Young gun DIJO JOSE ANTONY is only one film old in the Malayalam film industry but managed to give new meaning to the campus movie genre with his debut effort “QUEEN(2018)”, which, despite featuring a fresh cast of newcomers, managed to smartly blend college life with a strong social message and the thrills of a legal procedural. In “Jana Gana Mana” the director has established stars to work with and leverages them to the best possible extent, delivering a strong, message-oriented thriller that balances massy moments with unexpected twists to keep the audience hooked for its entirely.
“Jana Gana Mana” arrived in the theatres having already veered delectably off the beaten path, having released its teaser and trailer with scenes not from the movie but from its upcoming sequel, in what is surely a first of its kind promotional stunt in world cinema. The trailer especially featured a 4-minute awe-inspiring one-shot action sequence that had captured the imagination of Malayali audiences and it was with this burden of expectations that the movie premiered across screens worldwide yesterday.
We follow the story of ACP Sajjan, played by the evergreen dependable National Award winner Suraj Venjaramoodu, who is assigned the sensational case of the brutal murder of a college professor who was adored by her students and was known for her staunch political stands. As the student protests build due to political interference and constant hurdles being placed in the investigation, the case moves to a tense courtroom drama, where the pace becomes breakneck, and the stakes become monumental.
Despite a sluggish first half laced with some cringe-worthy moments of excess melodrama and misplaced songs, the introduction of Prithviraj's character and the inflexion points in the plot at the onset of the second half more than makes up for it. Vincy Aloshious is especially on-point in her supporting role as a student leader while Pasupathy Raj, Mamtha Mohandas, GM Sundar and Shari also deliver a convincing performances. Jakes Bejoy's background score is a rousing companion to the narration throughout the length of the film, providing emotion and stimulation in equal measure, making the punch dialogues whistle worthy and generating goosebumps in the mass elevation scenes.
The Writer Sharis Mohammed deserve all the praise for his wonderful script. With the trailer and the teaser apparently giving us only a glimpse of what Dijo, Prithviraj and this kickass team has planned for us in the second instalment, the anticipation.
