Kinavalli

Kinavalli is a bilingual, Malayalam and Tamil, fantasy-horror film directed by Sugeeth, written by novice script-writers Syam Seethal and Vishnu Ramachandran and produced by Manesh Thomas under the banner Kannamthanam films.^[1][2]

Background

The film has a mix of genres in which drama, comedy and horror are the highlights. In an interview, regarding the film, Syam said, “The film is about friendship, love, fantasy and also has a little bit of horror thrown in. Sugeeth has been particular that since his first film, the title or the tagline be related to the story and the tagline of this film - ‘based on a fake story’ - too has relevance with the film”.^[3]

Unlike his previous films, it will be the first time the director Sugeeth is working in a film with no established artists. The film introduces six new artists to the film industry. Vivek Menon and Shashwath Sunil Kumar, are performing the cinematography and music direction respectively.^[4][5] On being asked why he chose to work with newcomers, Sugeeth was quoted as saying “A film is not only about the profits that can be made. It is also about giving opportunities to newcomers when everything falls into place, which happened in my case. The story of Kinavalli took shape when a large group of us were sitting together and swapping tales. And this story called for fresh faces, which too fell into place."^[6]

The first look poster was launched on Valentines Day 2018 in a Dubai Radio Channel, Hit 96.7 FM by actor/RJ Nyla Usha ^[7]

Synopsis

The story is about a couple Vivek and Ann. For their wedding anniversary, Ann decides to surprise her husband by inviting his close friends Sudheesh, Ajith, Gopan and Swaty home. During their stay the 4 friends experience paranormal activities in and around the house, events that follow form the crux of the story.

Cast

• Ajmal Zayn as Vivek.^[8]
• Surabhi Santosh as Ann
• Vijay Johny as Sudheesh
• Krrish Menon as Ajith
• Sujith Raj as Gopan
• Sowmya Menon as Swaty
• Hareesh Kanaran as Appu Shanti

Release

The film was released on 27 July 2018 to positive reviews.

The Times of India gave it a 3.5 out of 5 and, in its review, praised the performances of the newcomers "The youngsters charge the frames with their electric performance, seamlessly switching back and forth from comedy to sober seriousness" and also goes on to say, "Kinavalli is a horror-fantasy tailor-made for the family audience. It doesn’t depend on an excess of graphics or loud thuds or crashes to create the spooks. Neither does it creep on you to scare you out of your wits. Instead it comes with some clean comedy, subtle scares and a hard sell of a climax. But then again, when the makers term the movie to be “based on a fake story”, you mustn’t really apply logic because they’ve already asked you not to."^[9]

The Deccan Chronicle mentioned "All credits to Sugeeth for breaking out of his comfort zone and not hanging on to his usual cast. He has shown the courage to bank on the untried fantasy-horror genre, with a string of newcomers, who have done their best to make the movie engaging. Sugeeth has proved that he is capable of pulling off other genres well too. The script written by Sheethal Shyam and Vishnu Ramachandran has an adequate mix of comedy and uncanny moments. Vivek Menon’s cinematography blends well with the mood of the movie." while giving it a 3.5 on 5.^[10]

Manorama Online summarised Kinavalli as "a complete entertainer with twists",^[11] while Sify, termed it as "a paisa vasool entertainer" stating that "Kinavalli may not offer you too many surprises or scare the hell out of the viewer. But the movie does manage to entertain you with its own share of thrills."^[12]

References