Unda Malayalam Reveiw - A Fantastic Solid Little Film

Suhansid Srikanth

Mammooty shreds all his glam and stardom with his effortless ease to portray the character of Mani Sir. He has a superb stretch of observations with every character in his team. It doesn’t come off with the heaviness of being a protagonist but yet it holds all the presence it needed. A character of cop who has served for years but never had to use his gun or chase a theif is an intriguing hook to put in this film where the team has to survive in a forest known for maoist attacks.

The characters are beautifully written. Arjun Asokan is impressive as Gireesh. Lukman who plays Biju wins your heart with his naivety. A cop who is on the verge of divorce.. one with an engagement forthcoming.. one with new born twins in the native.. and one dreaming to enter into cinema some day.. These sketches are beautifully handled throughout the play! Within the traits to remain engaging & mainstream.. they are real, witty and humane.

Sajith Purushan's cinematography deserves applauds. The earthiness in day-to-day life of cops in camp comes to life with his minimalistic use of lights. Prashant Pillai's tribalistic scores does sound alienated and conventional at places. Technically the film stands strengthened by the brilliant sound design and editing.

Though we wish, the film could have nudged further into the conflicts.. like, how we never get to see Maoists attacking the team.. as far as the taken tone and mood is concerned, Unda shines brighter in being a solid film!

Bottomline: Khalid Rahman's 'Unda' written by Harshad is a grippingly told story about a team of cops in a camp at a distantland. The film glows with the aura of subtlety that Mammooty effortlessly brings to it.

Rating : 3.5/5