A JUST AVENGER-CHINTHAMANI KOLACASE

A just avenger


Chinthamani Kolacase is a psycho-suspense thriller inspired by Tamil and Bollywood hits, writes KK Moidu


Chinthamani Kolacase
Director: Shaji Kailas
Producer: Renjith
Script: A.K. Sajan

Starring: Suresh Gopi, Bhavana, Rekha, Vani Viswanath, Thilakan, Biju Menon, Manianpilla Raju, Sai Kumar and Kalabhavan Mani


Chinthamani Kolacase is a psycho-suspense thriller inspired by Tamil super-hit Annyan and Bollywood hit of the 80's Shahenshah, where successful director actor duo Shaji Kailas and Suresh Gopi pitch in their combined appeal. What is noticeable in the movie is a different body language and dialogue delivery adopted by Suresh Gopi.
The storyline goes thus. Lal Krishna Veeradiyar (Suresh Gopi) is a criminal lawyer with a razor-sharp mind, known to never lose a case. He has no regrets about defending killers and rapists in court. Using loopholes in the law he manages to secure freedom for his clients. But once the court lets the client go scot-free, Veeradiyar takes over and metes out punishment to the culprit. The successful lawyer defends his actions arguing that the culprit has to be given the death penalty to balance the "cosmic law."
Chinthamani (Bhavana) is the daughter of Veeramani Warrier (Thilakan), a retired teacher with some knowledge of astrology. He is also a temple attendant. Warrier wants to make Chinthamani a doctor. She is brilliant and hardworking and secures a merit seat in a prestigious private medical college financed by NRIs.
"Mirchi Girls," a nine-member gang, whose members belong to rich families and can buy anything using their money power also study in the same college. They are Chinthamani's seniors. They dislike Chinthamani because one girl's brother lost his medical seat to Chinthamani in spite of his willingness to shell out Rs 5 million.
Right from the admission interview onwards, the gang hounds Chinthamani and ultimately the newly admitted girl is sent by the principal to stay with the dangerous gang members. Chinthamani runs away from the hostel, to escape their ragging and torture and later parts of her body are discovered from a river. Soon the wealthy girls are in dock and their parents engage Veeradiyar to defend them. As usual they win the case and now the girls are allowed to go free.
But Veeradiyar is hot on their pursuit, systematically planning a revenge. However, a brilliant cop who had always suspected Veeradiyar to be behind his clients' killings, follows the lawyer and tips off a circle inspector that the nine girls will soon be killed. The rest of the film deals with Lal Krishna Veeradiyar's next move, whether he succeeds in killing the "Mirchi Girls" and as to who actually killed Chinthamani and whether the brave cop succeeds in saving the others from Veeradiyar. Chinthamani Kolacase, Kailas's 25th film, answers these questions.
Suresh Gopi seems to have learnt some lessons from his experiences and tries to portray a newer side of himself. Of course he hogs the limelight in the film and does his best to make the larger-than-life Veeradiyar believable. He receives able support from all the other artistes. Sai Kumar as a public prosecutor, Vani Viswanath as Veeradiyar's assistant, Bhavana as Chinthamani and Thilakan as her father give outstanding performances. Manian Pilla Raju as CI Bawa, Rekha as Veeradiyar's sister, Balachandran Chullikkad as Veeramani Warrier's friend and Prem Prakash as the medical college principal have also done justice to their roles.
Kalabhavan Mani confirms his status as a hero in spite of having just a few scenes as a circle inspector, specially posted to protect the parents of the "Mirchi Girls." The casting for the movie is perfect. Some non-Malayalee girls have been hired to play the "Mirchi Girls."
Another noticeable aspect is the movie's technical perfection. Kailas makes his leading man mouth Sanskrit words and punchlines like "Goodbye Lucifer" to please Suresh Gopi fans. The movie glorifies violence and so it is likely to have limited appeal for families. It has been made for the mass audience, though even they are likely to find the on-screen happenings difficult to digest. The film's most significant drawback is that the climax is most unsuited for a Suresh Gopi film.

Showing at Sharjah Metro Cinema, Al Hamra and Concorde
Dubai: Galleria Cinema and Plaza