Chanthupottu (2005) : A Controversy

                            Chanthupottu is a Malayalam movie directed by Lal Jose and released in 2005 . It tells the story of Radhakrishn...

Dec 27, 2014

8 : 20 Malayalam Movie Review

Even with the flaws and loose ends in the screenplay, 8:20 directed by Shyaam stands out for a treatment and story that is quite unique in Malayalam. I would not say the story resembles any English films but definitely the treatment and situation is inspired from a popular Hollywood franchise. No major star presence is there and the movie has very limited characters. In spite of these, 8:20 is an average thriller that will engage you if the wafer thin suspense element is not known to you. So the crux here is that suspense part which should remain as it is till the end and if that is revealed to you by someone before watching the film, you can stay away as that would make the movie an uninteresting one.

The story is a one day incidents from the life of Shyam and Ruchi whose marriage has been decided by their parents. Shyam is interested in music, dance, drinking and roaming with his friends but her fiancee want him to clear the supplementary exams which is his last chance to qualify. The film begins from 8.20AM on a particular day and follow their life and reach a stage in the half way mark. Post intermission too, the film begins on the same way just like it all started but as said earlier, that element of suspense makes me put a full stop here on the synopsis side.

Scripting could have been a bit more crisp and those college situations and humour could have been presented in a much better way instead of following the cliched route that made it boring and at the same time irritating as well especially those non vegetarian jokes. Still i would definitely recommend this film for a one time watch and coming from a fresh pair of hands in the directorial side, the treatment do make us sit through this two hour movie.

No stars are present on the acting side. Arjun Nandakumar and Avanthika enact the roles of Shyam and Ruchi respectively and they were upto the task of presenting those characters with the right emotions. Vijayaraghavan as Ruchi's father was impressive though in terms of screen presence, the character had very limited scenes. Bijukuttan handled the comedy side and it was a repetition of some of his earlier flicks. Majority of his jokes fell flat without making any impact. Poojappura Ravi and N L Balakrishnan for whom this should be his last movie getting released are also present with brief roles.

Technically there is nothing remarkable but all areas like cinematography,
editing and music doing a fair bit of share contributing to the overall technical side in their own way. Background score could have been bit more racy but it was okay. Overall, 8:20 is an experimental theme that has not failed but end up as an average outing coming from a first time director. I go with two and a half out of five as my personal rating for the film.

Rating - 2.5 / 5

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