Dec 25, 20213 min read

Kurup: A Half Baked Criminal Biopic Poorly Executed

Updated: Feb 21, 2023

Reviews by:

@mr.cinemaaa

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Project Details

Director: Srinath Rajendran
Story: Jithin K Jose
Screenplay: Daniel Sayooj Nair & K S Aravind
Produced By: Dulquer Salmaan & Akhil C Nair
Production Houses: Wayfarer Films & M Star Entertainments
Cinematography: Nimish Ravi
Music Director: Sushin Shyam
Edited By: Vivek Harshan
Production Design: Banglan
Art Director: Manoj
Costumes: Praveen Varma
Sound Design: Vicky Kishan ( Sapthaa)
Makeup: Ronex Xavier
Run Time: 2 Hours & 36 Minutes
CBFC Rating: "U/A"

Direction & Story

The film is a biopic of the most celebrated criminal of Kerala - Sukumara Kurup. What kind of hurdles will the Kerala police face in tracking his whereabouts? Forms the main crux of the film. The story by Jithin K Jose is pretty decent. It narrates the real-life tale of India's longest-wanted fugitive with an ample dose of cinematic liberties. The screenplay is well written. Though the non-linear way of storytelling seemed messy in the first half, all the loose ends were connected well in the second half. But the only problem was the suspense-filled scenes and the connecting dots didn't have the high that was required and created a very dull effect overall. Director Srinath has done a passable job with the film. Though he showcased Dulquer and his character well, he could not get the desired effect which was there on paper on to the screen neatly in the second half.

Lead Performances

Dulquer Salmaan portrayed the role of a fugitive named Sukumara Kurup with utmost ease. Be it his body language or his electrifying screen presence, the talented actor pulled off the role in a perfect manner and comes up with a complete one-man show. Sobhita Dhulipala impresses yet again with her performance-oriented character as Kurup's wife Sharada. The family scenes between Dulquer and Sobhita are executed in a decent manner. Indrajith Sukumaran amazes with the exceptional underplay and is solid as the investigation officer. Anupama Parameswaran is utterly wasted in her limited cameo and her look also looked too odd. Shine Tom Chacko, Sunny Wayne, and Bharath Niwas are apt in their respective supporting roles. The rest of the cast are fine in their limited supporting roles.

Detailed Analysis

The narrative unfolds with a dead slow-paced first half that takes its own sweet time to establish the premise and characters. The first half is very boring and there is nothing much happening in the plot here. The interval point is the time where the pace picks up. The second half connects all the dots which are there in the first half. It gives all the points from others' perspectives & this part is handled well but it needed a racy narration &a high factor while the dots are joined. But sadly that never happens and gets bogged down. The biggest positive factor of Kurup is that it does not celebrate or glorify the absconded criminal. Overall, this film is going to be a bumpy ride for all the viewers who watch it expecting a masala entertainer with some 'mass' moments. But if you can sit through the first half, the latter half will give The hotel escape scene is fantastic. you an experience worth your time.

Technical Team