Review of movie Kalari

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Rating:2.5/5

 Kalari begins with a bird’s eye view of the Vathuruthy area in Kochi. A voice-over informs us about how the place came to be a settlement of Tamils. We are then introduced to Murugesan (Krishna, who tries his best in a vaguely written role), who runs a provision store in the area. He cares for his sister, Thenmozhi (Samyuktha), who is in love with Anwar (Vishnu), a call-taxi driver — who might also be a pimp. Murugesan’s alcoholic father (MS Bhaskar, who superbly captures the body language and modulation of a drunkard) keeps ruining prospective alliances for Thenmozhi, and decides to get her married to Moorthy (Krishna Deva), who works for the area’s big shot Siddique Bhai (Jayaprakash) — because Moorthy buys him booze! But a tragedy occurs, and Murugesan, who has agoraphobia (an anxiety disorder), must confront his fears and overcome them to ensure that justice prevails.

Even though the premise of Kalari seems fairly routine, it still offers promise for a convincing emotional drama. But the film is let down by the dated treatment. Neither the script nor the filmmaking feels fresh. Despite the initial information on the setting, we disappointingly realise that it hardly plays a role in the narrative (this story could have been in set in Chennai and it wouldn’t have felt any different). The romantic track between Murugesan and Mallika (Vidya Pradeep) feels perfunctory and only contribute to the length of the film. And the less said about Black Pandi’s attempts at comedy the better.