Movie review 'Koothara': Is good in parts, just like a use-and-throw razor

Cast: Bharath, Sunny Wayne, Tovino Thomas, Bhavana, Gauthami Nair, Mohanlal

Direction: Srinath Rajendran

Rating: **1/2

The rather uncouth name of the film has a lot of curiosity value and if that is not enough to draw youngsters to the theatres, there is Mohanlal, who makes an appearance nearly at the very end. But make no mistake, this is not a Mohanlal film and the superstar plays a cameo to take the story on a different, quaint direction and then disappears just as quickly. The sequence involving Lal, who plays a mendicant-cum-rowdie, is certainly entertaining and enjoyable.

The film, however, is mainly about three overgrown engineering students, Koobrin, Tharun and Ram, played by Bharath, Sunny Wayne and Tovino Thomas. The title is an amalgam of their first names as well as the name of a dog who becomes their companion. The three youngsters are as aimless as the dog and the story is about how they finally find a purpose in their existence. And the message is age-old and simple: that only hard work pays.

Much of the acton is in the campus and there are some funny sequences but director Srinath Rajendran sometimes sacrifices logic for fun. The hard-drinking, fun seeking youth inevitably get thrown out and form their own start-up, only to squander away whatever they stole from their homes or borrowed from financial institutions. Then comes the magical sea sequence that teaches them the value of a life of toil.

They keep drinking whenever they get a chance and except for the statutory warning on the screen, there is nothing to suggest that this is not necessarily a good habit. Interestingly, most of the young women are shown as disloyal and two-timing and the boys are at the receiving end because of this modern trend.

The sub text seems to be that the only way to teach errant men is for women to be equally wayward. Like most New Gen films, technical aspects stand out, especially the cinematography, and Gopi Sundar comes up with some good fillers that go well with the visuals but you are unlikely to load these tracks in your car stereo. Final verdict? Well, it is good in parts in the same way as a use-and-throw razor.