RAKSHADHIKARI BAIJU - OPPU MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

In the 80's, the cities of Kerala looked very much like the present day villages. The land of Mahabali has been developing and transforming itself into a big, bitter gourd shaped city. But deep inside, every Malayali still clings himself/herself to the memories of lush green crop fields, mango trees, backwaters, rivers, forests etc.

Rakshadhikari Baiju Oppu is director Ranjan Pramod's strong and determined comeback into Malayalam cinema. The popular blockbuster films which he scripted are Meesa Madhavan, Manassinakkare, Achuvinte Amma and Naran. Even though he debuted as a director with the Mohanlal film Photographer, he did not succeed in creating similar wonders as a director at the Box Office. But, things are bound to change with this well written, well directed, a soulful film filled with 'Malayaliness'.

There are two kinds of movies, one which tells a theme directly to the audience, and the other which makes the audience realise the theme. Rakshadhikari Baiju Oppu falls in the second kind of films. It is simple, it is nostalgic and it is beautiful.

The recent trend in Malayalam industry is to produce films that are short and brief. But Rakshadhikari Baiju has a run time of 2 hours and 42 minutes, filled with many hilarious and heartwarming situations. Every character seems to perfectly fit into the screenplay and carve out space for themselves. The plot revolves around Baiju, a government employee who is the captain of their local club 'Kumbalam brothers'. Baiju has been playing cricket for the club since he was an eight-year-old. Even after 36 years, he still plays with youngsters and children at the small ground in their village. The movie tells the story of Baiju, his family, his friends and also the people of Kumbalam.

Biju Menon is in full form, be it comic timing, be it heart touching emotional dialogues. He is well supported by Deepak, Aju Varghese, Dileesh Pothan, Hannah Reji Koshy, Alencier, Janardhanan, Hareesh Perumana and Vijayaraghavan.

The cinematography by Prasanth Raveendran, the swift cuts by Samjith MHD and the smooth music by Bijibal merge well will each other and unify in making a beautiful film that entertains the viewer.