After the mass action films Rajadi Raja and Masterpiece, Ajai Vasudev have come up with a story of a ruthless money lender “Shylock” scripted by debutants Aneesh Hameed and Bibin Mohan. Shylock is the film that follows the warp pattern of mass masala entertainment which was also featured in former Ajax Vasudev films even though it has introduced new authors.
Whatever you expect, its a movie to celebrate for two hours. In a word, Ajai has shocked the audience. There is no rubber fight and goons flying faster than the rocket, as in the previous two films. The First Half ended up being awesome. By the end of the first half, the audience was thrilled with the upcoming show, with some of the mannequins of Mammoka’s character Boss ie, the occasional changes in voice modulation, dialogue presentation and dress code, all quite appealing. But the film’s pace had a big shift to strong with high emotional quotient in the second half, even though Mammoka’s presence gives the film momentum again.
Before the film was released, had heard that the script was great. The duo screenwriters Aneesh Hameed and Bibin Mohan have been able to write a story that deserves a mass movie and there is mass in the movie, there is comedy and has everything it needs to be the pucca entertainer. Entertainment is the very nature of the storyline of this film.
Director, Ajai Vasudev, who weighed in on Mammookkas energy level, has indeed backed it down. In recent years, we have not seen Mammoka’s awesome screen Presence and energy level that no one else can hold. The star of Shylock is not the story, but the character Boss of Mammoka. The story is average, but the energy and power of Boss along with the funny punch dialogues is what awaits us in the script. You can get to see in Mammoka, the fiercely energetic Boss of Bosses.
The cinematography done by Renadive had made a path for “Boss” to enter the screens and not even a single frame was dead, making a big positive thing to experience the movie at theatres. Stunts done by Anil Arasu, Stunt Silva, Rajashekhar, Mafia Sashi and PC wasn’t like the usual zero gravity stunts which we are too used to seeing in the Telugu Industry and had a positive impact on watching the movie.
Music and Background scores by Gopi Sunder was in track but the BGM in certain areas had felt a bit cryptic but doesn’t harm the overall mode of the movie. Edit by Riyas K Badar was matching with the plot and theme and had a steady flow through out.
Raj Kiran in the emotional sequences was too good. Siddique, Kalabhavan Shajon, Rafi on the Villian side did well, especially, the appearance and screen space given for Siddique had a remarkable impact on the second half. Meena, Bibin George, Arthana Binu, Arjun Nandakumar did their part well. Baiju, Hareesh Kanaran, Binu Adimali within a small space had a spontaneous session of humour. Ajai Vasudev had done his part well with John Vijay.
Overall: If you go to a hotel and order for Biriyani, you don’t expect it to taste like Kerala Sadhya or rather Gulab jamun. So, book tickets only to expect a watchable entertainer and a show stealing performance from Mammotty.
Verdict: Watchable – 3/5