Ring Tone

Medium : Malayalam
Starring : Suresh Gopi, Bala, Rajan.P.Dev, Saikumar, Megha Nair
Director : Ajmal
Music : Shaan

'Ring Tone', an usually used word in the day-to-day life, is the title of the new malayalam film by new director Ajmal. It has got Suresh Gopi and Bala in the lead roles, with a new face Megha Nair coming as the heroine. The film is a delayed release as we can see late Rajan.P.Dev also coming in a lengthy role here. Shaan, who has given notable theme music for films like 'Chinthamani Kolacase' and 'Tiger', handles the music section of this action film.

The story open up by showing the police lathi-charging the local protesters who are fighting for their basic needs. The old lady (Zeenat) who lead the march is brutally beaten by the police officer (Baburaj), there arrives Rakesh (Bala) to the scene in order to save her mother. As per request from his mother and the friends (Manuraj, Machaan Varghees), Rakesh leaves the town in a lorry, where the heroine (Megha Nair) was also traveling. On the way the lorry met with an accident and both of them were admitted to the hospital. They were later given shelter by the local landlord (Rajan.P.Dev), pretending that both of them were lovers. At this time, Nainan Koshi (Suesh Gopi), an officer from the central government, reaches the village for investigating a murder case. Later, the family members (Saikumar, Tara Kalyan etc) of Megha reaches there to take her back. Nainan thinks that the lovers are linked with the murder and takes them to custody. Megha reveals her story and about the people who came there as her relatives. Nainan and Rakesh engaged in acting against the mission of the baddies, is shown in an action packed climax. (the name used here for Bala and Megha are fake, as I am unable to recollect the original ones).

The in experience and un professionalism of the creators are evident in many areas in the film. The artist who comes as the police commissioner gave a very poor performance. The hospital scene in which the bomb blasting and associated things taking place is treated like a childish manner. The extra artistes who were placed a police constables substantiates the fact. In a running shot, a constable even nodes the commissioner by mistake. The chasing at the hospital is apt for a home video only. The doctor character (Jagannath Varma) is not flexible and he is also repeating the word 'oh my god' many times.

The over acting by the driver (Abu Salim) while drinking alcohol in the lorry, clearly shows that the vehicle is not moving and their singing was dominated by bg sound. The servant (Anoop Chandran) who is shown as a foolish character trying to create comedy, is too horrible. The heroine reveals about the opening scene where the person who does the crying 'act' at the check post, as a big suspense, the body language and performance of the particular guy at that time itself showed that it is not real. There is no use in putting the lovers in a room and over hearing their talk through a microphone, as the officer can question them directly. The relevance of the first song in such a situation is questionable. The heroine jumping from a top, lands on a tree and later to the water below, can be considered as an accident, but if the same sequences are repeating for the hero also, then it should be called as 'unrealistic'.

The art director had tried to show the place Warangal in Andhra by a name board and writing few telugu words on the wall, but he should know have noticed that correct spelling of the place is not 'Varangal' as shown in the board. A board in tamil regarding the public telephone, is the last method to convey that the young hero is now in Tamilnadu. It was good that the board on the bus with places in tamil letters were not easily readable. Like wise, the place in which Nainan's introduction scene is shown as he does the attack in Karim Nagar in Andhra, looks similar to the one where he investigates the case later associated with the young hero and heroine in Tamilnadu. It might happened, as both of them were shot in the hilly outskirts of Kerala. (If cheating has to be done, it should be executed without being noticed by others).

Cinematography by Bijoy Vargheese is good. Editor Rathish Ravi might have suffered a lot, as the timing in cutting the frames were not proportionate in most of the scenes. Songs given by Shaan is ok, but the bg score done by him is not good and the loops were mismatching in majority of the areas. Such a kind of rap sounds used for shots featuring the officer and his team was not at all needed. Police roles are like tooth brushing experience for Suresh Gopi these days. Bala is as usual. The new heroine, Megha Nair's looks are not the best in some angles. The story of the film is not bad, but the script by Sathish Kumar and the presentation of the film by the debutant Ajmal happened to be the main problem. The creators are promising, so they should do their home work and come up with a better project next time.


The content of 'Ring Tone' is not attractive as its title, hence it is not a promotable one.


Rating : 3.5 / 10

Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru

Medium : Tamil
Starring : Ajmal, Mouli, Rupa Manjari
Director : Nandini
Music : Mani Sharma

Though direction area of the Indian film industry is a male dominating area, we have got few numbers of women directors also in the field to be quoted. Mira Nair, who has been holding the megaphone for the last 30years, had directed many hindi & foreign films, Deepa Mehtha had given many notable subjects and some of them notable through contreversies. Choreographer Farha Khan had directed a couple of commercial films, Zoya Akthar, who comes from Javed Akthar's family is also a director in bollywood, Actress turned director Revathi had given two-three films, V.Priya, former assistant to Maniratnam, had directed a couple of tamil films, Yesteryear actress Sheela was also the director of few films, Anjali Menon, one of the directors of 'Kerala Cafe' had also done a couple of short films, Liji J.Pullappally, Geethu Mohandas, Sreebala K Menon, Sangeetha Padmanabhan, Asha Joseph etc are some of the other women directors that had created some short films and feature films.

Now to join the group another young lady, Nandini had come up with her new project named 'Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru' (TTTT). She had worked as an assistant to V.Priya in films like 'Kanda Naal Muthal' and 'Kannaampoochi Enada'. Ajmal, the young actor who came to the field through the malayalam film 'Pranaykaalam' is the hero in 'TTTT'. He had done a couple of tamil films like 'Anjaathey' and 'TN 09 AL 4777' before. New face Rupa Manjari is the heroine. The film is produced by Sathyam Cinemas and Real Images.

Arjun (Ajmal) is working in an advertisement firm. The owner (Mouli) and his wife treates him as their personal favorite. Archana (Rupa Manjari) is also working in the same company. Arjun and Archana are shown as contrasting characters. The former believes in the lazy and don't care policy, on the other hand she wants to do everything in a perfect way. Even if there were disagreement in attitudes, they worked together for a new promotional campaign, acquired by their firm recently. For that, Arjun found a baby to do the Ad shoot; but the problem starts when the client demanded an NOC certificate from the baby's parents. It was not possible as the baby is a kidnapped one. The shoot is now a prestige issue for the owner and it will happen only when they get signature from the parents. The search for the parents and how such a situation is handled is shown in the later portions of 'TTTT'.

The performance of Mouli, who comes as the owner of the Ad firm, is excellent. His messy behavior had got a natural look and the desperate attempt in recollecting names, creates a comedy environment. The cute baby, who is a main character in the movie, needs some claps. Unlike from his previous films, Ajmal's role is not a serious one, he had tried his best to break such an image. He needs more improvement in the flexibility area. The new face Rupa Manjari is cool and attractive. Mani Sharma had given good music, especially the bg score and the TTTT theme used is notable. Cinematography by Sudheer is rich and colorful. The art work supporting the colorful environment inside the office and the house are good. The story of 'TTTT' is not complicated, the way in which the new writer-director Nandini presented it, should be appreciated.

'Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru' is a simple and funny film targeting high class families and the multiplex audiences. It is not the best, but it can be watched keeping in mind that such an attempt comes from a lady director...

Rating : 7 / 10