Naalaam Mura movie review: Biju Menon's interrogation drama is a torture best avoided

1.5/5

Jayesh, an expatriate, is picked up by a bunch of crime-branch officers as soon as he lands at the airport. They take him to an isolated facility to interrogate him for a murder case that has not been solved for years now. Is Jayesh the culprit or are the cops trying to pin the murder on him? 

In one of the dialogues in Naalaam Mura, its central character Jayesh says that he didn't know that a group of film aspirants were making a fool out of him, when he opens up to them in all sincerity. This dialogue almost resonates to how Guru Somasundaram, who plays Jayesh and has been known for his brilliant performances in Joker, Minnal Murali and Aaranya Kaandam, is treated in this film. The actor looks absolutely uncomfortable, not because of the so-called mind game that the cops play in the film, but due to certain scenes such as the dance sequence and following act he has been put through. 

Deepu Anthikad's suspense drama probably makes a case for one of the worst entries in both Biju Menon and Guru's filmography, if not the year. The movie, which is poorly scripted as neither the setup nor the payoff are intriguing enough, is sleep-inducing because it follows a narrative structure that the audience have grown tired of seeing. 

The interrogation sequences to get Jayesh to confess a crime that he may or may not have committed is so straightforward that you wonder why the makers decided to name it Naalaam Mura or 'fourth degree'. The clues that finally lead to the unveiling of the truth again aren't interesting and the incident itself is mindless at best. The only spark in the film comes at the very last minute. 

Guru's Malayalam in the movie also doesn't help to be empathetic to his character. In fact, it just makes it more frustrating than convincing. The role is a cakewalk for Biju Menon. The real crime in the movie is how two talented performers are wasted in this muddled attempt at making a supposedly-cerebral thriller. 

It's not worth putting yourself through this 'torture'.