Script lifts 'Cycle' out of the ordinary (Malayalam film review)

Film: 'Cycle'; Cast: Vineeth Sreenivasan, Vinu Mohan, Bhama and Sandhya; Director: Johny Antony; Music: Mejo Joseph; Script: James Albert; Producer: Thilakan Thandasseri, Sunny Kuruvila, Viswanathan Nair

'Cycle' is scriptwriter James Albert's second film. He shot to fame with his first film 'Classmates'. The film is directed by Johny Antony, who has made slapstick comedies 'CID Moosa', 'Thuruppu Gulan' and 'Inspector Garud'.

The film is distinct as far as the oeuvre of Antony is concerned. 'Cycle' is an intriguing and suspenseful film laced with humour and youthful energy.

'Cycle' is also important for its casting as it marks the debut of Vineeth Sreenivasan, son of veteran actor Sreenivasan. Vineeth has already established himself as a playback singer.

The film's story may appear very old, but it is told in such a way that it connects with Gen Next. Credit should go to Albert, who has taken a tale from the duo Siddique-Lal era of mimicry and placed it in the current scenario.

This is a rarity considering that filmmakers still seek to emulate the 1980s, as if the key to success is just a replication of the decade-old formulas.

The tale is about two friends, Roy (Vineeth) and Sanju, played by Vinu Mohan of 'Naivedhyam' fame, struggling to make both ends meet with their low salaries, working respectively as a cashier in a private finance company and as a salesman in an electronics goods shop.

Roy is a fun guy who does not mind using crooked ways to achieve his ends. Sanju is quite the opposite. He is a brooding person with a chip on his shoulder. He is bitter at how life has treated him.

The story has all the vital ingredients like romance, family sentiments, suspense and action. The female leads, Bhama and Sandhya, do their parts well, though their characters could have been etched out more sharply.

Vineeth does his best to be like his father. His mannerism and dialogue delivery are the same as his father's. Vinu Mohan handles a sober role deftly.

The music by Mejo Joseph, who was first noticed in 'Notebook', is entertaining if not enchanting.

It is surprising that Antony can handle such stuff after being tagged as a slapstick comedy maker, but credit should go to scriptwriter Albert who delivered a sound script.