An interesting theme, edge-of-the-seat moments, unexpected twists in the plot, ample dose of religious messages, excellent choreography, crisp dialogues and soulful acting – Anwar is a breed apart from the rest of the Malayalam movies. Though Bollywood has attempted movies on terrorism before, this Amal Neerad’s directorial venture is a daring step in Malayalam.

If you are the kind of movie-goer who has just entertainment on your mind, then you will love this one. So for the benefit of such a movie-goer, let us talk about all the obvious things that make this movie click. To begin with, the dashing Prithviraj and his romantic interest the beautiful Mamta, together set the screen on fire with their presence, chic looks and mind-blowing dance moves. The songs are hummable and the fact that the leading pair crooned them lends more charm to the songs. There are action sequences that give you an adrenaline rush, shots taken with lot of technical finesse, a pace which gathers momentum as the movie proceeds and a supporting cast that has proved their mettle before. An introductory voice over by Mammooty, followed by the Coimbatore bomb explosion capture the viewer’s attention. But if you expect to run away from the morbid realities of life by watching this movie, think twice. Anwar sucks you into the brutal world of terrorism and leaves you with a heavy heart. So this movie is not all style and no substance.

A definite plus of the movie is the ideal characterization and acting prowess displayed by the star cast. Be it Mamta’s poise, Prithviraj’s intensity, Prakash Raj’s matter of factness or Salim Kumar’s nonchalance, the movie has packed in some stellar performances. Even a couple of scenes by Kukkoo Parameswaran was impressive. But what was hard to miss was Lal’s all pervading calmness. The kind of calmness possessed by a man who has been there and done that. The kind of calmness possessed by a man who has a lot of turbulence beneath it. Apart from enthralling the audience with SUV’s, well shot action sequences and all that jazz, the movie has a strong religious message. It tells the common man that not all Muslims are terrorists. And there is a message to the government and the cops too (as said by one of the characters in the movie) “every time an innocent Muslim gets arrested, the cops are creating a new recruit for the Jihad”! How true to an extent.

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The Cranes are Flying

Plot : In Moscow, the young couple Veronika (T. Samojlova) and Boris (Aleksey Batalov) are in deep love for each other. With the World War II, Boris volunteers to join the army and is sent to the front on the day before Veronika’s birthday, and they do not have the chance to say goodbye to each other. While waiting for news from Boris, Veronika is raped by Boris’ cousin Mark (A. Shvorin) and they marry each other. However, Veronika does not forget Boris, and keeps waiting for him.

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