Mallu Masala: My quick take on Mohanlal’s “Lucifer”
I always wondered that the India’s state of Kerala which is known for spices (Masala) and known for coming out with some of the classy movie audience has ever seen (remember this year’s official Oscar entry is a Malayalam movie –“Jalikattu”), how come it has not produced a typical “Masala Movie” so far. Having watched Mohanlal’s Lucifer, I think my wish for a Mallu masala movie was granted.
Its a typical bollywoodish plot of good vs bad kind of characters fighting it out where the protagonist is larger than life stud who can take on 20-30 goons in a fistfight, with typical ‘seeti podu’ type dialogs, where the hero’s slow-motion entry shot takes ages to cut, and mind you it also has item songs. My first spontaneous reaction was “Boss, this will be definitely re-made in Hindi, with someone like Ajay Devgan or Sanju or Sunny Deol in the lead”.
The movie is directed by handsome Prithviraj who himself is a big star in Malayalam movies (hope you remember his forgettable debut in Bollywood opposite Rani Mukherjee). He also does a cameo in the movie as a toughie helping the protagonist. It’s a true multi starer with a great ensemble of actors like Vivek Oberoi, Manju warrior, Sachin Khedekar. Set in a political backdrop of the state where a clean image chief minister (played by Khedekar) dies, and pressure is on his NRI son to take over the reins (dynasty politics). The empty chair has many takers, but the guardian angel Mohanlal does not allow the ‘undeserving elements’ to sit on the chair.
The title “Lucifer” made me nostalgic and took me to my childhood when I used to read indrajaal comics. Where mandrake was one of my favorite characters, and Lucifer was his nemesis. Later on, I learned that Lucifer was an angel who was made outcast by heaven and later on who was raised by Satan. The title intrigued me further and I wondered if it was apt to the plot? was the seemingly good Samaritan Mohanlal, is he an angel or Lucifer in the movie?
While doing a bit of research on this movie, I discovered that it has an “Illuminati’ angle to it and there are many frames in the movie which suggest and reinforce this claim. After knowing this I once again watched the movie (thanks to Amazon prime) and lo !!! my eyes lit up, it is indeed a damn good product. Looking at the way the movie got concluded, I am damn confident that a desi franchise of “Lucifer” is born, and we can expect quite a few sequels of this desi Lucifer.
It's out an out Mohanlal movie, his towering screen persona is awesome. The surprise package is Vivek Oberoi, he does all kinds of shitty movies in Bollywood but when he goes southwards, he gives exemplary performances, Manju warrior has a small role, but she impresses whenever she is one the screen. But for me, the real star is director Prithviraj for effectively creating this ‘desi Illuminati’ thriller.
Watch it, it's much more than a masala movie.
