Urumi begins with the narration by the most loved on-screen mom, KPAC Lalitha, about how Vasco da Gama initially came to India, in 1498. From there on, it moves to Krishna (Prithvi) & his friend who freaks out in a beach resort in Goa along with his music band struggling to make a living. A big offer surprises Krishna when he remains clueless about his career, i.e to sell his ancestral property to which, he hasn’t been for years. Thrilled by the huge offer from one of the corporate firm, he drives back to his village to get the formalities done for selling the property. But, on reaching the property, Krishna gets to know more about his property which leads to the historical flashback in 1500AD and the story of Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar (Prithviraj),the youngster who had consecrated to eliminate Vasco da Gama, the then Viceroy of Portuguese Empire in India.

Santhosh’s Urumi is more of a revenge drama than a struggle for freedom. Even though, Urumi is a partly fictionalized historical movie, Shankar Ramakrishnan has made every effort to make it look authentic. The amount of research that has gone into the script is commendable.

Now we go back to the 15th Century where the brave young hero, Chirakkal Kelu & childhood friend Vavvali (Prabhudeva) start their mission of assassinating Gama & his son who comes to India for business. The story loosely revolves around the 2nd & 3rd visit of Vasco da Gama to India & various other characters in the Chirakkal Province. Even though, Urumi lacks a gripping screenplay, it is well etched technically.

Genelia D'Souza & Nitya Menon plays two important female leads/pairs for Prithviraj & Prabhudeva respectively. As Princesses Ayeshaa, Genelia has nailed the role with absolute brilliance. Her effort to learn the finer nuances of Kalari (Ancient Martial Arts of Kerala ) needs mention, especially during the war sequences. Amol Gupte & Jagathy Sreekumar play the character of the King & the lobbyist/minister of the Chirakkal Province. The only disappointment here is the much hyped cameo of Vidya Balan & her item number. We wonder what made her accept this role as it has nothing to do with the movie. You will also get to see few exciting cameo appearances in the movie apart from Vidya.

Prithvi as Chirakkal Kelu steals the show right from the word go! Prithvi’s acting & body language was immaculate. He is definitely the next best thing of Indian Cinema who tends to improve after every movie. We hope he does more movies which are aesthetically appealing. Prabhudeva too have pulled an incredible performance with a mix of humor & emotion.

Technically, Urumi is one of the finest movies made in Malayalam Cinema which is being made in a whopping budget of 20 Crores ( For Malayalam standards ! ).Shankar Ramakrishnan’s dialogues are germane & suave. The man with the golden eye, Santhosh Sivan will take you to a different world of beauty which smears every frame on screen. Deepak Dev has used a blend of western & Indian Instruments to enrich the war scenes. Aaranne Aaranne & Chimmi Chimmi is well composed which will make you hum for a while. But few BGMs were ripped off from popular Hollywood movies.

With better edit, the movie is sure to make a better impression. Shekar Prasad should at least take care of it before the movie is released in other languages, especially in English.

Urumi is a must watch for all Malayalam movie lovers for its effort & research that has gone into the project. The linking of the present with the past in a very sarcastic way, showing the real plight of India needs special mention.

For Santhosh Sivan’s work & his whole crew’s effort, I am going with 3.75/5 for Urumi