The Truth (1998) User Reviews

Will keep anyone on the edge of the seat

[prasanthmaverick · 7/10 · 30 August 2019]

This is probably one of the greatest investigative thriller of the 20th century. I haven't seen one single Indian movie that doesn't have a song or romance until I saw this one. This movie has everything that are needed for an investigative thriller. The fact that this movie was released more than 20 years ago brings more chills to me. The best thing about the movie is the screenplay. Everyone out there who are planning to make a movie should learn screenplay from this one. The screenplay is precise, linear and makes the audience stay engaged till the end.

The reason I rated seven:

##spoiler alert##

The movie had me at the edge of the seat until one place. There comes a scene in the movie where the guy who is believed to be the main villain is found dead. At this point, the story looked like a deadlock and the hero is left with no clue. The movie couldn't have moved further. However the director didn't want the movie to have an anti-climax and intentionally sent 2 goons to attack Mammutty. One of them gets caught and reveals the identity of the ultimate villain. Whoever it may be in the place of the main villain wouldn't have sent someone to attack the hero even after knowing this case won't proceed further. This mistake cannot be digested and forced me to take 3 stars away from my review.

One of the most underrated suspense movie

[crravikiran-93443 · 8/10 · 4 May 2020]

This movie is one of the most underrated suspense thriller in Malayalam. You will have no clue regarding the culprit till end if your are watching for first time

One of Shaji's best

[praveen77 · 10/10 · 25 November 2008]

I have seen this movie at least 10 times, and can probably see it another 10 times. These days, watching the sad quagmire mallu movies have become, it's tough to believe there were excellent movies like this. It's even tougher to believe that this was made by Shaji Kailas. These days, the virtual b-grade fare he regularly dishes out, makes one forget that there was a time when this man used to make intelligent, intense thrillers.

The movie begins with some insight into a brahmin family, with Thilakan as the patriarch, who is a great astrologer. There is also insight into the politics of the ruling party, of which, Madhavan (Balachandra Menon) is the chief minister of the state. One day at a rally, Madhavan is killed in an explosion. The rest of the movie deals with the investigation into Madhavan's death. Mammooty appears as the CBI officer in charge of the investigation team. He also turns out to be Thilakan's son. Vani Viswanath is a local police officer who is miffed with the handing over of the case to the CBI. Divya Unni plays a member of the investigation team.

The performances are all excellent. Mammooty is perfect as the thinking officer who doesn't express much, unless needed. Vani Viswanath plays her role with gusto, and the run ins between the two are fun to watch. Another strong point of the movie is Thilakan. The veteran actor gives a towering performance as the famed astrologer and Mammooty's father. Janardhanan also gives a endearing turn as the local police officer assigned to support the CBI team. But the real hero here is the script and direction. The story and dialogues never get in your face (unlike the trash dished out these days in Kerala), and the suspense is maintained throughout the movie, right until the exhilarating climax , when the pieces seem to fall perfectly in place.

Watch this. This is from the age right before the superstar culture took hold in Kerala, and which is devoiding us mostly these days of good movies. It's sad what has come about in the Malayalam industry these days, considering they were at one time the pioneers of good, meaningful, and commercial cinema.