Spice Music

If Murali Nagavalli’s debut venture ‘Wanted’ had too many loose ends that did more harm than good to the film, his second film ‘Alexander The Great’ stands out as a well-directed, excellently scripted and good film that touches chords in your heart.Manoj Varma aka Manu, who is the son of Pratapa Varma, has his business in Dubai. But everything is going wrong for him and his business. He is in deep financial crisis. It’s then that his mother advises him to go seek the help of his father. Manu goes to meet his father Pratapa Varma, who has been living away from them, after having parted ways with Manu’s mother. Pratapa Varma lives with his siblings and other relatives. Manu meets him and returns. Soon afterwards Pratapa Varma passes away. His eager relatives await the reading out of his will, which however disappoints them. Pratapa Varma has given the major share of his property to Alexander Varma, who’s his son too, born to a woman in Mumbai. The clauses in the will are such that it’s almost important for everyone else to get rid of Alexander. Manu decides to go to Mumbai and seek out Alexander and then get him to sign on documents giving his share to Manu, of course by resorting to cheating and unfair means. He meets Alexander’s mother, gets her signature and then makes inquiries about Alex. He is told that Alex was first jailed for murder and is now in a mental asylum. Manu, his uncle Krishnan and his lover Bismitha go to meet Alex at the mental asylum. Alexander is very much an interesting character. With the doctor’s consent, Manu takes Alex with him and sets off, determined to get the papers signed by him. But the trip with Alex turns to be revelation for Manu.

The character of Alexander Varma is very much different from those many characters that Mohanlal has been doing of late. The film doesn’t present him as a star playing to satisfy his fans, but as an actor who does a character of substance. Mohanlal does justice to the role of Alexander Varma, though at places there seems to be something lacking in his performance. Bala as Manu is OK while Saikumar appeals in the very few scenes in which he appears, as Pratapa Varma. One wonders why scenarists and directors are so bent on casting Jagadeesh in dunce-like roles. Of course he has excelled doing such roles, but of late he has started overdoing it and the directors and scenarists too seem to have made it a habit to cast him in such roles.