Kalamkaval movie review: Mammootty once again shows he’s the biggest threat to stardom; but the crime thriller fails him

Kalamkaval Movie Review Live Updates | Mammootty film garners positive reviews; earns over Rs 1 cr on opening day

In the first few scenes itself, Kalamkaval makes a few things quite clear. The character played by Mammootty, whose name is withheld from us for a long time, is a middle-class family man. He loves his old Honda Accord car and vintage Tamil songs. He smokes quite often, and that too, quite stylishly. Although he shares a seemingly warm bond with his wife, Nisha (Seema Sindhu Krishnan), he also has a girlfriend, Deepa (Shruti Ramachandran). One night in 2005, he sneaks out from home to be with Deepa, and they spend the hours in a lodge room. Post sex, as they are engaged in conversation, he ‘innocently’ shares with her his obsession with murder, noting, “What gives the greatest pleasure is killing a human being.” He then strangles Deepa to death, showing his dark side.

As Kalamkaval progresses, it is revealed that Mammootty’s character is a serial killer who targets women, particularly divorcées, widows, or those who are still single even after crossing the socially mandated age to settle down. Despite committing several murders over the years, he roams around free, always on the hunt for his next victim, as the authorities haven’t even deduced that these cases have a pattern and that one person might be behind everything. However, once the case reaches Jayakrishnan (Vinayakan), a shrewd police officer, things begin to change, and he sets out to hunt the psychopath. Yet, the criminal is always one step ahead, and his identity remains unknown.

Watch Kalamkaval trailer here:

Despite a strong story, which evidently draws on the life of real-life serial killer Cyanide Mohan, Kalamkaval disappoints by failing to keep viewers glued to the screen. From the very beginning, the script, penned by director Jithin and Jishnu Sreekumar, fails to build tension or raise the stakes. Although the writers use Deepa’s murder to pull the audience into the film’s world and offer an early close-up of the notoriety of Mammootty’s character, the way this sequence is crafted — relying heavily on dialogues — leaves it flat. Not only does it fail to send a chills down viewers’ spines, but it doesn’t even evoke a feeling of heaviness in their chests. Instead, it simply passes off as an impactless opening sequence, which would have completely fallen flat if not for Mammootty’s presence.

In fact, Kalamkaval suffers from being too dialogue-oriented throughout, with almost every scene coming across as if crafted for various characters to deliver their lines and leave. The few that deviate from this pattern belong to Mammootty, who does all the heavy lifting there, as if the makers decided to lean back and relax, confident in the actor’s ability to elevate moments.

Kalamkaval suffers from being too dialogue-oriented throughout. (Credit: Facebook/@mammoottykampanyofficial)

For instance, there is a scene in which Mammootty and Vinayakan’s characters meet face to face for the first time and share a ride in a police vehicle. Although the nature of this moment doesn’t allow Jithin to create something like the iconic restaurant scene from director Michael Mann’s Heat (1995), featuring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, it still had elements that could have heightened tension or tightened the atmosphere, considering this scene comes immediately after a cleverly executed plot twist right before the interval. However, not only did Jithin and Jishnu rely heavily on dialogues here, too, but the lines lack intrigue and fail to leave an impact. In fact, there are quite a few moments across the movie where it seems that Jithin has underplayed or watered down things. But why? Only he can say.

Although the director could have compensated for these shortcomings with a sharper visual language that set audiences’ nerves on edge or create a sense of unease, let alone build pressure, Kalamkaval never gets it. Instead, the movie often gives the impression that the director was focused solely on capturing exactly what was written in the script, along with all that Mammootty could offer as an actor, rather than on creating a more impactful visual aesthetic. Thus, the thrill and intrigue that are missing from the script become palpably absent on screen as well, particularly since the makers haven’t taken any refreshingly new approaches with the film in its technical aspects. All these make Kalamkaval a middling affair overall.

Must Read | Stephen movie review: Gomathi Shankar shines in chilling, uneven thriller

In all honesty, the movie is yet another run-of-the-mill serial killer thriller. What makes it different is that it doesn’t resort to graphic depictions of violence solely to offer voyeuristic pleasure to certain members of the audience. Although it follows the storytelling pattern of director Anurag Kashyap’s Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), in which the narrative is split into multiple chapters, this approach comes across as forced rather than organic in Kalamkaval, in contrast to the Hindi psychological crime thriller. Weirdly enough, Mammootty’s movie also made me appreciate Raman Raghav even more. Although the 2016 film wasn’t extraordinary, Anurag Kashyap and Vasan Bala’s writing was so effective that they ensured ample detail in even the minutest instances and actions of the characters. Without making anything appear staged, they left their creative signature all over Raman Raghav’s screenplay and visuals, where everything had a purpose, deeper meaning, or contributed to what was about to transpire.

However, in Kalamkaval, even the characters of Mammootty and Vinayakan are uneven. For instance, albeit the track “Nilaa Kaayum Velicham,” an eerily excellent composition by Mujeeb Majeed, is portrayed as having great significance in the serial killer’s psyche, its odd placements detract from the experience. The same can be said about the character’s obsession with blowing smoke rings using cigarette smoke. Put plainly, neither of them contributes anything meaningful.

Amid all the shortcomings, one can undoubtedly attest that it’s Mammootty’s courage to take on such a devilish character, without giving two hoots about his stardom, and his sharp performance — although it never reaches great levels due to the lack of well-crafted moments that could have helped him showcase his A-game — that keep viewers engaged with Kalamkaval.

Considering that the last few years have shown that Indian stars’ obsession with grand spectacles and opening/collection records is backfiring, with many such movies failing to impress audiences, Mammootty’s embrace of the actor who made him a star is a lesson for all. In fact, he is a threat to the concept of superstardom, I feel. What if fans of all the stars decide that they will no longer follow them unless they deliver strong performances that prove their acting talents? How many of our “A-listers” would survive then?

While Vinayakan gives a decent performance as the cop, he too struggles due to the script’s lack of substance and his character’s lack of depth. Shajie Naduvil’s production design and Abhijith C’s costumes, however, deserve special praise for brilliantly avoiding the familiar and presenting a distinctive overall aesthetic. Although Mujeeb Majeed’s songs are memorable, the loud background score at certain junctures has played spoilsport.

Kalamkaval movie cast: Mammootty, Vinayakan, Rajisha Vijayan, Gibin Gopinath, Gayathri Arun, Shruti Ramachandran
Kalamkaval movie director: Jithin K Jose
Kalamkaval movie rating: 2.5 stars