● Neerali ● Mohanlal - Ajoy Varma - Official Thread - July 13 Release!
Directed by Ajoy Varma
Produced by Santhosh T. Kuruvilla, Praveen Kattukaran, Mibu Jose Nettikadan
Screenplay by Saju Thomas
Starring Mohanlal
Music by Stephen Devassy, Ronnie Raphael (score)
Cinematography Santosh Thundiyil
Edited by Ajoy Varma, Sajit Unnikrishnan
Production company Moonshot Entertainments
Distributed by Moonshot Entertainments
Release date 13 July 2018
Running time 123 minutes
OFFICIAL TRAILER
OFFICIAL TEASER
NEERALI - TOI Review
Critic's Rating:
4.0/5
Synopsis: Gemologist Sunny and driver Veerappan are trapped in a truck hanging over a steep cliff in a deep dark jungle. Will Sunny manage to meet his newborn babies saving himself and the driver?
Story: As Sunny George tries to balance the vehicle that is hanging on a steep cliff making sure not to move forward even an inch for hours, one gets reminded of Lao Tzu’s popular saying, “ life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.”
Bollywood director Ajoy Varma’s debutant malayalam movie is a cliffhanger that glues the audience to the screen for two hours thirty minutes. The maverick actor Mohanlal showcases an impeccable one man show where one finds the complete actor returning.
Sunny George (Mohanlal) is a gemologist placed in Bangalore. He is smart, intelligent and handsome. Women love him and he loves that. A kind of a playboy, he flirts with every pretty women around. His close friend Naina (Parvathy Nair) is fascinated by his charm and is kind of obsessed with him. She is clinging on to him like an octopus.
On the other side, there is Mollykutty (Nadiya Moidu), wife of Sunny who is out for delivery and is insisting to meet him before entering the delivery room. Sunny sets out to meet her via road along with his company’s driver Veerappan(Suraj Venjaramoodu) in a mini truck. As they travels to Kozhikode through the deep dark Tholpetty jungle, they suddenly meets with an accident.
The vehicle is now dangling on a cliff holding itself on to an uprooted tree. A minor move forward can take the lives of both Veerappan and Sunny. Though Sunny is the son of a daredevil farmer, he is scared of heights and also who doesn’t like to come out of his comfort life. Veerappan is jammed between the steering and the seat and half of his body is outside the vehicle facing the cliff. He is helpless. Only Sunny can do something to save their lives. His phone has no outgoing and he cannot ask for external help.
Nightmares come in the form of poisonous snake and wild elephant. There is a monkey who plays a prominent role in the film with whom Sunny manages to strike a conversation. Mollykutty keeps calling Sunny from the hospital, but Sunny has been strictly asked from her Doctor not to give her any stress. Sunny is stuck with completely injured Veerappan on the cliff.
Along with Sunny, even the viewers are on tenterhooks. Sunny cries, contemplates and is often panicked, so are the audience.
The engaging tale is full of suspense. Beautiful visuals by Santhosh Thundyil and thumping music by Stephan Devassy have made the film more thrilling. Scribe Saju Thomas has gone philosophical while Sunny travels through the moments between life and death. It comes in the form of sermon from a church down the hill and also as Sunny’s conversation with the little monkey witnessing all his struggles. He calls it his ancestor. He also speaks about the reality of life and how death saves one from the unending fight for survival. The intelligently crafted non-linear narration happening in the film that tells his life so far and Veerappan’s saves the film from lag.
By bringing together all the elements that is needed for a movie - cast, cinematography, music and perfect cuts, director Ajoy Varma establishes his space in Mollywood. However, was it relevant for the Movie to bring back the Nokkatha Doorathu Kannumnattu pair Mohanlal and Nadiya is still a question. Nadiya doesn’t look like the 35-year-old Mollykutty at all.
A youthful Mohanlal is there in almost every frame of the movie. The ‘born actor’ showcases a fabulous show in every scene of the film which persuades even the audience to travel along with him. It is definitely a refreshment for his fans and also Malayali movie buffs who are still have the actor’s movies in the 90’s in their favourite films’ list.
On the whole, Neerali is a survival drama that Mollywood has not seen so far. It gives you an adrenaline rush that no other Malayalam movie has given you so far.
Neerali movie review:
Neerali movie cast: Mohanlal, Nadhiya, Parvatii Nair
Neerali movie director: Ajoy Varma
Neerali movie rating: 4 stars
Spoilers ahead
We all need to move to stay alive. It is not for nothing they say ‘movement is life.’ But imagine a situation where you are forced to refrain from moving if you want to stay alive. Consider, for example, the predicament of Sunny (Mohanlal) in Neerali. His pick-up is lodged on the edge of a cliff located in a deep forest which is populated with wild elephants and snakes.
And now imagine how challenging the situation will become when he has a wife, who just went into labour, and a possessive girlfriend to deal with. They keep calling him to complain while his life is hanging in balance on a fallen tree trunk that is keeping his truck from plunging into a deep gorge. Terrifying, isn’t it?
