Kondal movie review: Antony Varghese Pepe’s actioner is ruined by aimless writing

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Hailing from the coastal village of Anchuthengu in Thiruvananthapuram, Immanuel aka Manuel (Antony) has been living recklessly, spending much of his time drinking. Though he remains close to his family and supports them in every way, his self-destructive behaviour hints at something deeper. Meanwhile, the village, where most make a living selling fish, faces a crisis when Stephen and Sons, a local company, is exposed for selling rotten fish, turning the village into a target of bad publicity. As the fishermen struggle to sell their catch, they demand that the company take responsibility and publicly clarify that only their fish was spoiled, thereby clearing the reputation of the other fishermen. However, the company’s owners (Spadikam Sunny and Usha) ignore the demands and attempt to bring in more fish, leading to a confrontation between the two parties. The conflict escalates into a violent, blood-shedding brawl once Manuel enters the scene.

As the incident becomes a major discussion point, following the involvement of the police, Manuel is forced to leave the village for a few days. He takes up work on a fishing boat departing from Munambam Harbour in Ernakulam, where his brother Daniel aka Danny (Raj B Shetty), once worked. During the journey, tensions rise between Manuel and the other crew members, including Jude (Shabeer Kallarakkal) and Michael (Rahul Rajagopal), due to the latter’s certain actions. These confrontations lead him to shocking revelations about Danny’s death, which was till then believed to be an accident. The rest of the film follows Manuel’s pursuit of the truth and his quest for vengeance, while Jude and the others attempt to finish him off.

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Although Kondal had the ingredients to be a decent revenge film, its major flaw lies in its shoddy script, penned by director Ajith along with Roylin Robert and Satheesh Thonakkal, which has nothing more than a few basic plot points. Given that a significant portion of the story unfolds in a confined space, with the protagonist and antagonists always in close proximity, the narrative should have offered more than mere bad luck to explain their inability to finish off each other. It also required solid moments to keep the tension high, which too is absent in Kondal.

In the beginning, Manuel is depicted taking a job on the boat to escape the turmoil he has stirred up in his village. Meanwhile, some crew members begin to act suspiciously towards him, despite being aware of his background. However, the film fails to clarify why these characters behave oddly or what the underlying issue is. Up until the interval, Kondal meanders aimlessly, struggling to establish a clear direction, leaving the characters to just exchange suspicious glances without much context. It is only just before the interval that the audience is introduced to Danny and the real reasons behind the crew’s behaviour. Rather than skillfully withholding key details to build intrigue, Kondal keeps the audience completely in the dark for a good amount of time, failing to provide even basic information to understand what’s going on.

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Even after the characters’ motives are revealed, Kondal fails to deliver impactful and engaging moments. Instead, it presents one murder attempt after the other, orchestrated either by Manuel or Jude, with no one actually dying, besides a fellow worker Aloshy (Manikanda Rajan) who dies after an unrelated fall.

At the same time, many characters introduced with considerable buildup in the first act, who cast menacing glances at Manuel as if his ending will be at their hands, do not reappear or even receive a passing mention later in the film, leaving their actual purpose in the movie unclear. While some characters, like the one played by Gauthami Nair, appear frequently at the start, their identity remain vague until much later. As a result, the audiences struggle to grasp the purpose of Manuel’s journey, diminishing the sense of tension on the boat and not letting viewers resonate with the characters. The dialogues are equally unremarkable, sounding both pretentious and old-school, with the actors failing to bring any nuance or depth to elevate the scenes. What happens to the Aloshy’s family? Will his friends on the boat be able to arrange enough money for his sister’s wedding as he wished? Will Manuel take revenge against his and Danny’s friend Peter (Abhiram Radhakrishnan), who knew about the latter’s murder, too? Kondal ends by ‘forgetting’ to answer quite a few important questions.

Despite the film’s various shortcomings, Kondal is somewhat redeemed by Antony Varghese Pepe’s commanding screen presence and his ability to ace action sequences. (Image: Weekend Blockbusters/Instagram)

Despite the film’s various shortcomings, it is somewhat redeemed by Antony’s commanding screen presence and his ability to ace action sequences. Although his difficulty with accents other than his own and his acting limitations are apparent — particularly with the camera mostly focused on him against a backdrop of the unchanging sea — his swagger helps to mitigate these flaws to an extent, preventing the film from descending into complete dullness.

Raj B Shetty, as always, impresses in his limited scenes. However, the choice to use a dubbing artist whose voice does not match Raj’s at all is perplexing. Considering that many Malayalis recognise Raj from his Kannada films and his role as the antagonist in the recent Mammootty-starrer Turbo, the makers of Kondal should have been more attentive to this decision since the incongruity between the actor’s voice and the dubbing distracts viewers from what’s happening on screen. While Shabeer Kallarakkal’s portrayal of Jude is let down by the character’s poor writing, Rahul Rajagopal’s performance as Michael comes off as cartoonish, with the character’s sole expression being a constant, toothy scowl of anger.

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While Deepak D Menon’s cinematography is impressive, the same cannot be said for the VFX, which displays inconsistent quality throughout. Sam CS adds value to the film with a compelling background score and memorable tracks. While the action choreography by Vikram Mor, Kalai Kingson and Thavasi Raj is not exceptional, it effectively highlights Antony’s skills, which works in favour of the movie.

Kondal movie cast: Antony Varghese Pepe, Raj B Shetty, Shabeer Kallarakkal
Kondal movie director: Ajith Mampally
Kondal movie rating: 2 stars