Shaji Kailas’s-Mohanlal starrer “Red Chillies” completes Mohanlal’s transition from the Asset side to the Liability side of Malayalam cinema. A movie that could have been a perfect curtain raiser for arguably the most awaited movie in malayalam, Amal Neerad’s Mohanlal starrer “Sagar Alias Jacky”, falls flat, then digs a hole and stoops low to a level where the audience wonders whether anything can save Mohanlal as an actor. My question is why should we pay for a movie where all Mohanlal does is to keep on saying good things about himself – ideally Mohanlal should pay us for watching his ‘show’.
Shaji has tried to make an OK movie (because the movie is better that Mammooty’s horrid ‘Love in Singapore’), but Mohanlal appears in the second half and completely destroys our mental makeup. Lal should seriously think about donning roles like those played by Ummar, Thilakan, Madhu and NF Varghese. Stopping acting is also not such a bad option either.
Now a decade after ‘Narasimham’, Mohanlal had a nearly wasted decade and malayalam cinema too has wasted a lot of money on him. But the last two years wherein I watched most of Lal’s flicks on day one, has been terrible. Starting with the messed up ‘Chota Mumbai’ through ‘Flash’ and ‘College Kumaran’ and ‘Ali Bhai’ and now ‘Red Chillies’, the malayalam audience has drowned a lot of money and time. And Mohanlal hides behind small victories in the semi-comic ‘Hello’ and the lukewarm ‘Madambi‘. ‘Red Chillies’ is such a terrible movie that, if Neerad’s ‘SAJ’ and Andrew’s ‘Casanova’ don’t make it, it will be game over for malayalam’s finest actor.
Story: In ‘Red Chillies’ Lal plays GOD (again), one of those very fat Gods. He is this Con man, OMR (end of the movie the audience changes it to OMG), based in Singapore who digs oil or some crap like that, and makes a lot of money. He owns an FM station in Kochi, run by nine chicks collectively called ‘Red Chillies’. Lal is almost like a protective patriarch for them, and when ‘Red Chillies’ girls get accused in a multiple murder case, he drags his fat ass down to Kochi to solve the case, fight the villains, and even become an advocate to fight the case. (He wins the case in like 30 secs flat).
Good:
1. Visuals and Technique – Shaji Kailas is still a pioneer there, he even manages to capture the whole of Mohanlal in one frame, only that there is more to a movie than camera and editing.
Bad:
1. Mohanlal: The first half is bearable as Lal is not there. But our dude lands in the second half and starts uttering and babbling whatever comes to his mouth like ‘Humanity has been compromised in Kochi’ and ‘I am the omnipresent universal love’. His visiting card is blank on two sides, and on seeing this half the theater ran out. His rambling act, self-glorifying dialogues, pathetic appearance. Mohanlal seems so low in confidence about himself that he needs foreign chicks to call him ‘my Brad Pitt’ , and rest of the actors to pep him up in every other dialogue. The same Hindu symbols, the same feudal air.
2. Product Placements: Shameful and on the face product placements with 94.3 FM’s catch phrase ‘ton kanakkinu fun’ repeated about 943 times in the movie. With every character talking about Silk Air (another sponsor), and the camera zooming in on Lal’s Samsung gadgets in every other shot. Trashy, shameful, crass act.
3. In a recent interview with Surya TV, Shaji said that Lal was supposed to do voice over in the movie and finally do a cameo. But seems Lal offered to act instead of voice over (analyze that), and the script was changed accordingly. It shows! One of the worst movie released in the past 2 years.
Verdict: Big Flop. Or in Mohanlal’s case ‘Ditto’!
P.S: If you haven’t seen it already. The Bradpitt forward. click maadi 🙂
One question: What were you doing in that cinema hall at the first place? I thought you were a more cognizant movie-bluff. After reviewing movies like Milk, Hiroshima My Love and co, you are writing about Red Chillies???? You still trust a Lal-Shaji product??
Shame on you man, shame on you!;)
Scorpio, 🙂
kashtam! Dilip fansum thalapokki thudangi. lokam poya varam! I know you are a Dilip fan.
Shame on you Dilip fans!
🙂
Me, a Dileep fan!!?? You dare to insult me by calling me a Dileep fan!
This is the limit! I QUIT THIS BLOG! [:X]
Here is your punishment for the insult:
You are sentenced to watch all these movies without interruption, all alone, without snacks ( Dry bread & water allowed)
Red Chillies (all the consecutive 4 shows in a day)
Praja
Onnaman
Mr. Brahmachari
College Kumaran
Thandavam
Hariharan Pillai Happy ‘alla’
Udayaon…
Enough? When you finish I will ahve the Dileep list ready.
