The theme has every required element in it to be a racy, edge-of-the-seat thriller, but the clumsy way of storytelling and narration has played spoilsport. And the result, director Kukku Surendran’s new movie - Race - ends up as a dull experience.
The interesting factor is the similarity which the film bears to last year’s movie Cocktail. Since Cocktail itself was inspired from the Canadian thriller Butterfly on a Wheel, it is a dual responsibility that falls upon the director who also penned the script. But, purposefully or otherwise, he fails to keep the similarities away from the movie.
It is Eby John (Kunchacko Boban), a doctor by profession, who is engaged in a race against time as the life of his lone daughter is at risk. As the apple of his eye is being hijacked by a guy who introduces himself as Niranjan (Indrajith), Eby is left with no other choice than to arrange for the ransom amount.
With the success of Apoorva Ragam, Cocktail and Traffic, our filmmakers are now right behind the thriller genre, mainly with young actors in lead roles. It is not a risky choice at all, unless the director does not know what he is trying to say. Robin Thirumala, who penned the dialogues, is equally responsible as the majority of them are typical cliche. For instance, the usage of “Not a penny less, not a penny more,” for claiming the ransom amount has been used umpteen times in the Malayalam movies itself.
However, the acting department looks and does fine, with Indrajith doing exceptionally well. Mamta Mohandas as Niya is fine. Though they do not have much to do, Gouri Munjal and Jagathy are also okay with their roles. Known for his talent as a BGM expert, Gopi Sundar disappoints this time. As the majority of the scenes were shot indoors and without change of location and the movie leaves the spectator searching for visual relief.
Race could have been at least an average fare if the makers had gone for another title. Even the posters of the movie give you the impression of a racy thriller. Interestingly, the posters bear great similarity to Abbas Musthan’s Hindi blockbuster with the same title. Again, it may be a “coincidence,” but the movie turns out to be a slow “race”, contrary to the way it has been marketed.