Synopsis - The incidents that take place in the life of an item dancer turned heroine, Meera (Shwetha Menon) after the accident of her husband, Shyam (Biju Menon)
Script & Direction - After all the hype and hoola due to controversy created through media, I was expecting nothing but something extraordinarily special from Blessy. For me he is the best out of the current crop of directors who can convey his subject using the emotional quotient. But Kalimannu faced loads of issues as a viewer while sitting through the experience. The common feature in his top notch work like Kaazhcha,Thanmathra,Bhramaram & Pranayam were the manner he handled the emotional quotient of the characters he presents on the screen. The first half we see Blessy establishing his characters, their relationships and their backdrop. Blessy did a great job in doing so and we can easily relate to the strength of the chemistry between the lead characters.
But once the second half commence, the movie moves in a multi layer mode. We see many issues like medical ethics,legal issues etc etc and somehow Blessy seems to be rushing things like Suhasini's Sofia (who seems to be hurry to get things done as soon as possible). This didn't suit the style of Blessy which is more like a breezy experience. What I didn't like was the way Shwetha's character oscillates from emotional point to other issues without emotionally connecting each other. It feels like both issues are taking place at two different times of her life. Once the core portion commence, Blessy somehow gets back to track and explains the deep relationship between mum n her unborn child through various ways like doctors,Meera's Friends. But again we feel like he is trying to preach instead of attaching us emotionally.In another way, its more like that section of the movie was an awareness program regarding pregnancy. Finally Blessy ends with a rather weak climax where he criticizes various social norms and media (in a Deja Vu manner). Infact I wasn't happy with the way a director like Blessy treated the second half of the movie after a quite promising first half. This movie has a very special/novel premise and maybe a woman can connect to the emotional side of the movie much better than a man. That can be seen as either a flaw of the audience or the director. Also I felt he opted for a more unconventional approach this time and finally we get confused what he is trying to convey to the audience as a message or simply messages. The dialogues (especially Suhasini's) were a bit too philosophical and towards the end its more like conveying Blessy's social viewpoint.
Personally, my favourite scenes are the ones between Biju Menon & Shwetha Menon. Seems like Blessy was in his comfort zone and he handled it exceptionally well as expected. But sadly it was totally concentrated in the first half only. Regarding the highlight scene, the only reason I can find in support of Blessy is that he wanted to to place the audience in the theater as one of the characters in the movie. Even the publicity of that news prior to relase is part of it.
Cast & Performance - Shwetha's character demanded an actress like Shobhana,Revathy etc etc who can handle different emotional moments within the character. Eventhough she has done her best, I didn't find it impressive. The climax was slightly tricky and Shwetha displayed her average skills as an actress to make it look simply lousy. While Biju Menon was too lovable as Shwetha's husband. Their chemistry was simply awesome. Suhasini was fine but I felt her character could have been written a bit better considering the actress' caliber. Valthsala Menon performed a familiar "Paati" character. Then we have a host of newcomers with poor performances and cameos from B Unnikrishnan,Suniel Shetty,Anupum Kher,Anil Panachooran,Didi Damodaran etc etc. Priyadarshan got a scene which earned loads of applause.
Songs & Background Score - The other highlight of the movie were the melodious songs by M Jayachandran-O N V Kurup team. The pick of the lot are "Lalee,,Lalee" sung by Mridula Warrier & "Shalabhamaay.." by Shreya Ghosal. Two item songs in Hindi featuring Suniel Shetty and one at the dance bar were the other songs. The background score was supported the movie quite well.
Technical Expertise - Satheesh Kurup seems to be sharing great rapport with Blessy. After Pranayam, this is his best work especially the indoor shots. Raja Mohammed's editing wasn't exceptional in the second half. The Art Direction team led by Prashant Madhavan can be seen with the aquariums and shooting sets. The make up department has done a good job especially Bhagyalakshmi with Shwetha Menon.
Bottomline - This wasn't an impressive experience for me after loads of expectations from a Blessy movie. Maybe he tried to convey too many messages within 120 minutes and affected the overall tone of the movie. Despite of possessing a special premise, Blessy failed to treat it in an apt manner.
Ratings - 6/10
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