99. Anweshippin Kandethum; movie review

 

ANWESHIPPIN KANDETHUM

Cert 15

143 mins

BBFC advice: Contains injury detail, suicide, sexual threat, violence

Tovino Thomas is a name I look forward to seeing because it usually means I am in for an exciting thriller.

Thus, I am pleased to report that Darwin Kuriakos's Anweshippin Kandethum follows an impressive trend.

However, perseverance is needed to see how its strands finally pull together.

Thomas plays Anand Narayanan, a cop who handles his investigations by the book despite the corruption around him.

He is initially part of a team to examine the murder of a young woman who had disappeared on her way home from college.

There are some obvious paths of inquiry but Anand is frustrated because his seniors refuse to follow his more offbeat lead because it might upset local sensitivities.

Anweshippin Kandethum's action then switches to a cold murder case outside our hero's usual jurisdiction.

The local politicians and villagers are hostile to being under the microscope but Anand is quietly forensic in his approach and will not be swayed.

Thomas is terrific, playing a cop who gradually gathers evidence to produce startling results.

His character contrasts significantly with many police heroes in Indian films but I found the movie grabbed all the more because of its lack of cliches.

Indeed, it reminded me of the old-fashioned British detective thrillers we loved so much in the 1970s and 1980s.

The difference is that this is set in rural India, where political and social sensitivities are key.

And just as I wanted to see more of Anand and his team, the movie's end sets up a sequel.

Reasons to watch: Tense detective thriller

Reasons to avoid: Jumps about too much

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None 

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Before acting, Tovino Thomas worked for Cognizant Technologies as a software engineer.

The final word. Darwin Kuriakose: "Jinu guided me to this script. He said it was different because it dealt with two varied types of investigations and the characters’ mindsets cannot be the same for the two cases. That I thought was challenging and was also the reason I wanted to do Anweshippin Kandethum." OTT Play

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