Vidhi HD Released

 

The Verdict, which was earlier titled Marad 357, is based on the demolition of the four waterfront apartments in Maradu in January 2020, based on a Supreme Court verdict.

The movie weaves in two stories; apart from the real-life flat demolition, there is a story of Wayanad tribal colony murders and police atrocities. The protagonist Bharath (Anoop Menon) and Maniyan (Dharmajan Bolgatty) have escaped from the police atrocities in the colony and have managed to get jobs as a water supplier and a security guard respectively. Bharath, who was in Wayanad as a forest researcher, is also a vigilante fighting corruption in society. The film opens with a couple of policemen, searching the colony near the flat for Maniyan.

The residents of the flat include, Sheelu Abraham, who plays a tough, but good-at-heart secretary of the flat society, Manoj K Jayan, Biju, Senthil and Nooren Shereef. As the Supreme Court verdict for demolishing the apartment is issued, the movie focuses on the residents’ fight for justice, the loses they face, their financial and emotional trauma and the corruption among authorities and builders and the emotions are well-captured.

Kannan Thamarakulam has knitted the story well, co-relating the corruption at the adivasi colony and at Kochi and the sufferings of the common man. Anoop Menon is good in his role as an action hero. Dharmajan has done a good job in his role, a change from his usual comedy. The other actors, Sheelu, Manoj K Jayan and Senthil, are ok, while Nooren was like a fresh breeze. Harish Kanaran’s cameo gets attention as always.

Music by Sanand George gels with the story and is soothing. Ravi Chandran’s cinematography gives your eyes a treat, whether it is the backwaters at Kochi or Wayanad’s rural landscape. Dinesh Pallath’s screenplay doesn’t give you any new dimension and it doesn’t really create a connect with the audience, till the second half.

It is interesting to see how a real-life story unfolds on screen, but doesn’t really get you emotionally involved. You could give it a miss.