Director: Praveen Prabharam
Cast: Tovino Thomas, Shivajith Padmanabhan, Samyuktha Menon, Harish Uthaman, Vini VIshwalal
It has been a while since we had a full-on mass action-packed movie in Mollywood. Also, when it is the policemen who are working towards omitting the Janamaithri tag of a police station and take the charge of cleansing a village that has been converted into a land of crimes by the ruling party, DYP, led by Amarnath and his goons, high voltage fight sequences and bloodshed is inevitable. Kalki is a political action movie that has all elements of a mass entertainer, a well-thought-out decision by the director for his debut movie. Tovino Thomas joins as the SI of Nanjamkotta police station after the former SI commits suicide due to the guilt feeling of being inefficient. He takes up the task of dealing with the goons of the place who forcefully evacuate the slums of Nanjamkotta for their selfish motives. Tovino, as the new SI Mr ‘K’, who is not called by his actual name anywhere in the movie, has done a phenomenal job in the role of a fierce policeman. His well-built body and seamless action sequences are worth watching.
Another character worth mentioning is the villain. Amarnath is a brutally calm villain who has been successful in terrorising the people of the place for many years. He also claims to be the person who has uplift the party to the position where it is now. Shivajith Padmanabhan who appears as Amarnath has given a promising performance for a relatively new actor. Kalki is definitely going to be a break for him. Samyuktha, who appears in a negative role, too has done her part neatly.
Director Praveen Prabharam’s maiden attempt can be considered as an excellent one. Jakes Bejoy’s music, when combined with the action sequences, don’t fail to give the audiences an adrenaline rush. Apart from the action sequences, odd humour in unexpected places make Kalki different from the usual action flicks. Some unique characterisations like the writer of the police station serving as a motivational speaker too is a different and fresh attempt in a movie of this genre. The supporting star cast comprising Sudheesh, Hareesh Uthaman, Dheeraj Denny, KPAC Lalitha, Aparna Nair and others have also done justice to their characters.
Kalki, however, lags in places. Though the audience knew that the SI would beat Amarnath to pulp and set new law in Nanjamkotta, a bit engaging way to narrate the same would have worked wonders. However, the larger-than-life portrayal of action has made Kalki an entertaining and one of the fine movies of this year.
