The brand 'Mohanlal' is back with the Superstar's fourth release in eight months. Nothing better than the fourth installment of the Major Mahadevan series "1971 Beyond Borders" to continue the legendary actor's dream run at the Box Office.
The movie, which is director Major Ravi's fifth film with Mohanlal after Keerthichakra, Kurukshetra, Kandahar and Karmayodha, is a war drama film produced by Haneef Mohammed which has Mohanlal re-donning the role of Mahadevan along with an additional father character, Major Sahadevan. Mohanlal is seen in three different looks in the movie which has its inspirations from real life war heroes and many true events during the 1971 war.
Before 1947, every Pakistani was an Indian. Partition brought the rivalry between brothers and nothing remained the same after it. The movie, based on the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 questions the very existence and necessity of borders. The soul of the movie is the idea that borders and politics come with extra baggage like wars, death and misery. A soldier is a true hero who, irrespective of his nationality, fights for the pride of his nation and thus deserves respect, even if he is a rival.
Major Ravi has a strong track record when it comes to sharing the true feelings of a soldier. The director once again excels in creating a film that ventures into the real & raw battleground and touches the soul of every peace lover. The screenplay has space for the characterisation of every significant actor and bears no resemblance to characters from Major Mahadevan's previous successful outings.
The cinematography by Sujit Vassudev captures the darkness, the tension and the uncertainties during a war. The battle tank sequences in Rajastan, the lush greenery in Kerala, the snow clad landscape in Georgia, all have been recorded on-screen with nice detailing and without disturbing the essence of the film.
Mohanlal plays both Colonel Mahadevan and his father Major Sahadevan with ease. The power packed performance has enough energy to ignite respect and obligation every citizen should have towards the soldiers of their nation. Bollywood actor Arunoday Singh's natural acting and strong voice help him deliver a convincing performance as 'Raja', the Pakistani Lieutenant Colonel. Allu Sirish is the younger brother of Allu Arjun, the Telugu actor who has a strong fan base in Kerala. His performance as 'Lieutenant Chinmay' is decent and satisfactory. Asha Sarath, Krishna Kumar, Sudheer Karamana and Kannan Pattambi also feature in crucial roles.
1971 Beyond Borders has three music directors; Sidharth Vipin, Rahul Subramaniam and Najim Arshad who have composed Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi songs for the movie. National Award winner Gopi Sunder strengthens the movie with an impactful background score. The climax is a unique combination where the background score and the Hindi song compete with each other.Another impressive technical aspect is the spectacular editing by Samjith MHD. The editing is extremely crisp in the war sequences.
The positives in the movie are the usage of battle tanks in a Malayalam film, a strong theme supported by powerful performances, brilliant cinematography, good cuts, the captivating music and the enthralling background score. People with good knowledge in English, Hindi and Tamil along with Malayalam will understand the movie to its core.