Very well executed

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

There are very few Malayalam movies that surprise me with its style. And this is one among them. The movie tells the tale of Munnar in the pre-independence era. I have never seen a movie that picturizes the beauty of Munnar so well. Each frame evokes me a feeling of watching a Hollywood movie. It is difficult to type-cast Amal Neerad's movies, but to me, this one is the best that showcases Amal Neerad's ability as a director. Revenge, adventure, romance, fantasy, revolution; it has everything. I guarantee it would fascinate anyone who loves serious movies.

I haven't considered the name "Amal Neerad" as trustworthy. Also didn't tried to watch his movies first day. The names which made me buy an fdfs ticket of this magnum opus were, Fahadh Faasil & Jayasurya. Yeah, I said "magnum opus". Iyobinte Pusthakam is the career best of cinematographer/director Amal Neerad till date.I had seen the manhunts from Genesis to Revelations in this movie. Job is a person who can be seen in the Bible. He's wealthy, righteous and was a person who don't hurt anyone, even an ant. But here, Job from Iyobinte Pusthakam is an antonym of Job from the Bible. They'll take the opposite poles when it comes to the characteristics.And Ivan is the representative of Kane from Bible. Isn't he? Up above at heaven, there's Lasar who's sitting next to god. Down below at earth, Lasar is on the right side of power and money. Dimitri is definitely not Pothifer, but we can relate his wife Rahel to Pothifer's wife. And Aloshy is having the characteristics of Abel and Joseph (from the old testament) at the same time.The names of Job's 3 sons are taken from the Russian classic novel, "The Brothers Karamazov". Iyobinte Pusthakam is a visual treat from Amal Neerad. I'll name it as the 'visually stunning movie of the year'. Fahadh Faasil performed well as usual and did a great job in action sequences. Jayasurya also made his role memorable. Another actor who should be praised for his performance is Jinu Joseph, who played Ivan. As I said before, cinematography is excellent. Neha Nair and Yakzan Garry Pereira produced good music. But as a period story, Iyobinte Pusthakam lacks the honesty. Amal Neerad preferred style over history.Malayalam industry is producing wonders using limited budget. If someone ask me 'Bahubali or Iyobinte Pusthakam', I'll prefer Iyobinte Pusthakam.So guys, Iyobinte Pusthakam is a must watch.

Munnar. Period. Drama. Epic. Lal. Fahadh Faasil. Jayasurya. Considering Neerad's filmography, there were many that were (genuinely) concerned with Faasil's production company placing its faith in him for bringing this to the big screen. But (and I'm happy to report) the end result, though not perfect, shows how well-placed it was, and how little the media and the other naysayers knew/assumed/guessed/dissed.The eye for period detail is fab (unless I'm missing something big, though I was not too sure about the rifles with telescopic lenses - there were snipers, sure, but in India at that time?) and never takes you out of the context of the movie, the way other mainstream efforts have done in the recent past. (Except for the choice of score during the delayed titles at the beginning - in my book, not very apt, but it did not take me outta the movie completely)The Casting's spot on, and Faasil easily sheds the skins of all other characters he's played thus far to don the skin of someone in the forces, pre-independence. He looks fighting fit, and we don't have to suspend disbelief when he gets into the eponymous fray, and gives as good, and better than he gets. Kick-ass.Lal, Faasil and Jayasurya do all the heavy lifting, and Padmapriya has to have one of the best roles in this ensemble, even though (in her case) it's more to do with how well her character is written, making the challenge of portraying her all the more easy. Compliments to both casting and direction, and kudos to the way she essayed her role too. Reminded me of Basu's turn in 'Omkara', though this one is more powerful and pulls no punches.In fact, that's one of the best things about this one - it simply refuses to pull any punches. No shying away from death, and the depths to which human nature can sink - Neerad simply shows the way it might have happened, and keeps the camera running. Bold, maybe not bold enough, but it's miles better than similar efforts who need to tint everything with some candy-floss.Isha Sharwani doesn't have much to do, but she does good with what she's given. And she's really easy on the eyes, so....no complaints. And why are leading ladies from the North better shot, better made up and look fab in all southern movies. I wonder. Maybe just me.An epic tale of violence, loyalty, betrayal, loneliness, love and vengeance, certain key aspects are left to one's imagination towards the end (when I was past wondering why they were introduced at all), which makes the final denouement all the more effective. Each twist and turn, though telegraphed for veteran movie-watchers, still has the capacity to keep us involved all the way through.Like I said though, its far from perfect. There are 2 songs that are retained in the final cut I got to watch at the local multiplex, and though it did not seem necessary for either of them to be included, they either could've just played 1 stanza for each and moved on, or eliminated them altogether. Major speed-breakers, both. And not good when your total running time comes to 159 minutes in all. Why do you need to pad it further? Epic does not mean epic runtime fo sho.During the climax, there is one cut that (quite abruptly) takes us from a key scene's end to another scene so incompletely that I felt it was one of 2 things: that it was either chopped off by the censors, or ended up (wrongly) in the editing room, since it starts up from mid-scene of another (supposedly) ongoing sequence, and then ends abruptly, again. Bad, shoddy editing in that instance. There's still time for them to correct, if someone pays attention. It did not look like the projectionist wrongly splicing stuff to me, since the print I watched was digital, and the splice directly from the makers. Haven't seen such sloppiness in a big- budget production for a long time.The change in the arc of one of the leads also didn't seem earned to me, and that was a disservice both to the characters as well as the actors essaying those roles. Perhaps of the makers had focused instead on these instead of those unnecessary songs...........Notwithstanding those, all in all, an enjoyable watch at the multiplex, and worth perhaps multiple viewings.

