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Indian Express
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Flask movie review: Saiju Kurup's comedy is a festival of missed opportunities, but Suresh Krishna proves he's truly the ‘convincing' star
Flask movie review: Whenever watching something penned and/or directed by Rahul Riji Nair, a sense of semi-dissatisfaction often lingers in my mind. This isn't because his works are outright poor, but more because of how weakly he develops scenes that had the potential to soar and end up settling at a middling level. Take the series Jai Mahendran (2024), written by Rahul and directed by Srikanth Mohan, for instance. Although its premise is quite outdated, it still could have been crafted into a light-hearted watch offering some genuine laughs and a bit of relaxation for the audience. Even his earlier works like the sports drama Kho-Kho (2021), the thriller Keedam (2022) and the adventure comedy Dakini (2018) could have been much better had Rahul refined the scripts further. The same is the case with his latest directorial Flask, which features several moments that could have elevated the film, but are ultimately undercut by average writing. Though a civil police officer (CPO) by profession, Jyothi Kumar's (Saiju Kurup) heart lies in music; he loves singing. Living with his small family comprising his wife Nisha (Aswathy Sreekanth), their daughter (Bhadra Mithun) and his father Kumaran (Balachandran Chullikkad), Jyothi is happiest when he's on stage, singing old Malayalam melodies for a music troupe, Souparnika Orchestra, based in his hometown of Pattambi. Meanwhile, his job at the Vaniyamkulam police station takes a hit when he loses an official file on a bus. As punishment, he's removed from law-and-order duties and reassigned as the personal security officer (PSO) — pejoratively referred to as a Flask, since they're often seen carrying flask containers for their principal(s) — to District Judge Venkidesh Balaji (Suresh Krishna). A strict, no-nonsense jurist, Balaji seldom even smiles when around his family either. He is even colder and distant towards his subordinates. As a result, Jyothi's musical dreams go out the window, since he must be at Balaji's beck and call almost always, despite there being another PSO. One day, as Jyothi and Balaji are proceeding to Wayanad for a function, their official car is attacked and they both are kidnapped by Maoists led by Ganeshan (Sidharth Bharathan), who hold them hostage to negotiate the release of one of their imprisoned comrades, Manu (Anand Ekarshi). What unfolds next forms the rest of the film. At its core, Flask had the potential to be something like director Khalid Rahman's Mammootty-led Unda (2019) or Amit V Masurkar's Rajkummar Rao-starrer Newton (2017). But writer-director Rahul Riji Nair makes it clear early on that he isn't interested in aiming that high and presents a string of mediocre, been-there-seen-that moments instead. In the opening sequence, we see Jyothi, in police uniform, winning over his colleagues and the audience at a local stage event by singing 'Nee En Sarga Soundaryame', composed by Ouseppachan, from Bharathan's classic Kathodu Kathoram (1985). This brings up a valid question for contemporary Malayalam filmmakers: how long are you going to milk people's nostalgia and love for Kathodu Kathoram? It was only recently that Nna Thaan Case Kodu (2022) featured a remixed version of 'Devadoothar Paadi' from the same film, and Rekhachithram was set against the backdrop of its production. With Flask also following suit, it just feels like riding the coattails of yesteryear classics. What makes the scene even more irksome is that playback singer Nikhil Menon's voice sounds nothing like Saiju Kurup's, and it feels especially jarring since we just heard the actor speak a few lines in his actual voice moments before. What follows is a series of scenes that leave little impact, mainly due to all-too-familiar dialogues and underdeveloped ideas. While Rahul maintains a certain organic flow in the narrative, the scenes themselves feel half-baked from the start. Once Jyothi joins Balaji as a PSO, we can sense that there are opportunities to explore more — be it the power imbalance, Jyothi's dissatisfaction with his job, the judge's toxic rigidity, or the possibility to slip in some humorous moments. Instead, all we get are repeated shots of Jyothi rushing to work, attending night duty, opening doors for Balaji and exchanging mundane conversations with