Grand ideas often look good on paper, yet they come with the risk of massive failure. Making Mojo, a real lion, act is one of the grand ideas at the centre of Grrr. The other is the attempt to extract humour from a survival scenario, for this film was branded as a ‘survival comedy’, whatever that means. It could probably be challenging for the audience to survive this comedy of errors.
Perhaps, the makers expected the lion to have the powers to carry the film, as they have forgotten to pay attention to some important tasks, like writing an engaging screenplay. Nothing beyond the basic plot revealed in the trailer is written with conviction. One can only take so much of the plight of a man caught in a lion’s den.
‘Grrr’ (Malayalam)
Rejimon (Kunchacko Boban) jumps into the lion’s enclosure in a zoo after his girlfriend Rachana (Anagha) fails to turn up on the day they are supposed to elope and marry. It is not a suicidal act but something driven by his drunken stupor. Bizarrely, it is also an attempt to prove his bravery to the girl who questioned his courage to take on her politician father and his goons. The zoo guard (Suraj Venjaramoodu), caught up in troubles of his own in the family, also becomes a victim of the man’s thoughtless act.
Filmmaker Jay K, who debuted with the moderately impressive horror film Ezra, appears to have come down several notches as a filmmaker with Grrr. Thefilm has only a few redeeming qualities. The animatronics and VFX work involved in filming a real lion and blending it seamlessly with the performance of real actors must have been a tough task, considering the limited budgets of Malayalam cinema. However, the efforts go wasted in the movie.
From disjointed scenes to humour that falls flat to an uninspiring background score, several aspects go wrong in Grrr. There is an attempt to infuse a dose of politics and caste dynamics. However, it turns out to be half-hearted and thus ineffective in saving a film that meanders aimlessly between the lion’s den and the high-decibel televised drama outside. The humour from the goof-ups of the authorities also do not land. As for the talented cast, most of them seem to be going through their motions, with their acting chops not put to great use.
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Grrr ends up as a forgettable attempt at blending the survival drama and comedy genres. The poor lion deserved better.
