Keedam
Introduction
There is no stopping us and we are striving to consistently keep reviewing stuff for your regular viewing. And as always I do rely on my viewers too to expand my watchlist. So on my Youtube Channel “Popcorn Reviewss”(Yes by the same name, Please Subscribe), I had been getting many movie recommendations. Out of most of them, I was confused on whether to watch Jo And Jo or Keedam(recommended by my subscriber Manjunath) for Tuesday(I will be watching the other too). And so I narrowed down to Keedam as its runtime was shorter than Jo And Jo and it also starred one of my favourite actors Rajisha Vijayan whose work I have always admired. Lastly, this is a Malayalam film so it is a bit of a no brainer on whether I should watch it or not. But then I did not know what to expect from the film and I went into the film blind without really knowing what the film is about. So then is Keedam which is streaming on Zee5 worth your time, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
Keedam follows a girl working in a cyber security firm who has her privacy compromised after she falls prey to a cyber-stalking incident. Now at some point, many of us have fallen prey to these cyber frauds be it bank transactions or simply fraudulent calls. So the story is definitely relevant and a good one. I was really looking to see as to how deep the writing would go considering this subject. While the writing is engaging, it just about scratches the surface and doesn’t really go deep in. The screenplay standing at about 100 minutes means that it is fast paced and wastes no time in getting to the point.
I really enjoyed the thrilling opening sequences which completely had my attention. The drama then starts introducing the characters including the protagonist and there is an instant sense of urgency. But what you don’t see is character depth or a background of the antagonists as to why are they doing what they are doing. So the characterization here is traded with the pace of the screenplay. So while the pace is maintained throughout, the characters lack depth other than the main protagonist.
Another drawback(and I would use that word considering the high standard of Malayalam films) was that the writing barely scratched the surface while dealing with the topic of cyber security. What you get are just glimpses of it and not an in depth overview. Things in the second hour get interesting when the tables turn leading upto an entertaining final act although that did feel like old school stuff. So overall a crisp and a decent screenplay which has been penned here.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are quite good and they pack a punch. The BGM is good but I think the use of it in the screenplay wasn’t great to be honest. They could have used it better to have a better impact to the scenes which were unfolding. The cinematography is good. Director Rahul Riji Nair who had previously directed the Rajisha Vijayan starrer Kho Kho, a sports drama which I had really loved, does a good job here as well. The direction ensures that you are thoroughly entertained throughout and constantly on your toes in what is a consistently watchable thriller.
Performances
The performances are pretty good here. Anand Manmadhan and Arjun Ranjan have their moments to shine. Vijay Babu as the cop is really impressive and he does a swell job. Sreenivasan is endearing and sincere as Radhika’s father. Renjit Shekar is quite outstanding in his role despite a limited scope in characterization of his role. Rajisha Vijayan as Radhika is simply brilliant and quite honestly the soul of the film. She is natural to the core and terrific in certain sequences where there is a transition of her character(from the victim to turning the tables). A brilliant performance this!
Conclusion
Keedam is a crisp thriller with good performances which can be watched once. But do manage your expectations with this one. Available on Zee5.