Pulimurugan Review – Bad Script is the Real Villain

The wait is finally over, and Pulimurugan is finally released. One of the most awaited movies of the year 2016, Pulimurugan had a delayed release on 7 October 2016. Currently top running movie of Malayalam, it has crushed several collection records, and inching towards the top collection movie of the year.

There are speculations that Pulimurugan might beat the lifetime collections of Mohanlal starrer Drishyam and chances are there to become the first Malayalam movie to reach 100-crore club. This Mohanlal starrer mass action movie directed by Vysakh also stars Kamalini Mukherjee, Jagapati Babu and Lal in pivot roles. The movie is doing exceptionally well across India, and several remakes are in pipeline. But is this Mohanlal movie worth to the celebrated as the best movie of the season? Does the movie has anything new to offer? Have a look. 

Visual effects, cinematography and action sequences – The real strength of the film

Mollywood has never witnessed such a beautifully visualized film before. Visual effects and action sequences are at top notch. Huge budget has been spent to make every sequence shot with perfectness. This movie definitely belongs to the cine-goers who celebrate action movies of the megastar. It’s a must-watch for all Mohanlal fans who love his action entertainers and mass films with big dialogues. The movie definitely falls into lines of many of his thrillers. Editing by Johnkutty also makes it a perfect entertainer for action movie lovers.
 
Top scene of the movie – It is really spectacular to watch cat & mouse run by teenager Pulimurugan to trap the tiger which takes the life of his father. Here, the film starts with a promising note. There are many similar breath-taking sequences in the film, and nature’s beauty also has been captured at its best by camera. Also, commendable work is done by Peter Hein who choreographed some thrilling and breathtaking stunt sequences throughout. Background score by Gopi Sundar, who has done some brilliant works in the recent times, also goes in favour of the film.
 

Mohanlal carries the entire film on his shoulders

In terms of performances, it’s purely a Mohanlal film, and other actors had a little role to support the main actor. Lal also gets enough space in the film. Other actors are just fillers. Mohanlal has done full justice to his titular role as Purumurugan, a tribal lorry driver of Puliyoor and the lead actress Kamalini Mukherjee didn’t get much space to exhibit her acting skills. She is almost seen in the same angry expression throughout the film, which is a drawback.
 
There are no sub-plots in the film and all the characters revolve around the protagonist, played by Mohanlal. Full concentration has been given in moulding the lead character, and M. R. Gopakumar who plays the role of village chief is seen praising Pulimurugan always. It seems this character was solely designed to do so. Telugu actor Jagapati Babu plays the antagonist, and his acting power is almost shielded by Mohanlal’s star power, which is a drawback of the film. Though Pulimurugan is a serious film, Suraj Venjaramoodu as Poongayi Sasi provides some of the cheering moments, and relieves tensions.
 
It is good to see Vinu Mohan performing a meaty role in the nearest times, and he has done the role with almost perfection. Hope this film will give him more good offers from Malayalam cinema. Lal in the role of Balaraman has given a spectacular performance and once again proved his flexibility to handle any type of roles offered. In whole, all actors have been presented in a better way to support ‘Pulimurugan’ onscreen and all supporting actors have delivered good performances without any surprise factor. 

Bad script is the real drawback

Yes, bad screenplay is the real villain. At any point of time, there is not any surprise twist. Movie moves in a single direction throughout, without any surprises and if you are eager in waiting for such surprises or freshness in the movie, the movie will disappoint you. The screenwriter fails to deliver anything new in this tiger hunt movie – the biggest drawback of the film. It’s for the first time Mohanlal’s character hunts a tiger in a movie, and it’s definitely the highlight of the film. It definitely suits Mohanlal’s star image. Mrigaya (1989) is one similar kind of movie, starring Mammootty in the lead role. 

Though the movie is quite engaging in the first half, and ends with a promising note at film interval, the film drags from here on. Bad script writing is quite visible in the second half. Preference has been given to project the action and tiger hunt sequences, and the lion share of the movie time belongs to both. It’s quite surprising that as the movie is about promoting hunt of tigers, an endangered species, why no Animal Right Organizations came forward with controversies to ban the film. The movie also portrays tiger as the main antagonist, which may create bad impression about the animal among audience.

The delayed release has gone in favour of the film, and Mohanlal’s recent blockbusters have also supported the movie to have a tremendous run at box office.  

A good message delivered through the film

Mother Nature is the best of all, and through this film the director and his team have been successful to deliver this message. It gives an alarm signal that wild animals with two legs who reside cities and towns are more dangerous than four-legged animal beings of forest, and closeness to Mother Earth is the solution to many of our problems. 
 

My review of Pulimurugan 

The movie is definitely one-time watch if you love action films and the movie is definitely engaging. There is hardly any dull point in the film throughout. For family audience, if you compare with Mohanlal’s previous hits such as Drishyam or Oppam, the movie may be bit disappointing. If you are looking forward to some serious kind of filmmaking, just stay away. Pulimurugan belongs to the same genre of brainless Salman Khan Movies, which solely runs on star power. It’s solely a mass entertainer designed for die-hard Mohanlal fans who love his punch dialogues and top action scenes. More than a script-oriented movie, it’s a visual treat purely meant for entertainment.
 
I would like to give 3.00 out of 5 for this Mohanlal entertainer for the visual treat offered by the film. 
 
Read a few more articles on Malayalam movie reviews and also recent Hindi films. Click on the images in the gallery to read

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Sandy

A freelance writer and blogger by profession since October 2011, interested in writing over a wide range of topics. Hope you enjoy my writings. I belong to one of the beautiful places of the world, Kerala, nicknamed as 'God's own country'.

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