Allu Ramendran Review: The Spikes Keep You Engrossed…..But Wear You Out Eventually

Sethumadhavan

Imagine what you consider to be as a regular day at work and there’s an unexpected obstruction of sorts, something that takes you totally by surprise. What if this was to get repeated daily in a similar fashion, catching you off guard, happening at unexplained and unexpected intervals of time? Wouldn’t this upset your rhythm and create extreme discomfort? Imagine if this was something that was to affect you deeply, creating trouble for you both at work and at home. How would you react to the same and tackle this issue? In case if you are wondering why am I rambling about something unnecessarily instead of reviewing the new Malayalam release Allu Ramendran, then don’t worry, you’ll surely understand that this is definitely all about the movie indeed. Kunchacko Boban’s been on an overdrive of sorts, he seems to be having a new release every few weeks of late and none of them have been too memorable of late.

So with Bilahari K.Raj’s Allu Ramendran gearing up for a release, it wasn’t met with any special expectation as such. Of course the title did arouse some curiosity but that was about it. The significance of the word ‘allu’ (spikes/nails) being part of the film’s title is something that can be guessed from the opening titles, the graphical representation implying what is in store for the viewers. Ramendran (Kunchacko Boban) is a driver in the local police station, leading a simple life in a small town with his family which includes his recently married wife (Chandini Sreedharan) and his sister Swathy (Aparna Balamurali). Ramendran’s regular routine goes for a toss as the police jeep starts facing the problem of flat tyres on a regular basis whenever he’s at the wheel. Soon he starts getting mocked by everyone around and gets referred to as “Allu Ramendran”, but it isn’t funny for him and he loses his peace of mind. Ramendran knows that it is up to him to figure out who’s targeting him and is the reason behind all his troubles. How does he go about it and what happens from thereon are unveiled as the story moves forward.

To start with I must admit that the basic premise of the film is quite promising and it is something that does manage to keep you hooked for quite some time. Bilahari and his writers (Girish Ad, Sajin Cherukayil, Vineeth Vasudevan) deserve credit for coming up with an interesting concept. The proceedings in the first half actually work to a large extent and the interval block does make one hope for the proceedings to get even better in the second half. But post the reveal things go for a toss, the film getting affected by the classic second half syndrome. Once it becomes an open cat and mouse game of sorts, there is a drastic shift in momentum. There is an attempt to revive some interest towards the end with a small twist in the tale, but by then you are exhausted of sorts and waiting for the end eagerly.

Shaan Rahman’s music is average, the songs go with the flow of the narrative but aren’t exactly memorable as such. Of the film’s supporting cast we find Sreenath Bhasi as Amruthesh the new gen youngster, Dharamajan Bolgatty as Ayyapadas, the constant companion of Jithu, Assim Jamal as Sathyan, Ramendran’s friend, Hareesh Perumanna as Vijayan, the broker cum football coach getting noticed. Salim Kumar as Sinto Simon, the humorous cop doesn’t really impress and strangely Chandini Sreedharan gets a raw deal. Aparna Balamurali as Swathy thankfully benefits from a good screen time and Krishna Shankar as Jithu plays the second lead with confidence. Kunchacko Boban moves away a bit from his usual feel good characters, his portrayal of Ramendran isn’t something that would make us root for him as such. This is definitely one of his better films in recent times.

Allu Ramendran isn’t a film to celebrate or be much bothered about, but it is a film with potential, alas if only the outcome could have done proper justice to the potential.

Bottomline

Allu Ramendran works to a reasonable extent thanks to the basic premise and some spirited performances, led by Kunchacko Boban who is very much in control in the titular role.

Rating: 2.5/5