Cast: Mammootty, Unni Mukundan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Mukesh, Gokul Suresh, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Maqbool Salmaan, Poonam Bajwa, Sunil Sukhada, Mahima Nambiar, Captain Raju
Director: Ajai Vasudev
The trailer gives a sample of what to expect and the film itself is an elaborate 160 minutes of celebrating Mammootty as Professor Edward Livingston — the mass hero — who can fight off 25 ruffians single-handedly and emerge unscathed. It helps that his good looks and style quotient make it easy on the eyes and he drives stylish vehicles. There — you have all the ingredients set if you are a hard-core Mammootty fan. But if you are looking for a convincing storyline, some emotional moments, some humour and a logical turn of events, then you would be disappointed. The film is trying to be a lot of genres but ends up becoming a mish-mash of a campus story, a murder investigation thriller and an action film.
Since the current flavor of the season seems to be campus stories, Ajai has set up his story in Travancore Maharajas College, where unlike students standing divided based on political affiliations, here politics does not play any part. Two groups — Real Fighters and Royal Warriors — clash over petty reasons, with the management not able to bring them under control. The game of one-upmanship between the two groups leads to a serious consequence, with a body being found on the campus and the police getting involved. Just as the police is all set to arrest one of the students, steps in Edward, who then sets about brokering peace between the two factions and uniting them.
The incidents leading to the peace treaty are a series of action sequences with Edward beating to a pulp more than a dozen ruffians and following that up whenever an occasion arises, setting the scene for several heroic sequences. The police force is led by Unni Mukundan who plays IPS officer John Thekkan and Shajon Kalabhavan as SI Ramachandran. Varalaxmi Sarathkumar plays investigation officer Bhavani Durga, whose main job seems to be locking horns with Edward, who has all the aces in his hand. Poonam Bajwa plays Smitha, a glamourous college professor, who has an eye on Edward. The film is a cat and mouse game between Edward and the police with Edward finally uncovering the murderer in a far-fetched plot.
The actors have done their part satisfactorily and a mention must be made of Gokul Suresh. For those wondering what role Santosh Pandit played, it was of a funkily dressed peon. The comedy does not impress but Captain Raju playing himself does bring out the giggles. But credit must be given to Mammootty for carrying the film on his shoulders in the absence of a strong storyline. And yes, special mention should be made of Edward mouthing ‘I respect women’ four times in the film, as if making a statement or justifying the negativity generated by a recent film of his, promoting misogyny.
