Grandmaster – Movie Review

Grandmaster, directed by B Unnikrishnan is an out and out Mohanlal film. Everybody who has been criticising superstar Mohanlal off late for his acting and playing 'young' might need to take back their words!

Grandmaster is a crime thriller. Suspense thriller plots are always interesting, and if treated well has a huge potential. B Unnikrishnan has done just that.

Grandmaster doesn't starts off very well, but improves as scene progresses. The second half especially is very interesting as you get completely involved in the fast paced proceedings.

B Unnikrishnan does a good job of keeping the suspense intact, until the end. The criminal turns out to be the least suspicious one as is expected. What is disappointing is that a deliberate and unconvincing story is made around the so called criminal to give a logical explanation as to why he committed these murders. Mohanlal's slightly greyed hair gives him a very smart and dignified look.

Grandmaster bares resemblance to the Hollywood film The Alphabet Murders (1965).

Story

Chandrasekharan (Mohanlal) has lost his charm as a cop as he is trying hard to come to terms with the separation from his wife, Deepthi (Priyamani). She is a criminal lawyer and the couple have an adolescent daughter, whom he doesn't get to spend much time with.

Things change when Chandrasekharan is made the head of the Metro Crime Stopper Cell in Kochi. When he saves three college girls who were kidnapped by a psychologically deviant guy, he receives an anonymous congratulatory note from somebody who calls himself 'Z'. What follows is a game of murder and mystery...something like a game of chess that Chandrashekaran has to unravel.

Performance
Mohanlal undoubtedly walks away with the cake this time! He manages to bowl over the audience with his calm and subdued acting, unlike anything he has done in recent years.

Not even for a moment does his performance falter, keeping you engrossed throughout. Priyamani gives a decent performance and so does Narein and Jagathy Sreekumar.

Grandmaster is truly worth watching. No two opinion about that!

Cast: Mohanlal, Priyamani, Anoop Menon, Narain, Babu Antony, Roma Asrani, Mithra Kurian, Jagathy Sreekumar, Siddique, Arjun Nandakumar

Director: B Unnikrishnan