Muscat: “Chaaver ” is a crafty work by Tinu Pappachan, after giving us films like Swathanthryam ardharathriyil and Ajagajantharam. It is a political confrontation action thriller that addresses an ongoing issue found in many interiors of kerala.

Plot Synopsis: The plot is set in Kannur, where Ashokan (Kunchako Boban) and his gang members includes Asif (Sajin Gopu), Mustafa (Manoj KU) and Thomas (Anuroop) who all are hailing from different parts of the state and are on the run from a crime that they are involved in, hired by a political mastermind as an act performed in the name of party’s sake and the destiny ropes in an innocent medical student Arun (Arjun Ashokan) in the name of medical attention for Ashokan. Arun is forced to continue with a gang of thugs because of the circumstances they are put in because the crime was committed in a remote area of Kannur where the world around them is small, making him a suspect.

Now, how are they going to get out of the gridlock that they are in?

The plot also communicates that life is a vicious cycle, everything is connected, and what goes around comes around in addition to emphasising real-life circumstances. And a story of concrete friendship in one hand and betrayal in the other.

Casting/Acting
The choice of casting gave a new face to actors who always always played a unilateral role, except for Arjun Ashokan, he played safe, again.
It was very interesting to see Kunchacko Boban pulling off a complete anti-hero role, but yet cant term him a villain. Can be said that this is the movie that  turned Kunchako Boban from “Doctor love to Master savage”. More than the acting but the way he took the character and the script  that he very well merged with and gave a shot that will  surely enhance his career journey.He truly lived the character by passing down the vibe intended, he occasionally failed in the expression of certain emotions, such as anguish and toughness. He could have done a better job at the interplay between two emotions but really did score high in giving life to the character the Felon Ashokan. who is blinded by the love for a political party, a true political criminal( Which now truly makes sense to why he had mentioned this film is close to his heart). Despite having more than 25 years of experience in the field and being well-liked by many, he nonetheless opted for a straightforward and impactful introduction with little build-up. In contrast to movies like King of Kotha, where the filmmaker waited an eternity and a lot of mass to unveil the hero’s face, and, here he had a sooner face reveal.

Antony Varghese as Kiran did an outstanding role, explaining how, where and why wouldn’t do justice to those who are yet to  watch it, so keeping it under wraps. But the efforts to fit in the duality is worth watching. 
 
Arjun Ashokan must stop playing safe roles and step up his game; in all of the movies he has appeared in to date, including this one, it seems like he just plays unilateral characters or impressions with few facial movements . He could do a bit of exploring  to develop his potential. He seemed like he always wants the nicer role, even if he is playing the villain.
 
Deepak Parambol appears to be getting a lot of opportunities and attention for minimal roles in action movies lately. As that one man who is constantly manipulated or a trace of him at the wrong place or has a string of unfortunate events happen to him. Something similar to his role in Kannur squad but here a real innocent one.

The other casts like Sajin Gopu, Manoj KU, Anuroop did a good supporting role.

Plot and Direction

The tale might not make sense to everyone, but the direction made a good effort to redeem a script that was badly composed. The script, which was dismissed too quickly, was provided with a solid structure. However, it was refreshing  to observe how the movie took a chance  to put the spectators into a dilemma. Choosing between the murderer and the victim, who is an innocent person, presents a choice conundrum.
The movie focuses mostly on how political leaders frequently lure people with fewer resources into committing crimes by identifying their weaknesses in order to satisfy their own objectives.

The film tends to advocate for both sides that have something at risk, and the plot will undoubtedly get you thinking. It is necessary to address serious societal issues.

The plot raises the topic of whether a bloodbath is necessary to accomplish a goal and explores the notion that what you see is not always what it appears to be.

Even though many of the moments are predictable, the movie drives you to see it all the way through in order to discover what kind of difference this story carries. As a result, you don’t really need to borrow any patience to watch it.

The inclusion of other cultures and faiths in this movie is a fascinating aspect to remark and admire, and for that the direction deserves a lot of credit. These include the use of omens and the Theyyam art.  In many movies, we watch the directors struggle mightily to meld a delicate idea and story, yet in the case of Chaaver, it looked simple enough to pull off.

Cinematography and assistant direction.

Additionally, the cinematography team  and assistant direction team deserve special recognition. They appeared to have collaborated to  render the best output. They have done a good job of capturing every detail of the events around those significant scenes.

The colour grading, however, occasionally appeared to be out of parallel.

Music

Although it was constrained and repetitive, the music helped to forward the envisioned plot.

However, the crew did an excellent job of researching the lyrics, particularly the song created to depict Theyyam had folkish touch from the place it hails from.

Directed by Tinu Pappachan

Story written by Joy Mathew

Produced by Arun Narayan and Venu Kunnapilly

Under the banner of Kavya Film Company and Arun Narayan Productions.

4/5 star