mischief and revert to their days of hectic activity, at least for the ten days they have got, away from their families. In the Govindan Kutty's villa where they had been hatching plans to woo girls ten years ago, they regroup and decide to pull pranks. As usual, they are enamored by the charms of a neighbouring beauty Maya, a bar singer. The four are immediately into everything to please her which lands them into further troubles.
 
Lal succeeds in recreating the ambiance and quality of acting from the four protagonists, played by Mukesh, Jagadheesh, Siddique and Ashokan. With regular laugh -a-minute dialogue exchanges and engaging instances, the movie rush off to the interval, there after takes a serious mood, becomes tedious for a very short while and bounce back with its very exciting twists in the climax reels. A surprisingly strong showcase of its stars, it is Jagadheesh who takes the major honours, returning rightly to his youthful vigour to pull out the best, with excellent timing. The others in the cast also makes good performances, though Salim Kumar doesn't find a fitting space in the plot. Lakshmi Rai as Maya also does justice to the dimensions of the character.
 
The hit songs "Unnam Marannu Thenni Parannu" and "Ekantha Chandrike", remixed by Alex Paul are used wisely in the movie. And the technical side including racy, unoffending cuts by V Saajan and cinematography by Venu match well with the proceedings. And indeed, this is the comeback movie of the great veteran behind the camera, which he has utilised well with clear packaging of visuals.
   
`To Harihar Nagar' is the definitely a brilliant, unprententious mainstream crowd pleaser, smartly scripted and directed by Lal, an awesome  prescription for everyone to have a rocking Vishu', .................Go for it.'