co-workers. While these could have contributed to establishing how monotonous such people's lives are, that doesn't seem to be Rahul's intention here. As a result, this entire portion ends up feeling like a series of missed opportunities. What makes it worse is that even the few intended 'jokes' fall flat, closing off any chance of comic relief. Even after they are kidnapped by Maoists and the power dynamics between Jyothi and Balaji begin to shift, with the judge shedding his superiority complex and meeting others at their eye level, Rahul's script fails to capitalise on the narrative potential. Both the serious and comedic interactions between Ganeshan, Balaji and Jyothi are marred by poor dialogues and a complete lack of dramatic weight. In fact, the dialogue writing throughout is so uninspired that we even hear extremely cliched lines like Jyothi saying, 'Vayaru niranju (I'm full)' after being scolded by a superior, or a top cop saying during a meeting, 'Avarude mahathvam parayaanalla nammal ivide koodiyirikkunnath (We haven't gathered here to praise their greatness).' Going forward, we also witness that Ganeshan isn't just all talk as he guns down a turncoat Maoist. But since the character is so poorly developed, we feel no emotion towards him. No fear, no empathy, not even intrigue. He's just there, and hence, we are watching him. Although Balaji's eventual change of heart also could have been much more neatly shown, the writing and the execution lack the required emotional depth. In fact, from beginning to end, Rahul's writing remains largely superficial as he avoids digging deep into any character or theme. Even the final shootout lacks tension, drama and thrill, rendering it just another generic scene. Also, the superficial treatment of sensitive themes like Maoism, especially when the militants are portrayed as living in forests adjacent to tribal settlements, is not just lazy writing, but irresponsible as well, as they simply cater to popular perceptions. While Saiju Kurup is apt as Jyothi Kumar, he isn't given much space to explore or elevate the character, mostly due to weak writing and underwhelming scenes. Suresh Krishna, on the other hand, is excellent as Venkidesh Balaji, with his body language and measured dialogue delivery standing out. Despite this character also being underwritten, Suresh rises above the material to deliver a 'convincing' performance. After all, he's the 'Convincing Star'. While Sidharth Bharathan is wasted in the role of the shallowly sketched Ganeshan, Anand Ekarshi as Maoist Manu is a delight to watch in his limited screen time. On the technical front, cinematographer Jayakrishnan Vijayan and composer Sidhartha Pradeep deliver decent work, though not particularly memorable. Flask movie cast: Saiju Kurup, Suresh Krishna, Sidharth Bharathan Flask movie director: Rahul Riji Nair Flask movie rating: 2 stars Anandu Suresh is a Senior sub-editor at Indian Express Online. He specialises in Malayalam cinema, but doesn't limit himself to it and explores various aspects of the art form. He also pens a column titled Cinema Anatomy, where he delves extensively into the diverse layers and dimensions of cinema, aiming to uncover deeper meanings and foster continuous discourse. Anandu previously worked with The New Indian Express' news desk in Hyderabad, Telangana. You can follow him on Twitter @anandu_suresh_ and write (or send movie recommendations) to him at ... Read More
India.com
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This horror-thriller web series will send chills down your spine, climax will blow your mind, series is…, lead actors are…
There are series like 'Panchayat', 'Sarpanch Sahab' and 'Jai Mahendran' which are set in villages and were liked by the audience. There was a lot of comedy and drama in these. We are going to tell you about another such series, which is set in a village, but there is no comedy or drama in it at all. Instead of that, it will give you a bone-chilling experience. Horror Thriller Web Series Betaal Here we are talking about the horror web series 'Betaal', which is set in a village that is mythologically based. It is a horror-thriller series. The name of the series is 'Betaal'. Vineet Kumar Singh has played the lead role in it. Aahana Kumara is also playing an important role with him. 