Grand master :Review

‘GRANDMASTER’ is B.Unnikrishnan’s new movie which comes after his earlier successful ‘MADAMBI’. Mohanlal plays the principal role of Chandrasekhar, the Chief of Metro Crime Division with Priyamani in the female lead. The chief, who was known for hisSherlock Holmes –like investigative ability and brilliant mind, seems to have lost his fire and passion for the job. He has anunhappy family life as well and hisonly relief is when he is with his daughter whom he loves above everything else. But then, a letter arrives in his office and suddenly he is jolted into action. The writer of the letter is a self-confessed admirer of Chandrasekhar and wishes to rekindle the fire in him and invites him to a game of hide and seek. The letter directs him tovisit the beach at Avanikotta. Taking up the challenge, Chandrasekhar visits Avanikotta next day and is shocked to see the body of a murdered woman by name Alice, lying in the beach. Next to the body lay a children’s alphabet book with the letter ‘A’ scored off. The writer turns out tobe a serial killer and there seems to be a pattern in his killings. He follows the alphabets in an ascending order to select the name of his prey and the next killings is going to be a woman with D as the first letter in her name. To his shock and dismay, Chandrasekhar realizes that both his wife and daughter have names starting with the letter D. The investigation gets personal now with his family being dragged into the plot. At any rate, he must protect his family. He goes after the murderer with renewed vigour and intensity. For those expecting a James Bondlike thriller(full of fire packed actions), the movie will be a big disappointment. The chase is refined and subtle, more brains than brawn, those little grey cells as Hercule Poirot remarks in the Agatha Christy novels. Even the story is similar with little of pugilism and plenty of order and method. The suspense is unbearable, even exhilarating, and keeps the audience spellbound till the end. The cat and mouse game is so engrossing and moves at such frenetic pace in the second half, that till the end of the movie, the viewer is left breathless. And you are kept guessing as to the identity of the killer. Mohanlal as the sophisticated andsmooth-talking chief of MCD gives an electrifying performance in a role which has been quite different from his recent films. And he towers like a Colossus with his huge screen presence. Priyamani has grasped her role well and looks convincing. Narain with his good looks and charm, has performed well. Babu Antony has done what has been demanded off him quite creditably. Other artists Jagathy, Anoop Menon, Devan, Roma, ArjunNandakumar, Manikuttan, Tony and Mitra have carried out their limited tasks without blemish. Music is pleasing in the hands of Deepak Dev, with ‘Akelayo..’ turning out to be an outstanding number. Cinematography by Vinod Ellampally is excellent. Art direction by Joseph Nellickal, Editing by Manoj and costume by S.B.Satheesh have all been noteworthy. As stated earlier, this is a police story in the mould of a classic Agatha Christie thriller and the conversion to movie has been done with remarkable ease. The minor blemishes could be easily be forgiven after watching an enthralling investigative thriller. Verdict: Decent Thriller.