Bheeshma Parvam review: Stylised Godfather-esque film with striking performances

Director: Amal Neerad

Cast: Mammootty, Soubin Shahir, Nadiya Moidu, Lena, Sreenath Bhasi, Shine Tom Chacko, Dileesh Pothan, Anasuya Bharadwaj, Harish Uthaman, Shebin Benson, Anagha, Srinda, KPAC Lalitha, Nedumudi Venu and Farhaan Fazil

Music director: Sushin Shyam

Cinematography: Anend C Chandran

Editor: Vivek Harshan

Synopsis: Micheal, a patriarch of the Anjooty clan, helms his influential family in Kochi, inspiring fear and respect through his unnerving past. When a few younger members in the household feel his power over their lives too are aggravating, they join hands with foes to clamp him down and the story follows what's in store for them.

Rating: 3.5/5

What happens when u perfectly blend up an epic mythology 'Mahabharata' with Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather' is what Amal Neerad's Bheeshma Parvam is. The Godfather on its release had a massive influence on gangster dramas for the right reasons. From its influence, we have had several Indian adaptations of the same from Mani Ratnam's 'Nayakan' to the recently released Fahadh Faasil-starrer 'Malik' that fall under the same template.

Yet, Amal Neerad's Bheeshma Parvam bridging on the same is much more stylised and has a mass appeal in its own way. Amal's previous films were all adaptations from Hollywood yet was churred out for the Malayalam audience with difference in treatment and bringing his own unique style into it. Bheeshma Parvam yet again falls under the same category.

The film begins as we are first introduced to the world of Micheal (Mammotty), who is a noble don lives with his joint family in Kochi. Micheal is one of such don's who turns up late after his mother grieves as her son was murdered in the name of honour killing. Then, the film shows his family members turning against him, starting a tussle within the already disjointed family. Figures from Micheal's past, Rajan (Sudev Nair) and his family, Peter (Shine Tom Chacko), Paul (Farhaan Faasil), corrupt cop, brother-in-law Martin (Harish Uthaman), brother Simon (Jinu Joseph), and cunning politician James (Dileesh Poothan) join hands to put an end to Micheal's domination.

Despite having pressures from all around, Micheal keeps him calm from a little comfort he gets within his family, Fathima (Nadia Moidu) and her sons Ajas (Soubin Shair) and Ami (Sreenath Bhasi) stand with him for the way he leads them.

Mammootty is the star of this film. He exhibits quite a charm and charisma throughout his acting as a demeanor and powerful yet venerable don. His fights are choreographed by Sumesh and Jishnu in such a POV manner that we don't feel like aged man-bashing goons, but a real don hitting it out. He is calm on the exterior, but with full rage. Soubin Shahir shines in emotional scenes and the other cast members are perfectly fit for the roles.

Where the film falters is in the final act as the resolutions for the characters end up being so quick that you really wonder how can all this happens this quick. With the already generic one-toned Bollywood-ish Villan as the antagonist (Yet, he is somewhat rooted in Kochi through Late actors Nedumudi Venu and KPAC Lalitha who have the shades of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari from Mahabharatha) doesn't really quite stand against Mammootty on screen and feels like his character wasn't explored well.

Yet, even with these flaws and the storyline being predictable, Amal Neerad's style of filmmaking is something to marvel at, the way he frames characters and the setting in which the story is placed in, offers more to him to bring visual references on-screen from 80's retro dressing style to two-stroke street bikes.

To a great extent, Sushin Shyam's phenomenal yet pulsating music and Anend C Chandran's cinematography lend great support for the stylised mass scenes. Anend C Chandran's cinematography perfectly encapsulates the mood and aesthetics through creative camerawork and histrionics in the setting. Vivek Harshan's editing is also quite impressive.

To compare these characters with Mahabrahatra, Micheal is Bheeshma, Soubin is Yudhishthira, Sreenath Bhasi is the flamboyant Arjuna, Shine Tom Chacko is Duryodhana and Rajan is an amalgamation of Karnan, and Shikhandi, and is loosely inspired by real-life Mumbai based gangster Rajan Mahadevan Nair (popularly known as D-company).

Other than the Mahabharata and Godfather callbacks, the film is filled with references such as the mention of the Last Supper, Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, 13D (a legendary Kochi rock band), Varkeys Supermarket. It also scores with dark humor that invokes chuckles like the scene where one acknowledges cocaine as salt or the grandmother watching 'The Terminator'.

For the progressive laud, Amal Neerad who co-wrote the film with Davadath Shaji and PT Ravi Shankar does elevate the women characters in the film as well and does not present them as mere spectators. They are equal to men in every shape and form. The ambiguous ending is an exact depiction from Mahabharata where Yudhishthira passes away to Uttarayan and the same happens in Amal Neerad's version as Micheal passes his role to Ajas.

'Bheeshma Parvam' stands as its own version of The Godfather, it's an entertaining outing for Mammootty fans following on same themes with few issues yet stylised in Amar Neerad's way.