Amal Neerad is known for his gleaming shots propelled by slow-motion and dramatic exaggeration. As he focuses more on these things to bring about a punching (and sometimes numbing) effect on his audience, he often forgets about the story. Well, in Iyobinte Pusthakam, he slightly manages to differ.The period is World War II - India. Iyob (or Eyob) (Lal) is what the writers call a converted foreigner. After serving an Englishman for the larger part of his life, he takes over his large empire after his death. The story is about his three children: two mischievous, cruel, and sturdy like himself and the third Aloshy (Fahadh Faasil), diffident and lonesome. After their mother's death, the two sons along with their tyrannical father start ruling their areas while Aloshy runs away far from the maddening environment. He returns later to witness what we have never seen before: an autocratic system in India during the World War.It is basically a revenge story which takes turns and ends up as a hackneyed plot that most of us have either watched or read before. So, while Neerad has managed to sketch a drama this time, he again loses focus on the niceties. But, then you will notice the small mistakes like typos in English subtitles and goof-ups in the frames. I am ready to forgo these mistakes, all thanks to the screenplay and the thunderous cast performances.Fahadh is great, as always. From his costumes to his make-up to his style - I was mesmerized. But Jayasurya steals the limelight here, playing a wily tree-cutter who plays with Iyob and his sons' lives. His vindictiveness quotient was maybe at a 100%. Lal, Lena, Padmapriya, and all others were very good - they portray their respective characters gloriously. The first half will excite you a lot, as the screenplay lays the foundation to an ensuing family drama with the War as backdrop. But, the second half moves so quickly, you will stop and stare at the characters' actions. And then all feels like cliché.Character build is strong, with everyone having distinguishing nuances and stances. But, at the end, even they fall prey to the director's nods. The story spirals into predictability. Songs were forced, and the film does kiss the genre of romance once in a while, as Isha Sharvani fumbles with talented Fahadh. Climax will make you content, because it is shot and stylized in such a scintillating manner that you will yearn for more. Humour is average.Moreover, let me take the time to appreciate the language used in the film. You will hear exotic and peculiar pre-Independence words which fancied the characters who spoke them. Where else do you hear that our own rice cake "Puttu" was also known as "Thamban Thoori" at that time?BOTTOM LINE: The best thing about Neerad's latest venture, produced by Fahadh himself is the tantalizing visuals of India during World War II. It gives insight into how bad and good the lives of Indians were even though the British rule was quickly fading at the start of 1940s. For the story that has been carved or should I say, founded upon it, the film is average. Neerad's fans will love it, and it could be termed the most divisive Malayalam film of the year.Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES