In the opening sequence of Shylock is hidden perhaps the biggest secret about the movie. It all begins from a film shooting set. Producer Prathapa Varma (Kalabhavan Shajon) who has borrowed a large amount from Boss (Mammootty), a moneylender, has failed to return it on time. He has been avoiding the lender, not even picking his calls.
The director, of the movie within the movie, has set up the scene to shoot the hero introduction. Mid-way through the shot, the hero of our movie, the Shylockian lender, arrives in style, in his Rolls Royce to confront the producer. With the producer failing to return the money, Boss and his men kidnap the director.
Borrowed lines
Much of Shylock makes one wonder whether a scene similar to this happened in the film’s set too, for it is a superstar mass movie that can be made on autopilot, without a director’s needless intervention. Even half of the superstar’s lines are borrowed from other movies, both Malayalam and Tamil, in the name of ‘paying tribute.’ This is then explained away as his habit, due to his childhood dream of becoming a film star. Or maybe, the dialogue writers were kidnapped too.
Director Ajai Vasudev, who has worked only with Mammootty in his film career, having previously made Rajadhiraja and Masterpiece, does not even attempt to bring anything new to the table. Milking the star’s style and mass fan base is the only agenda. The first half is sprinkled with quite a few scenes that could send diehard fans into a tizzy.
Mammootty’s Boss is a playful, villainous hero, a cross between some of his famous past roles. Almost all the other characters pale into irrelevance, as nothing here happens without Boss. Even the sidekicks are only there to crack jokes and provide intro speeches before his arrival, with Boss having to do all the hard work of fighting.
The slight fun element of the first half is lost post-interval as the movie shifts to a lengthy flashback, which gets over only when the movie is about to end. This flashback, set in Tamil Nadu, has a done-to-death story, which would serve as the base for revenge.
The star worship reaches its peak during an outdated ‘item song’ filmed inside a dance bar. As soon as Boss arrives in style, and sits imperiously on a sofa, the three dancers surround him, singing in his praise, calling him a ‘megastar.’ Not satisfied, the director plays out a clip from Padayappa, of Ramya Krishnan’s character praising Rajini’s evergreen style, meant to imply our star here.
If only they had worked half as hard on the script as they did on the star worship, this movie would have made a better tribute to their favourite star, than this hollow piece of work.
S.R. Praveen
