Director- Major Ravi
Cast- Mohanlal, Murali Sharma, Mukesh, Aishwarya Devan, Asha Sharath, Binish Kodiyeri, Saikumar etc
Music- M.G.Sreekumar
Background music- Jeffrey Jonathan
Review By : Unni R Nair (Kerala9.com )
Someone asked me today afternoon, just half an hour after I watched Major Ravi’s ‘Karmayodha’- “Would it be a waste of time and money if I see the film?”; and I said, “No”. Later in the evening someone else asked, “Would it matter if I don’t see the film”. The reply was the same- “No”. Well, that sums my review of the Mohanlal-starrer which, I’d say, is definitely better that ‘Kandahar’, Major Ravi’s last film.
I know I may be accused of overlooking the director’s intentions and the film’s message, which supposedly is ‘loud and clear’. But since I watched the movie with a rather ‘young audience’, a generation that represents the “future of India” and since I heard some of them uttering horribly lewd remarks about a very young girl who appeared on screen- young enough to be their younger sister- I get the feel that the well-intentioned director was casting pearls before swine and hence my overlooking the message aspect is sort of justified. The film addresses a very current and really serious issue- that of atrocities against women and young girls and the audience behaves almost like the villains in the film. Am not exaggerating, but just narrating what I saw and heard…
Well, a teenaged girl gets kidnapped from Mumbai and Madhava Menon alias Mad Maddy (Mohanlal), the encounter specialist Deputy Commissioner of Police from Mumbai travels all the way to Kerala on being tipped that the girl could be taken to Kerala. In the meantime, another girl gets kidnapped in Kerala, presumably by the same people or people linked to them. There is also the information that some other girls too had been kidnapped. Mad Maddy tries to trace them out. On the other hand Manu (Binish Kodiyeri), who is the brother of the girl kidnapped from Kerala, also tries frantically to find his sister, with help from his two friends. The hunt goes on and it’s at half-time that we are told that the girl kidnapped from Mumbai is Mad Maddy’s daughter. At half time I heard someone say- “Hey, this is the same story as Mammootty’s ‘Face to Face!’. Sorry, no comments…
After half-time it’s Mad Maddy going on with his search and it’s the villain Khais Khanna (Murali Sharma) playing hide and seek with him…The climax is no surprise; it’s thoroughly predictable…
I won’t ever say that ‘Karmayodha’ is insufferable or that I felt bored at any stage. To be honest, I didn’t get bored watching the movie. But the fact that there is nothing outstanding or exemplary about it and that it’s mostly one-man show by Mohanlal (courtesy the script-writers) makes it just another average action flick. But since it runs to just above 2 hours duration, the film can be chosen for a one-time watch…
Performance
Mohanlal is his usual self as Mad Maddy and plays the part convincingly. The others are all OK with their respective roles and there is no one who leaves an indelible impression on your minds performance-wise. Binish Kodiyeri has got a notable role in the film and he has done justice to his part.
Technical aspects
The technicians lend able support to Major Ravi in the realization of the subject. Cinematographer Pradeep Nair, editor Don Max and art-director Saloo K George deserve mention.
Music
The background score jells well with the plot. Murukan Kattakada reciting his popular poem ‘Kannada’, along with the titles, is good. The other song doesn’t impress much and is just so so…
Script
I won’t venture to point out the flaws in the script; I’d just like to mention that there is nothing outstanding about it. Even the good-intentioned dialogues delivered by Janardhanan’s character lose their impact owing to the mediocrity of the script.
Direction
Major Ravi is in full control as the director. He has succeeded in retaining the action mood all through. I did find his work satisfactory. It’s just that he had based the film on a script that’s not up to the mark and hence there’s nothing outstanding or hard-hitting about ‘Karmayodha’…
Verdict- Nothing much…OK for one-time watch!!
Rating: 2.5/5