"Ullozhukku": An Emotional Undercurrent!

The torrential rains play as important a role in "Ullozhukku" (The Undercurrent) as do the two female leads. The 2024 Malayalam film shot on location in the backwaters of Kerala soaks the viewers not only in floods of water, but also in an outpouring of emotions as they witness the journey of Anju and Leelamma, the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law portrayed wonderfully by the very talented team of Parvathy Thiruvothu and Urvashi respectively. The story of the duo's intertwined relationship is at the centre of this brilliantly crafted film.

The pounding rain has been used very effectively by writer and director Christo Tomy. The continuous onslaught of sheets of water drenching Leelamma's house and its surroundings makes the viewers uneasy. The rain also serves as an apt metaphor for the emotional turmoil of the two lead players. It starts moderately, turns into a huge downpour and then starts clearing towards the end. 

What makes the film stand out is the fact that this is Tomy's debut feature film. It has received critical acclaim and awards. It won the National Film Award for Best Malayalam Feature Film. Urvashi bagged the same for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The film also won Kerala State Film Awards in several categories.

Anju works as a saleswoman in a saree shop. She is in love with Rajeev who does not have a secure job. Anju is married off to a well-to-do Thomaskutty by her parents. As she is trying to come to terms with her new life in this loveless marriage, Thomaskutty's failing health makes her take on the role of a caretaker for her new husband. The couple lives with Thomaskutty's mother Leelamma in a comfortable house in a flood-prone area. The two women linked by the ailing Thomaskutty get entangled in a stormy relationship where secrets tumble out changing the dynamics of the equation between them multiple times. 

Tomy has handled this part with a lot of care, giving each character enough time to project themselves. Also, he has written his characters very well. At times, the narration may seem to be slow, but then the characters are so well fleshed out that it is a pleasure watching them on the screen. No scheming, no plotting, no exaggerated expressions, no melodrama...pure storytelling at its best. The narration is layered, the characters are neither black, nor white, but a graceful grey and hence very believable. The verdant landscape of Kerala is a treat to the eyes, although at times the water in and around the house is unsettling. The boat trips the characters make to get to the mainland are a visual delight. 

The two male actors playing Rajeev and Thomaskutty have smaller roles and they are good at it. The cinematography is superb and the music is appropriately understated. 

I recommend this film to those who enjoy meaningful cinema. It is streaming on Prime Video. I watched it in original Malayalam with subtitles in English. If I could follow the dialogues in Malayalam, it would have added another dimension to my appreciation of the film. 

And finally, some trivia. Parvathy Thiruvothu was seen with Irrfan Khan in the 2017 romantic comedy "Qarib Qarib Singlle" and with Pankaj Tripathi in the 2023 psychological thriller "Kadak Singh". Urvashi acted in 1988 political thriller "New Delhi". Both of them have worked largely in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu cinema.

On The Trail With Inspector Zende!

"Inspector Zende" streaming on Netflix has been generally labelled as a comedy/thriller. The 112-minute long film features Manoj Bajpayee--a very intense actor who has played a cop many times during his remarkable career--in the titular role of inspector Madhukar Bapurao Zende of the Mumbai Police who had the rare distinction of catching the infamous serial killer, fraudster and thief Charles Sobhraj not once, but twice. Here Bajpayee appears in a lighthearted comic avatar. Jim Sarbh essays the role of Charles Sobhraj, who for some reason has been named Carl Bhojraj in the film.

The film opens with the news of Bhojraj's escape from Tihar Jail in 1986 after he treated the jail staff to kheer laced with sedative as a part of his birthday celebration. Zende had arrested him once earlier in 1971, so he gets assigned with the job of tracking Bhojraj.

As the hunt starts, visuals from Mumbai and Goa of the eighties do look delightful and refreshing. Zende, his teammates and their boss DGP Purandare (Sachin Khedekar), Zende's wife (Girija Oak), children and his mother, all of them look innocent straightforward people. It is endearing to see the policemen working without any modern security or surveillance equipment, and on a meagre budget. But the same cannot be said about Jim Sarbh's Bhojraj. He does not appear menacing enough to be an international serial killer. His long hair, moustache, and laboured accent reduce him to being a caricature, far from being the charmer that he was in real life. 

Chinmay Mandlekar, a well-known writer, director and actor mostly active in the Marathi entertainment industry has written and directed "Inspector Zende". Why he chose to make a film that focuses on the chase of a serial killer as a comedy is something beyond comprehension. The subject and its treatment do not match each other. 

While the film is mostly clean and suitable for family audiences, it is a pity to see an actor of Bajpayee's calibre being wasted in an average story and script. The jokes are weak, the direction is simplistic and the pace of the film is slow. This does not mean that Bajpayee is not suitable for comedy. It is just that a tame comedy is not enough to tap into his potential. 

To name a few instances from the film, police teams from Delhi, Goa and Mumbai clashing over claiming the capture of Bhojraj is mindless and childish. The fight sequence between Zende and Bhojraj in the middle of couples dancing in a hotel is funny, but it dilutes the importance of the moment and reduces it to a farce. Bhalchandra Kadam, a prominent comedian from Marathi industry playing one of Zende's teammates fails to make an impact. After watching the film, one is left with the impression that sometimes even when you have all the right ingredients, a tasty dish eludes you.