Sweet Dreamzzz.. 😉
ithu kaanan aalukal cash mudakkum ennu vishvasikkunna directorsum producersum ippolum undallo… and then they talk abt piracy!!!
My heart becomes as heavy as mohanlal when thinking abt his recent flicks… 🙁
Scorpio, hehe 🙂 choodavathe! I’ll watch all these movies given a choice between those and ‘Ezhupunna Tharakan’ 🙂
Payyan, I guess its some cheap contest.
Mammooty has a moneylender movie Parunthu,Mohanlal releases a similar movie that week with Madambi
Mohanlal has a Singapore based flick, Mammooty releases Love in Singapore. Super cheap stars we have!
Thanks for your insightful and very interesting comments everyone. I am (or rather was) a Mohanlal fan and always considered him the best India has ever produced, but, your list, scorpiogenius, forces one to hang his head in shame – I hope its Lal himself.
I keep hoping Lal comes back with a masterpiece every time his movie is out, but, everytime he disappoints with the same old junk. How I wish he had seen all these movies himself atleast once before they hit the theatres.
My take – he needs a huge life jacket to get himself out of this situation and this time, if he does want to survive, his life jacket better be big.
Probably its time for him to turn schizophernic with one of those Blessy movies…Jai Ho
you only mentioned about a few films of mohanlal which were flops…but wat about movies like thanmatra,keerthichakra,udayananu tharam,akasha gopuram…manya suhruthu maranu poyathayirikum…bt one thing i want to tell u..anya natil kashtapeduna ennepoleyulla pavangalku orthorthu chirikan evergreen mohanlal movies tanne venam..athil helloyum pedum
@Manish, if you are talking about the post, I said last two years which is 2007-08. Akasha Gopuram ozhichu baaki ellam released before 2006. Pinne Mohanlal fans polum kandilla gopuram, njan kandu – bahu vishesham 🙂 last two years was so pathetic, madambiye vare nalla cinema ennu vilikkendi vannu https://tvmtalkies.com/archives/506
THE VERY BEST REVIEW I HAVE READ IN A LONG WHILE. I saw the first half of red chillies. I too am (or was) a Mohanlal fan. But now..I am just hoping Mohanlal will learn a lesson or at least show some of the love and respect that malayalees have shown him back. ( reason is that Mohanlal often says that if a friend asks him to do a film he cannot refuse it)../….
Before calling Mohanlal a bad actor have you tried watching “Pakal Nakshatrangal” or “Pardesi” ?
Padinjaren, Sagar Jacky seems to be good 🙂
Mohanlal, No I didn’t try watching. I think I have wasted enough money.
Dear Reviewer,
You have no rights to criticize Mohanlal’s Acting. he is a proven actor. Even Company and Sholay remake were huge flops he has hindi fans. He’s flexible enough like Kamal Hassan and Chirnjeevi to act in any kind of role. A movie’s back bone is the script and screenplay. I humble suggestion is we can criticize them and ofcourse why Mohanlal is still choosing those junk script and screenplay. He never stand as hurdle for the new commers like mammooty or dileep, Shanker(old dude) did. He is a born talent and the producers still want to pay him 1.5 crores while Mammooty is getting 75 lakhs.
Karthik,
did you say
1. Company was a flop
2. Chiranjeevi is flexible
Mohanlal choses junk script because, whatever junk he choses, fans including me will raid the theatre on the first day and give him 4-5 crores (to him and Antony ofcourse).
Like Lal says in Ayal Kadhaezhuthukayanu “aradhakanmar, manukkanmar!” 🙂
Yeah,
Company was a flop according to bollywood point of view.
How many Chiranjeevi movies did you watch excluding the dubbing ones in Malayalam?
I am not a lal or mammooty fan. But we can accept both of their talents. Remember Sholay remake Lal was the only person who acted well eventhough BigB(Amitabh) was screaming to get attention in the movie. tvmtalkies.com seems to be anti Mohanlal club.
Karthik, where did you see yr Bollywood point of view? can you give that link. I think I have watched his last 5 movies, and he is indeed flexible from a rubber band point of view.
Nowhere in the review have I called Mohanlal a bad actor, only that his choice of movies are bombing back to back. So is Mammootys- dont even talk abt LIS or Parunthu. Talkies is not anti-mohanlal, but not dumb enough to say nice things about movies like Flash and Red Chillies.
and you can see a head-to-head for Madambi and Parunthu
https://tvmtalkies.com/archives/506
Red chillies. It strikes me back to my 9th class board exam season. Now im writing this comment at the age of 29.Today 7.8.24.
Writing this comment for a look back in my memory after a couple of time to remember i had been existing here