Gangster Malayalam Movie Review

Gangster is an action thriller movie directed by Aashiq Abu who is best known for his excellent work in Salt N' Pepper.The movies has Mammooty  in the leading role and Nyla Usha and Aparna Gopinath are the female lead actors in the movie. John Paul, T. G. Ravi, Sekhar Menon, Kunchan, Hareesh Peradi and Dileesh Pothan are cast in supporting roles. The screenplay of the movie is written by Ahmed Sidhique and Abhilash Kumar, whereas music is composed by Deepak Dev. Now, let's take a look at the movie review.

The movie revolves around the exploits of larger than life gangster Akbar Ali Khan (Mammooty). He defies the law and believes in delivering justice himself. He is the messiah of the masses and is the law on his own. However, he has to pit his wits and determination against ruthless and cunning villain played by Shekhar Menon. So,whether he comes out on the top in this battle of conspiracies and can he outwit his rival who is far more powerful than anything he has faced until now, is the plot of the movie.

Mammooty who is the main attraction of the movie, has once again delivered. His personality and acting experience helps him to seamlessly slip into his character. Shekhar in the role of antagonist is at his menacing best. He delivers a solid performance in the role of ruthless villain.Director Abu has fulfilled his promise of delivering a slick and stylish underworld saga with Gangster. The script of the movie is efficiently developed and the character building is also impressive. The action sequences which are highlight of the movie are well choreographed and shot.

Story

Akbar is the son of a Mumbai based underworld don who relocates to Mangalapuram after the death of his father. With a treasure of wealth and accomplices to his aid Akbar sets up a kingdom of his own after taking revenge on his father's murderers. The film begins on an interesting note,as the flashback scenes before the title cards are shown in animation. But there ends the plot unfortunately. Once Akbar's life shifts to Mangalapuram it becomes a downward spiral. Two reigning but ageing dons of this port city Mani Menon(Kunchan) and Uncle Sam(John Paul) are ruffled by the shifting of power balance to Akbar's empire. But they decide against a confrontationist course and become foils in the underworld operations. The uneasy truce proves to be a calm before a storm with the arrival of Uncle Sam's nephew and Godson Anto(Shekhar Menon). A sexual pervert and drug addict with streaks of a psychopath he disturbs the equilibrium of the Mangalore crime syndicate. His plans of importing contaminated vaccines through the Mangalore port finds no favour with Akbar and there starts their rivalry. It is basically a straight fight with the other gangsters playing second fiddle. Anto wreaks havoc in Akbar's life and he loses his wife Dr.Sana Mohammed(Nyla Usha) and a whole lot of accomplices. He himself is reduced to a disoriented state while being saved from the jaws of death by his father's old aide Haji(T.G.Ravi). A battered and bruised Akbar leaves for Ajmer for a pilgrimage at the behest of Haji. But the festering wounds in his mind are not healed and he returns to take revenge on his evil incarnate adversary. From thereon it is all blood and gore and unrelenting violence. If the first half is tortorous,second half is tame.

Positives:

Mammootty acting
Back Ground Musiq
Aashiq Abu direction
First Half
Cinematography is tad sub standard in the movie

Negatives

Screenplay
Second Half
Shekhar Menon doesnt suit the character of Villain


Verdict: Gangster is a perfect combination of style with substance. Definitely a one-time watch for one and all and treat for Mammootty fans

Chitralokam Rating – 2.75/5