College Kumaran

Language : Malayalam
Banner : Fairy Queen Productions
Director : Thulasidas
Producer : Benzy Martin
Camera : Venugopalan
Story : Suresh Poduval
Screenplay : Suresh Poduval
Dialogue : Suresh Poduval
Lyrics : Shibu Chakravarthy
Music : Ouseppachan
Distribution : Emil and Eric Digital Films Release
Release : 2008 January 31
Cast : Mohanlal, Vimala Raman, Balachandra Menon, Siddique, Salim Kumar, Sai Kumar, Suraj Venjaranmoodu, Shamna

A enchanting mix of college life, campus politics and of course, Mohanlal promised to charge and welcome us in the new year. And standing by their words is 'College Kumaran', the new release of the star which is not a classy affair, but surely an entertaining one. The film offers us excitement all through as we settle into our seats for the movie and the director has made it a point to keep the tempo sustained with little bit of twists coming up in every twenty minutes. The film which stretch a little more than two and a half hours, is definitely a passable fare, when compared with the recent outings of the star.

The film is a rollicking ride through the life of Kumaran alias Captin Sreekumar, an ex military officer, who is presently running the campus canteen of Mahatma College.

Spending his days entirely for and with the students Kumaran popularly called as Kumarettan, is the life and soul of the campus. Kumaran is the only person who can influence the students of this college to any extent. He is like a gang leader who is always in front to support and raise the needs of students, be it the agitation demanding the recognition of courses before the Secretariat or the strike against Prof Vikraman (Rizabava) who runs special tuition in the time of college classes. Even the principal Narendranath (Janaardhanan) and manager Shivaraman Nair(Nedumudi Venu) turns to him, whenever the students starts fights on petty issues and politically targeted strikes.

Kumaran's father Karunakaran Nair and his sister died in a fire that happened in the canteen ten years back , and there after Kumaran left the army to be with the students and the college, which he maintains like his own home. But there were many who hated Kumaran and his freehand in the college administration. The spearhead among them was Sethunathan, the educational minister, and the chieftain of all illegal business activities related to education. A former chairman of the college, he raved to buy the college from the manager Shivaraman by hook or crook. And for this he hatched many plans which get spoiled always by the timely intrusion of Kumaran. Madhavi (Vimala Raman), the college's English professor, was another person who felt that Kumaran is the major reason behind the students getting pampered and spoiled. But very soon the tables are expected to turn against Kumaran as he get enmeshed in a bigger trap, Will Kumaran be able to survive the commotion? Can he save the college from Sethunath? See the film for the answers.

The film rooted in the campus itself has a pretty thin story line. But Thulaseedas has finally managed to convert the flick into a passable fare. The director is spot on the little subject, he had and races to the final with the help of fine cuts by P C Mohanan. The screenplay and dialogues by Suresh Pothuwal flesh out the characters of this thin concept, with not many deviations. The later half is more impressive, but with too many cliches, that makes the flick a predictable stuff. Mohanlal looks tired but ease through the role which he had been in, many times before. Vimala Raman as Madhavi is ok but has precious little to do. The shortcoming of the script is that it doesn’t have many hilarious moments, funny sequences, punch lines or witty one liner. Suraaj and Harishree Ashokan as Kumaran's aides in canteen try to bring in chuckles but fails more than often. Siddhique as Sethunathan is in his usual self while a bunch of young artists completes the castline as campus groups.

Venugopalan support Thulassedas behind the camera. The film has three songs of which ''Kanakuyilin'' is the best, sung by Sujatha and Venugopal. The background score by Ouseppachan also give the needed impetus on many scenes, lifting it to the needed moods. Altogether the film may not be a must-watch but it's also not a total let down either. Something you could fish out, still endurable on account of its running time of just 145 minutes, and of course Mohanlal. When you have two hours to do nothing important, just have a look at 'College Kumaran'.

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