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'Bus Conductor' A Letdown

By P. Sreekumaran
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

The VM Vinu-directed ‘Bus Conductor’ is Malayalam megastar Mammootty’s last film to be released in 2005. After the heady high of ‘Rajamanickyam’, ‘Bus Conductor’ is a bit of a letdown for the Mammootty fans.

For once, Mammootty seems to have faltered in opting to do a film like ‘Bus Conductor’ which has nothing to commend itself. If you have seen ‘Balettan’ and ‘Vesham’, you can give ‘Bus Conductor’ the wide berth.

VM

Vinu has sort of taken the cine-goers for a ride by mixing ‘Vesham’ and ‘Balettan’ to serve as ‘Bus Conductor’.

‘Balettan’ gave Mohanlal a second lease of reel life. And ‘Vesham’, directed by Vinu again, clicked, thanks to Mammootty’s controlled understatement of a do-gooder role. ‘Bus Conductor’, alas, suffers from a fatal flaw: a boringly repetitive theme compounded further by lacklustre performance from most of the actors. Of course, Mammootty is an exception. The megastar hands out yet another measured performance as the good-hearted big brother. But then, too much of a good thing palls. And that is the drawback of ‘Bus Conductor’.

Writer TA Razack penned powerful scripts in ‘Vesham’, ‘Perumazhakkalam’ and ‘Rappagal’. But it is an indifferent job in ‘Bus Conductor’. Nothing original about it. To boot, the dialogues are infuriatingly repetitive. Only the setting is different, it being a Muslim milieu in ‘Bus Conductor’.

Sultanveetil Zakir Hussain, alias ‘Bus conductor Kunjakka’ (Mammootty), is a gem of a person, liked by one and all. He has a big family to look after.

Other members of the family are mother (Bindu Panikkar), sister (Poornima) her two daughters, husband (Innocent) and a son Najeeb (Jayasurya). Then, there is his sister Selina (Mamta Mohandas). Zakir dotes on her.

Kunjakka owns a bus “Maitri”. “Maitri” has a rival: Road King operated by Kunjakka’s rival, a sub-inspector (Anil).

Kunjakka’s constant companion is his nephew Najeeb. One fine morning, Najeeb makes for Dubai, leaving behind a problem for Kunjakka in the form of a pregnant Brahmin girl (Bhavana). Kunjakka’s decision to take her under his wings creates misunderstandings in the family. However, Kunjakka’s girl friend Noorjehan (Nikhita) stands by her man.

The expert Bus Conductor ensures that the Bus of his family negotiates the hurdles life throws up expertly. The film is also supposed to be an expose on the problems that plague the private bus industry in Kerala.

If the music of M. Jayachandran is a big letdown, lyrics of Girish Puthancherry are pedestrian. Which is a pity.

The only plus point of the film, apart from Mammootty’s acting, is the excellent artwork of Bobban. The bus stand you see in the film is authentic.

It’s a bumpy ride even for Mammootty’s fans! Be careful in choosing your script next time around, Mammookka! Or else, the fans may turn their back on you!

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