'Betaal' is a series of 4 episodes, which also features Suchitra Pillai, Jatin Goswami, Jitendra Joshi , Siddharth Menon, Manjiri Pupala, Swapnil Kotriwar, Meenal Kapoor, Yashwant Wasnik, Savita Bajaj, Ankur Vikal, Pankaj Upadhyay and Richard Dillane as Colonel Lynedoch. The Storyline Of Betaal The story of the series is about a remote village, where the government is bringing a big project and digging work is to be done there. But the villagers oppose this digging as they fear that a curse might be broken, which will lead to huge devastation. Seeing the villagers' protest, the government sends some army personnel, which is led by Vineet Kumar's character Commander Vikram Sirohi. Sirohi is in cahoots with a corrupt businessman and is engaged in forcibly shifting the villagers. The Bone-Chilling Narrative That Leads To The Army Of Zombies Vikram Sirohi does not know that the tunnel he wants to excavate is teeming with evil forces. A zombie army led by a British colonel appears in the tunnel. This army kills many of Vikram's companions. Vikram Sirohi and his remaining companions fight to escape from these British zombies and for their survival. Vikram destroys the zombie army in the tunnel, but the zombie army in the other barracks overpowers Vikram and his team. The series was created and directed by Patrick Graham, with co-direction by Nikhil Mahajan, a National Award winner. It is produced by Blumhouse Productions along with Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's VFX company, Red Chillies Entertainment. The series has mostly received negative feedback, although it was praised for its performances and the incorporation of mythology and zombies. However, it faced criticism for its lack of excitement and editing. This series made its debut on Netflix in May 2020 and is currently available for streaming.
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Producers should also be appreciated for what Malayalam cinema is today: Rahul Riji Nair
After directing Saiju Kurup and Suresh Krishna in his webseries Jai Mahendran, filmmaker Rahul Riji Nair is returning with the same cast in Flask, a 'work relationship drama'. Excerpts from an interview: A 'slice of life' film Rahul says the film is about the tussles between the police officer who does not want to work alongside a very hierarchical judge. 'It's a slice-of-life story,' says the director. 'The film shows the journey of how their work equations evolve." Sharing his excitement about working with the cast, he notes, 'After the success of Jai Mahendran, we wanted to work together as a team again. I don't think we have seen Suresh ettan in such a role before. It was very exciting for me as a filmmaker to get the best out of both of them.' OTT platforms want popular content Ask Rahul if OTT is providing a platform for experimental filmmakers and he says, 'OTT is not doing anything to push filmmaking boundaries. The movies that we see are very mainstream in terms of content, presentation, etc. They prefer films that work theatrically. They are paying you because they want that content to work on that platform.' He explains that OTT did try to do something different in the early days. 'In hindsight, OTTs did give that feeling (of being a space for experimental projects), but they didn't follow through,' he says, adding, 'They want popular content that works with everyone. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Laxmi Ji Idol For Wealth, Peace & Happiness Luxeartisanship Shop Now Undo They are not looking to raise filmmaking standards or anything. Why is it that most of the OTT shows we watch now are crime thrillers? Their decisions are logical and data-driven. " Producers don't get enough credit A producer himself, Rahul feels that producers do not get the credit that directors or actors do. 'The credit for experimental works belongs to filmmakers, individual producers or production houses. Filmmaking is a capital-intensive business. Many worthy ideas end up materialising as films only because producers back them. I don't know how much that fact is appreciated. Producers should also be appreciated for what Malayalam cinema is today. A producer is willing to back new ideas because they are driven by the passion for the medium. Why is producer Ranjith's name inseparable from Thudarum? It's because he believed in the film and didn't give up despite the hurdles he faced ,' he says. Recalling a recent incident, he says, 'When I went to collect an award for my OTT series in Mumbai, everyone there had very good things to say about Malayalam cinema. The films they named were not backed by any platform in the beginning. They were made thanks to the instinct of a producer who thought, 'OK, let me put my money into this'.'
