Circle Dress | Five films to stick to screens this lock season

The days of social distancing are here to stay, because the virus does not seem to be under control soon. Fear of social spread is still very much present, which has forced the government to further tighten precautionary measures.

What this means for us is that the entertainment and leisure areas will remain closed, we will have to continue working from home and stay indoors longer.

As promised in the column for the past few weeks, here is a list of 5 very recent films from South India that are available on streaming platforms that you might find interesting to watch.

Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam, Premier)

In Ayyappanum Koshiyum, Sachy, the author of the 2019 year-end hit Driver’s license, realizes his own scenario which has another epic shock of male ego in its core.

To make this conflict as scathing as possible, he placed it in the green middle of the Attappady tribal haven and took support from the menacing side of Biju Menon to play the antagonist (if you can call it one).

Koshi, a spoiled kid from a wealthy family and an army retiree fights in a drunken fight with a police team. Right inspector Ayyappan Nair, who presented him in a court case, became sympathetic to him, but not before it was too late. Fresh from a short stay in prison, the very selfish Koshi lands again in Attappady for revenge.

Ayyappan Nair, on the other hand, is someone who leads a fairly moderate life hiding his bloody past and a terrifying character behind the police uniform. Koshi who had underestimated his opponent, quickly realizes with whom he is fighting, little by little, but his ego does not let him stop at any time although there are several occasions in the plot which offer him a exit route.

Ayyappan has a job to do after Koshy forced him to quit his job and threatens to implicate his family in terrorism charges and endanger them.

Nature, politics, class and power become integral parts of the conflict, which Prithviraj and Biju Menon transform into an interesting bond. Each character is well engraved in the script and interpreted with precision. You wouldn’t complain even if you feel the film should have been 15 minutes or more shorter.

Dia (Kannada, Amazon Prime)

Dia is one of those gems of Kannada commercial cinema that occurs from time to time. In 2019, we saw such a rare gift Gantumoote (which is also available for streaming).

Although a love story was built around a familiar plot of a lover coming back to life after the departure of his partner (from the time of Raj Kapoors Sangam), Dia boasts of good writing and performance. History flows easily with twists placed at the right intervals; the first comes barely after 15 minutes in the film. Then, it’s a pleasant walk, thanks to the scriptwriter-director Ashokas who explores relationships in a fairly intense way without resorting to melodrama.

Kushee as Dia, Pruthvee Ambaar like Adi, Deekshith Shetty like Rohit and Pavithra Lokesh and Lakshmi are up to the challenge of making this roller coaster ride very enjoyable.

The ease with which Pruthvee Ambaar played the free-spirited Adi who upholds the philosophy that life is a matter of miracles and surprises, as opposed to the lifeline of Dias, is full of problems and pain, it worth a notch above the rest.

Skillfully written and directed, Dia does not lose its romantic intensity although it does not contain any song or intimate scene, which constitute the basic price of the genre.

Vaanam Kottattum (Tamil, first)

In a fit of rage to avenge an attack on his brother, Bose (Sarathkumar), a villager father of two children, ends up murdering a political opponent. His wife Chandra (Radhika Sarathkumar) fled with his grandchildren to the city in search of a better life and to avoid more problems for his family.

Boses’ plans to get out of prison are wiped out earlier, and he is forced to serve his entire prison for life. When he finally finishes his term, he is anxious to find his family and start over since his departure.

What does her freedom mean for her family? How does he get used to the outside world after more than a decade and a half of confinement? How do his grown children react to the father who has disappeared a long time ago without whom they learned to live their lives? How will he protect himself and his family from those who wait for revenge?

There are no easy answers to his problems. As he strives to claim his position in the close-knit family that has lived without him for too long, it creates cracks in relationships and creates problems for everyone.

The ensuing drama comes to life thanks to the electrifying presence on the screen of the main duo of Sarathkumar and Radhika. The sequences that reveal the chemistry between the brothers and sisters played by Vikram Prabhu and Aiswarya Rajesh and their friendly behavior with the rest of the cast, especially with their uncle Velsamy (Balaji Sakthivel), are a pleasure to watch.

My only grouse is that the director quickly focused on the conflicts that arise in the family after Bose reunited them for the drama of cliché revenge. The compromise stole the chance to make the film a much more enjoyable family drama.

This production by Mani Ratnam also presents a soothing soundtrack by singer Sid Sreeram. The title track Kanne Thangam is an ode to the warmth of the family, which I wish was exploited a little more in the screenplay.

Gundu (Tamil, Netflix)

The full title of the film is Irandam Ulaga Porin Kadaisi Gundu, which means the last bomb of World War II.

At first glance, this is an ambitious project that tackles the problem of World War II bombs, which are dropped in the sea, land ashore and wreak havoc among the poor who collect and process scrap metal. to live. The loss of life due to these live bombs is often documented in government records as random accidents to deny compensation to deceased or survivors with disabilities, thanks to the link between the companies responsible for the destruction of the bombs and the corrupt. bureaucracy.

The rather heavy intrigue is revealed through the life of the poor who work in deplorable conditions and a romantic track between the truck driver played by Dinesh and Chittu, played by Anandhi.

The film manages the main problem without compromising the drama, but it becomes preacher towards the end. Caste and class politics and unionism interfere with the story without much direct relevance, sometimes giving it a documentary feel. Finally, director Athiyan Athirai and producer Pa.

Ranjith delivers a thriller that succeeds in telling a cause effectively, integrating it perfectly into the drama.

Anveshanam (Malayalam, Premier)

With her heart in the right place, Anveshanam, quite the opposite of what the title suggests, takes you through reflections on the past that cannot be corrected rather than an investigation of an event.

At best, it is a mediocre thriller because it is not a complicated case to be invested intellectually, but a warm family tale which contains a lesson on the education of children.

Aravind, who works for a television channel, and his wife Kavitha have two children. Their eldest son encounters an accident and dies in hospital due to medical negligence. The following investigation also explores an angle of murder during which the characters undergo an intense emotional conflict to know if the fate of the victim and himself could have been different.

Among the actors, Jayasuriya like Aravind Shruthi Ramachandran like Kavitha and Leona Lishoy as investigating officer Latha help keep the proceedings quite captivating.

Considering that director Prasobh Vijayan had a pretty impressive start with the thriller Lilli a year ago, it was disappointing, but eminently observable.

Other

Many attractive and popular films have been released on streaming platforms. Some of the other recent versions of South that are worth mentioning are Otha Seruppu Size 7, Sillu Karuppatti and KD (Tamil), Driver’s license and Kettiyolanu Ente Malakha (Malayalam) and Kavaludhari (Kannada).

You may remember that previous editions of this column had recommended some of these films.

Stay healthy, stay entertained. Good viewing!

(Dress Circle is a weekly column on films. The author is a communications professional and film enthusiast. Read his past work here.)