Title -Anwar
Cast- Prithviraj, Mamta Mohandas
Lal, Prakash Raj, Salim Kumar

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.

Here is one for all those fans of Kochivibe whose goes to cafe’s just to read our updates.! (We might be pushing it a bit) . If you are one of those very few people who actually go to cafe’s to ‘surf ‘ ( ) you might be concerned to hear that cops are setting up softwares at Cyber Cafes throughout Cochin, that is snooping on your activities on the computer! Things are getting stricter at cyber cafes. Earlier cafes were advised to install cameras and collect details of the customer and record it. As if THAT was not enough, you now have a computer software that tells the cops what you do online! However, this massive intrusion of privacy is reasoned. Growing terrorism threats is just one half of the story. Online scams, wealth transaction frauds, identity thefts and hacking cases are on the rise in the city.

Our cops seem to be genuinely worried now a days. Here is why. Google Maps is making detailed map of the state. For those who wondering if it could get more detailed, YES it can. Every small bend and turn are gonna be covered on the maps. So why is that a bad thing? According to Police Intelligence Chief this could pose a problem because it could expose key strategic assets like the Southern Naval Command in Kochi. We at Kochivibe very frankly don’t understand what all the fuss is about. If the cops had a look at the google maps now, they would know that everyone already has a pretty detailed view. The image below shows the Southern Naval Command Airport at Maximum zoom.

What the cops should have done was to talk to Google rather than cry out helplessly to the media. Google has already blurred out various locations through out the world that holds strategic value, as per government requests. So its nothing new for them. Infact when Former President Abdul Kalam, had a concern google went ahead and censored various key locations through out the nation. Our cops should have probably done their homework. By their actions our cops have achieved to bring the attention of the terrorists frantically looking for maps! .

Please don’t arrest me!