Review-Red Chillies

After a long time, Mohanlal simply rocks in Shaji Kailas directed Red Chillies. When it comes to stylish visuals, there are not many who can match director Shaji Kailas' technical finesse, in Malayalam. With quirky cuts, immaculate close-ups, hard hitting punch lines and sizzling effects, it's nothing less than a visual treat. The hero, OMR (Mohanlal) is a high flying businessman and owns a radio station in Kerala. But still, no one has a clue about him or his whereabouts! OMR talks tough, acts tougher, drives swanky cars and lives life, king size. The film begins when 'Red Chillies', the popular gang of radio jockeys working for OMR's Radio Station in Kochi, runs into big trouble. On a New Year eve, they are accused of killing a hunk, after a gang rape. Worse still, they are also indicted in the hit-and-run issue on the same fateful night, where a group of agitating workers, led by Comrade Mani Varghese (Thilakan) is brutally crushed to death under the wheels of their car. Mani's son, Stalin (Biju Menon) an IPS officer and Commissioner Vyasan (Siddique) start investigating into the crime. Soon, OMR comes to Kerala, to save the gals in trouble. But sadly, picture-perfect frames cannot keep you hooked on to the screen for more than two hours. You also need a tight and gripping screenplay and that is exactly where the film begins to falter. On simpler terms, is all style but lacks substance, at least to a great extent! Shaji's camera keeps the suspense thriller moving at a rapid pace, though it is a bit too long at 2 hours 35 minutes. A.K Sajan's script has been inspired from Morgan Freeman- Ashley Judd starrer Kiss the Girls (1997). Mohanlal, sporting a bearded look and flashy outfits, looks absolutely convincing as OMR. The way he delivers the Kidilan punch line, Onnum Marakkilla Rama is a treat to watch. The rest of the cast Biju Menon, Siddique and Thilakan do their parts pretty well. There are too many loose ends that looms large in the script but such aspects are better left out, as the whole storyline is perhaps not meant to be taken too seriously.

Red Chillies would have been a better film if the makers had spent more time on the basics, meaning the story and the script, rather than at the editing and computer-graphics. Still it is a edge-of-the seat crime thriller with gritty performance by Mohanlal that keep the mercury rising.