Kanichukulangarayil CBI

Cast: Manoj K. Jayan, Lakshmi Sharma, Suresh Krishna, Saikumar, Meghanathan, Saadique, Rajan.P.Dev, T.P.Madhavan, Kollam Thulasi, Rashmi Boban etc

Director: Suresh-Vinu

Producer: Sreekumaran Thampy

Lyrics: Vayalar Sharath Chandra Varma

Cinematography: M.D. Sukumaran

Editing: P.C. Mohanan

Art Direction: T.S. Hari

Screenplay: Harikumaran Thampy


I have always believed that suspense is an integral element in any investigative flick until I found myself seated along with less than a dozen spectators to see what Kanichukulangarayil CBI is all about. Allegedly based on a few real life incidents, this whodunit is just another generic suspense film destined to hover around cinehalls for a week before tumbling into obscurity.

Ajith (Sai Kumar) and Suresh (Meghanathan) are partners in business and crime. They do not think twice before bumping Ratheesh (Sadiq), their erstwhile manager off their tracks when he decides to break away from Anamala Chit Funds and start a company of his own. When they manage to ward off Officer James George (Suresh Krishna) from the investigation, the case is passed on to the CBI following public demand. Enter Arjun (Manoj K Jayan), the suave CBI Officer who brings the crooks to book.

I should admit that I was mildly entertained as the film went overboard with its ludicrousness. I mean, it shows you with a straight face the entire murder, with the victims and the culprits in tact, and then goes on to carry out an investigation for another hour. How would you beat that?

The real life references in KCBI, far from creating an impact, makes you cringe on account of the inanity in implementation. Hence when Swami Ramesh Madhavan makes an appearance with a host of damsels dancing around him, you pretend to look the other way. There is the Tantri paying a visit to the Police Station a few shots later; a scene that is striking for its inherent crudeness.

There are chases galore in the film, that truly look like the Men's 400 meter race in your local high school, but the kind where the finishing point is never reached. They run and run as if there's no end to it. When they aren't dashing across the streets, the cops are busy unleashing scorpions on a guy's stomach, roughing up someone with an iron rod and discovering new potentials for chilly powder. Well, you get the picture.

The acting is as bad as it can possibly get. There isn't a stellar cast here, and the few known names look clearly mortified. Sai Kumar is loud and quite over the top, while Meghanathan fidgets around. Suresh Krishna blows up more muscles than he possibly can while Manoj K Jayan looks like in a hurry to wrap up the case and save his own life.

Topping the list of worsts in KCBI is its art direction. The villains' den looks literally like a stinky cave with a few bizarre objects thrown in for that creepy feel. We hence have a few crystal bowls of colored water that get hit every time someone decides to play around with a gun. If the splashing about wasn't enough, there is an odd mud jar that gets broken to pieces a hundred times, only to resurface minutes later. The CBI office looks like a hippie hangout with the weird lighting and absurd shades.

If there is someone who should be real hurt with this mess, it should be the thespian music director Shyam. For this flimsy film opens with that trademark CBI theme music that had sent many a heart soaring in excitement.

Technicalities? You should be joking!

KCBI never reaches any level of competence that's expected of a thriller. It's a confused and absolutely confusing enterprise that would have an embarrassed CBI running for cover.