By Manigandan K.R.Film: ‘Kurup’
Duration: 156 minutes.Duration: 156 Minutes
Director: Srinath Rajendran
Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Indrajith Sukumaran, Sobhita Dulipala, Sunny Wayne, Shine Tom Chacko, Bharath and Surabhi Lakshmi.Cast: Dulquer Salmaan.Indrajith Sukumaran.Sobhita Dulipala.Sunny Wayne.Shine Tom Chacko.Bharath.
IANS Rating: **1/2.IANS Rating: **1/2
Director Srinath Rajendran’s ‘Kurup’, which looks to narrate the story of Sudhakara Kurup, a man believed to be Kerala’s most elusive criminal, is a lavishly made, slow-moving investigative thriller that ends up leaving you with more questions than answers.Srinath Rajendran’s “Kurup”, which narrates the story of Sudhakara Kurup (a man who is believed to be Kerala’s most elusive criminal), is a slow-moving, lavishly produced investigative thriller that leaves you with more questions than answers.
Kurup’s story is told through the jottings in the diary of a police officer Krishnadas (Played by Indrajith Sukumaran), who has just retired.Kurup’s story is told by the jottings of Krishnadas, a retired police officer.
We are introduced to Gopikrishnan Pillai (played by Dulquer Salmaan), a street-smart opportunist with swag and a wicked sense of humour.Gopikrishnan Pilai is played by Dulquer Salamaan.He is a street-smart, opportunist with swag.
The picaresque hero from a little known place in Kerala makes his way into the Indian Air Force and is stationed at Chennai in the 1960s, where he sees an opportunity to make money by selling alcohol, meant for Indian Air Force personnel, in black.He is a picaresque hero who hails from a small town in Kerala.
In the 1960s, he is stationed in Chennai where he finds a way to make some money selling alcohol meant for Indian Air Force personnel in black.
When he gets to understand how much he can make through the backdoor, he widens his scope and begins selling other items, including footwear meant for air force personnel to those outside the force.
He soon realizes how much he can make by selling through the backdoor and expands his reach to include footwear for personnel of the air force to people outside the force.
The station head, who understands Gopikrishnan’s crooked nature well, has him transferred to Bombay in the hope that the strict in-charge there will set him straight.Gopikrishnan is understood by the station head.He is transferred to Bombay so that the in-charge there can correct him.In Bombay, the man is made a store assistant, more as a punishment than anything else.Bombay makes the man a store assistant.
This is more of a punishment than anything.
However, Gopikrishnan Pillai sees an opportunity here as well and in place of alcohol, starts selling arms and ammunition.
Gopikrishnan Pilai, however, sees a chance here and instead of selling alcohol, starts to sell arms and ammunition.At one point, when the entries in the registry don’t add up, Gopikrishanan is hauled up and asked to explain.
Gopikrishanan is asked to explain why the registry entries don’t add up at one point.That puts him in a spot.This puts him in a difficult spot.The smart cookie that he is, Gopikrishnan Pillai goes on sick leave for a month and heads back to his native place in Kerala, where he stages his own death to fool the IAF.Gopikrishnan Pillai, smart as a cookie, takes a month off and returns to Kerala to stage his own death to fool IAF.
Having done that, he assumes a new name, Sudhakara Kurup, and gets down to do dirty work.After completing that, he takes on the new name Sudhakara Kurup and begins to get down to work.What he does then is what primarily gets him into trouble and makes him a fugitive….
He then does what gets him in trouble and makes him a fugitive.
The story of Sudhakara Kurup is narrated in a non-linear fashion, which is to say the story’s developments aren’t told to us in a sequence.
Sudhakara Kurup’s story is told in a non-linear manner.This means that the story’s events are not presented in a linear fashion.
The story moves back and forth, shifting focus to different events at different points in Kurup’s life and narrated from different perspectives.The story is narrated from different perspectives and shifts focus to different events in Kurup’s lives.
The first half of the film progresses at a gentle pace, showcasing a mischevious and bold individual who even has one or two good traits.The film’s first half moves at a slow pace.
It shows a bold, mischievous individual with a few good traits.
For instance, Kurup does not ditch Sharadha, the girl who falls in love with him.Kurup, for example, does not abandon Sharadha, the girl he falls in love with.Unmindful of the pressing and difficult circumstances he finds himself in, he makes his way back to Bombay to find her and take her abroad.
He is unaware of the difficult and pressing circumstances in which he finds himself.He returns to Bombay to search for her and then takes her to India.
The first half is so slow that by the time it ends, you begin to wonder why is a man who is wanted in just one murder case considered such a big criminal.The first half of the film is so slow, that you start to wonder why a man wanted in one murder case is considered such a big crime.
The answer to that question lies in the second half, which, however, seems to narrate events in a rush.That is the second half of the answer to this question.
However, it seems to be narrating events in a hurry.What the first half lacks, the second has in excess.The second half has more than the first.
It’s almost like a student who has been writing an exam at a gentle, steady pace, suddenly realising that he has a lot of questions to answer and very little time to finish.It’s almost as if a student, who is writing an exam at a steady pace, suddenly realizes that there are a lot of questions and little time to complete the exam.
In the process, what we have are sequences that narrate the story in a hurry.
We end up with sequences that tell the story quickly.As a result, you end up with a number of unanswered questions, giving you a sense of dissatisfaction.
You end up feeling dissatisfied because you have a lot of unanswered question.
To be fair to ‘Kurup’, the film has its share of pluses as well.
The film does have its fair share of positives, according to “Kurup”.
Dulquer Salmaan as Gopikrishnan Pillai a.k.a.Sudhakara Kurup is just brilliant.Sudhakara Kurup is simply brilliant.
From the moment he appears on screen, Dulquer commands your attention, easily slipping into the skin of the character.Dulquer grabs your attention from the moment he first appears onscreen.
He quickly becomes a part of the character.Be it crime or comedy or for that matter, romance, the guy is equally at ease.
The guy is at ease with any kind of crime, comedy, or romance.
Equally impressive is Indrajith Sukumaran, who plays police officer Krishnadas.
Indrajith Sukmaran, who plays Krishnadas the police officer, is equally impressive.Two other people whose performances stand out are Shine Tom Chacko and Bharath.
Shine Tom Chacko, and Bharath are two other performers who stand out.
Nimish Ravi’s visuals are a delight to watch.Nimish Ravi’s visuals make for a joy to look at.The lighting, the tone and the angles set for the shots are all just brilliant.It’s all brilliant, from the lighting to the tone and angles used for the shots.
Recreating a different era is no joke and the team of ‘Kurup’ seems to have done an outstanding job in this regard too.It is not easy to recreate a different era.The team at ‘Kurup seems to have done a great job.Be it the mid-sixties, when the story starts, or the seventies or for that matter, 2005, every era is just perfectly showcased.Every era, whether it’s the beginning of the story in the mid-sixties or the seventies, or 2005, is perfectly represented.
Be it the mannerisms of people, buildings, dressing styles or vehicles used, everything seems to be in place.Everything seems in order, whether it’s the fashions of buildings, people or dressing styles, or even vehicles.
There is so much effort that seems to have gone into this project that ‘Kurup’ ends up coming across as a film that so desperately wants to meet our huge expectations.This film seems so hard-worked that it comes across as a movie that desperately wants to live up to our expectations.
However, sadly, it falls short of doing so.Unfortunately, it fails to live up to our expectations #IANS #Review #Kurup #investigative #thriller #fails #Chennai #Tamil #Kollywood #Kerala #Malayalam #Mollywood
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