Minnal Murali movie review: Basil Joseph's latest film, starring Tovino Thomas in the lead, has finally cracked the superhero formula for India.
Until recently, the big question was whether India could ever make a Hollywood-like special effects blockbuster that also makes huge profits globally. Telugu director SS Rajamouli successfully answered this with his Baahubali films, the quality and commercial success of which led Indian filmmakers to believe that they too could roll out domestic glasses.
Now, Kerala has delivered India's first great superhero film. With Basil Joseph's new Malayalam film Minnal Murali streaming on Netflix, India has finally broken the superhero formula.
Set in a semi-rural Kerala town, Minnal follows Murali Jason (Tovino Thomas), who develops superpowers after being struck by lightning. All is well until Jason finds his nemesis in Selvan (Govind Somasundaram), another man in town who was struck by lightning that same night.
Prior to Minnal Murali, Indian tours in the superhero genre had yielded moderate results. From Krrish films that shamelessly tackled Bollywood, to Maskin's 2012 Tamil film Mugamoodi, the major problem with Indian superhero cinema was our directors' uneasiness in combining the idioms of Indian mainstream cinema with the logic of superhero movies.
In Minnal Murali, director Basil Joseph, and his writers Arun Anirudhan and Justin Mathew try not to make their superhero story gritty, but sidestep the problem by taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to the genre. This method was previously seen only once in Indian superhero cinema.
In Remo D'Souza's 2016 Bollywood film A Flying Jatt, Tiger Shroff may have been a superhero, but his strict mother also brought her son home groceries sometimes after fighting crime. Unfortunately, D'Souza abandoned the original charm of the story and went full Hollywood, bringing in a white villain, concerns about environmental pollution, etc.
Minnal Murali remains steadfast with determination throughout its 158-minute runtime. Despite being a subject universally appealing to lovers of the fantasy and superhero genre, Minnal Murali's surroundings and characters are always strictly local, a highlight of contemporary Malayalam cinema that has gained appreciation across the country.
The semi-rural setting, where no one is aware of the concept of superheroes, gives Minnal Murali a fanciful quality. This fantasy is heightened by the absence of any clear indication of the time in which the film is set. There is no smartphone or mobile phone, and even no television. Is the movie from the 1960s or 70s?
Whatever the case, the decision to have a superhero story in a time and space surrounded by all the markers of modernity is a brilliant idea. If it's a world where no one understands what a superhero is, and no one has any connection to the outside world, then naturally, the superhero saga becomes a private, awkward joke of the city. The writers continually come up with a comedy about the setting of this small town, its eccentric characters, and the townspeople suspecting each other to be costumed warriors.
Tovino Thomas, one of the most talented young actors of Malayalam cinema, portrays Jason with a big heart and good enthusiasm. Guru Somasundaram is influential as a social outcast of the city who turns out to be a complete clown by the end. The likes of Thomas and Somasundaram's menacing presence collide to produce a solid good-versus-bad story. Baiju Santosh as the city's superintendent of police and Femina George as the local karate teacher are entertaining.
Minnal Murali is a technical triumph at every turn. Sameer Tahir's cinematography brings a carnivalous tone to the story. Despite the long run, Livingston Matthews' editing makes the film feel sharp and light. Music composers Shaan Rahman and Sushin Shyam's songs are superb, especially the title track. The special effects, art direction and production design are on point. Minnal Murali not only has the potential to create a franchise but might even become an international hit.
Minnal Murali
Director: Basil Joseph
Cast: Tovino Thomas, Guru Somasundaram