Writer Saju Thomas has spun an entertaining narrative about a helpless man, who is caught between complicated women in his life and a deep void. The movie begins with the pick-up, in which Sunny is travelling with his driver friend Veerappa (Suraj Venjaramoodu), veering off the road and diving into the jungle. The vehicle miraculously stops on the edge of a cliff, leaving Veerappa badly wounded and Sunny in a helpless situation in the passenger seat.
Veerappa can’t move a muscle in his body to save his life. It is now up to Sunny to do something extraordinary to pull away himself and his friend from the jaws of death. The film keeps cutting back and forth in time, narrating the bond between Sunny and Veerappa, the details about their families and the personal problems that they have to deal individually. The truck also holds a box full of diamonds worth Rs 5 crore, which is being pursued by a gang of gun-wielding criminals led by Rajan (Dileesh Pothan).
As if these problems are not enough, Sunny’s outgoing calls have been barred on the account of non-payment stopping him from phoning his friends for help.
Malayalam superstar Mohanlal gives a convincing performance as a person constantly swinging between hope and despair. What’s striking is director Ajoy Varma and writer Sanju’s dedication to protecting the integrity of the story by not altering it to suit the stardom of Mohanlal.
The man, who made Rs 100 crore at the box office by single-handily taking down highly-trained international assassins and tackling 300-kg tigers (Pulimurugan), is reduced to a mortal being – screaming and crying for help. In fact, Mohanlal’s superstar image has done a great service to the filmmakers. In more than one scene, I almost thought that Mohanlal was about to pull off some unbelievable stunt and save the day. Ajoy and Sanju even trick you into believing that Sunny will train a wild and unruly monkey with four pieces of cake to help him. Sunny has a bag full of tricks that he performs in the backdrop of an adrenaline pumping song. But, his tricks are not enough to save him from the imminent danger.
Neerali is not a regular superstar film. He is not stronger or bigger than his circumstances. The only extraordinary thing that Mohanlal’s Sunny can do is keep up his hope and determination to survive. And trust me, that’s a big ask in such despairing situations.
Not just Sunny, other characters in Neerali are also always negotiating between life and death. Mollykutty (Nadhiya) is worried that she may not survive the pregnancy, Naina (Parvatii Nair) has suicidal thoughts as she stands on the ledge of her apartment building after Sunny refuses to meet her romantic expectations. Veerappa is hopeful of winning back the respect of his daughter. The stakes keep on growing in the story, drawing the audience to the edge-of-the-seat.
You may also find humor in Sunny’s sufferings. Sunny’s nearly unsuccessful attempts to make his wife Mollykutty and his work-friend Naina understand the situation he is in are funny. He has to ensure that he doesn’t say something that will tick them off and make them hang up the phone on him.
Cinematography Santosh Thundiyil’s picturisation of Sunny’s ordeal under the moonlight in the jungle adds to the thriller. The film also has satisfying special effects. Look out for the scene, where a cobra raises its head and flicks its tongue just an inch away from Sunny’s terrified face.
thanks for the reviews.
ente cousin ee film kaanan poyatha, ennittu theatreukaaru paranju min 15 perundenkile cinema idullu ennu...
eeeshwaaaraaaa ettante oru avasthaaa....
Changes never happens by itself, there is always a reason behind.
Be the reason, Be a part of change
Pattabhiraman
Ee kalathu, even a beggar has a mobile, so if Sunny cannot use his phone. why can't he use Veerappan's mobile? OK, Veerappan cannot move, but Sunny can alleOriginally Posted by ＲＯＮＩ
Pattu, kallam parayatheare you telling that there were no people pushing to get in?
Roni, thanks very much for the reviews
kathakayil chodyam paadilla...Ee kalathu, even a beggar has a mobile, so if Sunny cannot use his phone. why can't he use Veerappan's mobile? OK, Veerappan cannot move, but Sunny can alle
sathyam... ente cousin film kaanan poyittu paranjatha. ennittu avar vere filminu keri. oru bomb katha enno matto paranja film. athu nallathayirunnu ennu paranju...Pattu, kallam parayathe
Changes never happens by itself, there is always a reason behind.
Be the reason, Be a part of change
Pattabhiraman
ithrayum vendayirinnu bhai
അസതോ മാ സദ് ഗമയ
തമസോ മാ ജ്യോതിർ ഗമയ
മൃത്യോർ മാ അമൃതം ഗമയ
Athannu nammude nattinte problem, nobody questions anything, vallathum chothichaal, that person gets beaten up, ( or killed especially in politics ) .kathakayil chodyam paadilla...
Njan chothicha chothiyam aa filmil involved aye oral pollum chothichilla, karanam they are scared to .
The director should have questioned the story writer.
Aa question chothichirunaale, the story would have gone in another direction and who knows, this film would have been a hit
Your cousin must have been to the theatre a long time after the film had started, so there was no one outside and the film must have been so deep in suspense that the people were holding their breath, so he did not hear anythingsathyam... ente cousin film kaanan poyittu paranjatha. ennittu avar vere filminu keri. oru bomb katha enno matto paranja film. athu nallathayirunnu ennu paranju...
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