Plot
The Kerala electoral assembly is slated to take place in the year 2024. CM Achuthan Nair has served in the position for ten years. David John Medayil is a newbie who is recommended for the position by the Delhi high command. He was taken hostage during this time. The rest of the movie is around finding out who kidnapped them and why.
Direction / Technical Side
Varaal, from director Kannam Thamarakkulam, opens with a number of persons speculating about the identity of the next potential leader of the opposition party in the upcoming general elections. In essence, Varaal is about the impending Kerala Assembly election. Anoop Menon portrays a wealthy businessman who enters politics through his own cunning means in the first half of the movie, which is essentially a mass-market makeover for Anoop Menon, but in the second half, the narrative does make an effort to be intelligent. However, this goal is never entirely met.
Direction / Technical Side
On the good side, there are some detours that we might not have anticipated. The script packs a lot of information into it and doesn’t focus too much time on any one tiny nugget. Although you are anticipating the intense suspense at the end, you have no connection to the characters, and the story ends abruptly.
Verdict
Although Anoop Menon’s goal to expose the unsightly and little-discussed aspects of this side of politics is admirable, the execution is mediocre due to the TV-serial style of shooting. The upside is that we may not have expected some of the detours. However, towards the end, one would feel like there was nothing to connect you to the characters & the story as such.