Malayalam film review: Malayalis get a James Bond, slightly old, happily married

What happens when Malayalis get a James Bond? He will be called Jai Mohan (Mohanlal) – the first name is deftly tweaked from old “James”, and then a snatch of our hero’s real name, Mohanlal, is tacked on to it. Jai Mohan has a BMW but he will not be seen holding a martini in these barless times. He wakes up, not from nights of debauchery and not beside pretty young things in negligee, but for his wedding day. The Mallufication of Bond – slightly old, happily married – is complete.

Jai is an undercover agent with guns -- and even a drone -- in the boot of his BMW and he has a mission: to find what Victor Rana (Rahul Dev), a suspect in several terrorist attacks, is up to in Bangalore. But to his new wife Anjali (Amala Paul), he is an executive in an export company, which acts as a front, in the city. Anjali is perplexed: where is Jai disappearing late at night? And what is that napkin with address written in lipstick doing in his pocket? (Yes, yes, they still do that stuff.) And why is he suddenly pumping bullets into a stranger in broad daylight?

Joshiy wants it all very sleek and fast, and he gets some car chases right, although a BMW going after a radio taxi, if you really think about it, is a bit of a duh! Since Joshiy also wants romance, thriller and a couple of item numbers, the pace slackens – especially when our agent is trying to turn his wife into a vamp to lure the villains!

Jai Mohan is all about smart gun fights. Since we Mallus, even our commandos, cannot aspire to Daniel Craig-like six packs, we also don’t, thankfully, go for Daniel Craig-like rooftop chases. Put a gun in Jai’s hand and the villain at close range, and he will put the bullet through some part of the baddie’s anatomy. Straight, simple.

Mohanlal looks a little tired in some scenes and does not turn on the charm like he can. Amala Paul, even when she is tied to a chair with a time bomb stuck on her hand, looks remarkably unaffected. Sathyaraj as Jai’s boss Shaheed Khadar steals some scenes, although his is a national intelligence team that will ogle even at suspected accomplice Laila (Kainaat Arora, who breathes heavily while talking and who gets away with simpering instead of acting). The loser is the story: if you could spot one unpredictable turn in the plot, I will add one more star to the rating.

There is an inside joke towards the end when Khadar wishes his agent Jai “Happy Birthday”: Mohanlal turns 54 on May 21. He has age on his side, still. The oldest actor to play Bond was Roger Moore. He was 58 when A View to a Kill was released in 1985!