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Ali Bhai
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'Ali Bhai' -Disappoints

By P. Sreekumaran
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

‘Ali Bhai’, Malayalam megastar Mohanlal’s much-hyped Onam gift, is a letdown. You have seen it all in old Mohanlal movies like ‘Narasimham’, Natturajavu , ‘Aaram Thampuran’ and ‘Baba Kalyani’. ‘Ali Bhai’ cannot claim thematic novelty or narrative excellence.

The film, produced by Mohanlal’s close aide, Antony Perumbavoor, is an out and out effort to cash in on the Mohanlal magic. But then, overkill backfires. It may not set the box office on fire either if the signs are any guide.

Director

Shaji Kailas has borrowed liberally from Tamil superstar Rajnikanth’s films. For instance, the spectacular introductory scene has superhero Mohanlal mauling the baddies aboard a bus.

And it is a futile exercise to look for a credible story line in an action-oriented film like this.

Anwa Ali, popularly known as Ali Bhai (Mohanlal) is the uncrowned king of Palayam market in Kozhikode. The man’s heart bleeds for the poor and downtrodden. A large number of people are dependent on the superhero’s kindness and patronage. These characters are played by a slew of actors including Cochin Haneefa, Jagadish, Shammi Thilakan, Ganesh, Sooraj Venjaranmoodu, Vijaya Kumar, Sudhish, K P A C Lalitha and Zeenat.

If you are looking forward to any romantic interludes, forget it. The do-gooder hero does not have time for such finer emotions as he is busy espousing the cause of the common man. So, all attempts by flower seller Chenthamara (Navya Nair) and teashop assistant Ganga (Gopika) to attract his attention come to naught. In a way, both are wasted in insignificant roles, as it often happens in megastar-dominated movies.

The villains who harass Ali Bhai are Sundaresan Thambi (Siddique) and Dan Abraham (Aryaman), who want to end Ali Bhai’s hold on the market and construct a mall there. They, in concert with the local administration, try all tricks to achieve their objective. They go to the extent of planting even a bomb, which kills many friends of Ali Bhai.

The one-man revenge squad called Ali Bhai goes about the task of vanquishing the villains with single-minded devotion.

The climax fight scene at the Binny Mills, Chennai, has been brilliantly picturised by stunt master, Super Subbarayan. Incidentally, Mohanlal sustained injuries while shooting the climax.

Even the music by Alex Paul fails to relieve the tedium. The songs sound repeats of the tunes in earlier Mohanlal films.

In fact, lack of romance and comedy are major factors that contribute to the mediocrity of this Mohanlal film.

Unless you are an out and out Mohanlal fan, you can avoid ‘Ali Bhai’.

Rating: *

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