Prithvi Raj in his debut outing as a director has come out with something that truly resonates with the individual and artist that he is! Murali Gopi gives to you Lucifer in all his glory.
Lalettan as Lucifer arrives and conquers the hearts of his fans within the first five minutes of his entry into the movie ! There is this serenity that Stephen Nedumpally aka Lucifer has that is so reassuring and welcoming rather than a roaring, yelling ,obscenities spewing character! This is where I respect Prithvi for bringing back to screen the Lalettan we all adore to watch! Stephen Nedumpally talks and deals with his enemies with a seasoned strength of someone who has seen and dealt with evil intensely and someone who is aligned to the angel cast out of heaven by God, despite being his Father’s favourite son! Sachin Khedekar as P K Ramdas essays his role though brief with subtlety and significance . There is a scene where PKR tells his daughter to be aware of a time when she will need the help of Lucifer ; and this resonates within you as does the closing line of the film!
The film traverses through different layers and shades crafted and presented diligently and with perfect precision may I add!
I loved the way Murali Gopy has moulded each character both big and small in such a way that they all have their own characteristic individuality, standing apart yet taking the story along and ahead! I absolutely loved Indrajith’s character Govardhan, a character that actually sets the story into motion in a lot of ways! He has sealed it with aplomb and alacrity ! Tovino gives a sterling performance encompassing everything Jathin Ramdas needs to portray! He lets the character of Jathin take the lead rather than Tovino the actor and that’s a beautiful way of approaching a role ! Vivek Oberoi as Bobby is a fresh introduction for him as an artist and the audience alike. Now another character that got my attention is Zayed Masood’s who fit like a glove in Prithvi’s acting prowess! There is this scene in the movie where Zayed Masood the big shot ace hitman opens a pub door for Stephen Nedumpally and they exchange knowing glances… that scene hits a cord and for some reason and I remembered Aaram Thamburan in all its glory for a brief moment only in the emotion the characters communicated on screen! Sujith Vassudev has designed and executed some amazing cinematography and the choice of locations by Prithvi and his crew is just brilliant! Samjith’s editing is on the dot and eloquent.
Fazil , Nandalal, Baiju, Kalabhavan Shajon, Sasikumar, John Vijay, Nyla Usha , Saniya Iyappan all have beautifully and effectively sealed their roles to the last T ! Impressive casting !
Another unique noticeable element in the movie is the incredible art work that has gone into it! Most of us don’t really bother about the art work done for films but for me , they lay the base, letting you see, feel and embrace the semiotics designed for the film! The first couple of scenes later they zoom in on a pile of books and the first book on top that catches my eye is a book by Julian Assange and I immediately thought IT professional, computer programmer ,journalist , activist and Bingo!!! Govardhan pops onto the screen with his uncharacteristic twitchy fingers and the predictable impatience of waiting for his Facebook live to get active! Likewise every character that is introduced is set in this elaborately conceived art work manipulated set ! I actually wondered if Prithvi had a lot of his inputs put into that department ! The background score is really nice and the supporting tracks by Deepak Dev too perfectly compliment the film ! Manju Warrier’s role goes through some major transitions and her tribulations and her emotional breakdown all are portrayed ever so realistically. What I loved about this film is that it has been made sensibly, and is well paced too! So many surprise elements and characters are tucked away only to be thrown at us now and then just when we think we have figured it out ! Yes naysayers may talk about the logic part of the film but Lucifer deals with a lot of issues and it’s not just about the lead character but it’s also about the many issues that are rampant and Murali Gopy and Prithvi have used the medium of cinema to tell us about things we already know but through Lucifer’s perspective !
Lucifer is a movie of the masses crafted with dignity and it will be remembered for all of its big and small characters and above all for the looming, intimidating yet endearing Lucifer !
Welcome back Laletta.
Originally reviewed by Sajna Vinish
