Twenty:20 - Review

Imagine casting all the important stars in a language for a single film and giving equal importance to all the superstars!! It is indeed a mammoth task which has been carried out very well by the makers of Twenty:20. The huge effort taken by all the cast and crew in the Malayalam film industry has resulted in a racy, thrilling and amazingly well-made film. The first round of applause should be given to the writers who have taken script-writing to a new level by providing us a 3 hour film without a single dull moment. In fact, all the areas of film-making in Twenty:20 excel with superb action, songs and suspense.

The plot, interestingly, comes in layers. There are stories inside the story and it seems there is a twist in every scene. The suspense slowly builds up, ending in an explosive climax which will leave the audience in ecstasy.

It is Vishu and like every nostalgic Malayalee, Retired Justice Viswanathan Menon (Madhu) returns home with his wife ( Kaviyoor Ponnamma) to his splendid ancestral home in Kerala to celebrate the event with his children (Siddique and Vijayaraghavan). In the beginning itself, there is rib-tickling comedy involving Innocent, who acts as the caretaker of the house and some thieves (played by Cochin Haneefa, Harisri Asokan, Kochu Preman and Kalpana) who break into the house creating mayhem.

The joyful atmosphere soon turns gloomy as Viswanathan's son Arun (Indrajith), a medical student in Bangalore, is taken into police custody by the cunning Police Commissioner Antony Punnakkadan (Suresh Gopi). His alleged crime? Murdering a fellow student! A brilliant lawyer Ramesan Nambiar (Mammootty) arrives on the scene to rescue him out. Vinod Bhaskar (Jayaram), professor of the medical college, who wants to testify in Arun's favour, is kidnapped by a thug Karinkal Pappachan (Kalabhavan Mani); adding to the misery, mayhem and mystery, Arun too gets killed. Antony Punnakkadan arrests Devan (Mohanlal) in connection with Arun's murder, but Devan turns out to be a poor trader whose presence at the murder spot was a mere coincidence.

Devan's sister (Kavya Madhavan) and mother (Sukumari) arrive and declare that Devan is innocent and that he is being framed by Punnakkadan. They urge Ramesan Nambiar to take up Devan's case. Ramesan, heeding his dear wife's advice, argues in court for Devan, eventually setting him free. Now comes the real twist. Devan is actually an underworld don Devaraja Pratap Varma, who is after Ramesan to extract his revenge for the death of his brother Karthi (Dileep). The film goes into flashback mode, becoming the backbone of the story, and revealing some startling truths. All this winds up in the big climax with all the hullabaloo ending in a shootout.

Mammootty and Mohanlal fans can finally relax; the film gives equal importance to both of them and they are superb as usual. Other movies in which Mammootty played a lawyer have proved that it is the most suitable role for him; in Twenty:20, his excellent performance confirms this. Mohanlal as Devan is outstanding with the right mannerisms and style. Suresh Gopi is amazing in his typical police role. This actor is born to play a policeman!! Dileep appearing in a short role has an impeccable sense of timing. The comedy band led by Innocent and Jagathy are at their wittiest here. Director Joshy and script writers Sibi K. Thomas and Udayakrishnan have done the impossible and created history, not to mention the crew, which consists of all the brilliant brains in the Malayalam film industry. Like Prithviraj, some of the actors have miniscule roles; Jayasurya appears only in a song with Nayantara. The three songs composed by Suresh Peters are peppy.

Twenty:20 is a tribute to Malayalam cinema for its years of creating excellent films and the money it raises will be spent on a good cause. So, the last word is: Twenty:20 is awesome and those who miss it miss the chance to watch the entire Malayalam film industry coming together on a single platform to provide the most wholesome entertainment it has ever produced.

Director Joshy
Producer Dileep on behalf of AMMA
Music Suresh Peters
Cast All Malayalam actors