Garudan (2023) User Reviews

Unique one for Malayalam Cinema !!

[Ananth_krishnanh · 7/10 · 11 November 2023]

Directed By Arun Varna, Background score by Jakes Bejoy....

The movie starts with clear Thriller plot -Rape Case, and the challenges faced by the police officers and stuff. It pretty much shows who is the protagonist in the beginning itself. The movie cleary shows that you are getting into Crime thriller Piece and so be ready to get shocked......

A good watch, I didn't feel much Lag while watching the movie.

Coming to different departments of the movie -

Acting - Biju menon and Suresh Gopi with their Stunning acting and expression carried the movie..

Music - Background music by jakes bejoy loved it It felt like the backbone of the movie

(Still playing in my mind)

Director- Not much unique but well enough. There was some good transition that impressed me...

The tone and spice of the movie kept me stick to screeen

Overall a Good watch......

Thankyou.

Once a policeman is always a policeman...!!!

[PANDIAN120621 · 7/10 · 4 December 2023]

MOLLYWOOD has always been a special hub when it comes to suspenseful narratives & intriguing plot lines,One such latest offering is "GARUDAN" by midhun manuel of "ANUAAM PATHIRAA" fame...

Suresh gopi delivers powerful performance by enhancing both the emotional turmoil & unwavering determination with conviction,while Biju menon is equally impressive with vulnerable and methodical act... Arun varma directorial skill balances the suspenseful atmosphere with emotional core value to connect you until the end... Cinematography by Ajay captures the essence of narratives with use of lighting cleverly adding dark tones & gritty visuals that supports the mood of the genre...

"Once a policeman is always a policeman" "Everyone is only bothered about themselves" "Devil is not a human,he is half of god himself" Are the situational dialogues that elevates the movie to a new level... Overall "GARUDAN" is a must watch for those ardent fans of investigative thrillers genre...

I was missing that old exuberant Suresh Gopi until the release of....

[appusnikhil · 8/10 · 3 December 2023]

I enjoyed every bit of this crime thriller. What a movie! I remember people saying it's a sleeping pill but this movie was very much engaging for me. Classy story from Midhun Manuel Thomas and a superb direction from Arun Varma. There have been similar attempts in Hollywood, but that didn't dissuade me from proceeding with this one.

The movie is kind of slow-paced, but the story is incredibly smooth, and it won't allow you to fast-forward even for a second. All the supporting actors were amazing in their respective roles. I would have given it 9 stars, but some dialogues were too much for Suresh Gopi, and it would have been great if the creators had avoided that.

Biju Menon needs a separate paragraph. He has come a long way. What an actor! I would like to attach this movie to Biju Menon rather than the lead SG. It's a Biju Menon 'show' throughout.

Do give it a watch.

Good Thriller with great performances

[SPHariSP · 4 November 2023]

Garudan is a superb thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The movie is very racy until the interval, after that it slows down a bit, but then it makes a huge comeback with the climax twist. The movie is about a rape case that is investigated by Harish Madhav, a senior police officer, played by Suresh Gopi. He arrests Nishanth, a college professor, played by Biju Menon, who claims to be innocent.

Biju Menon delivers one of his best performances as Nishanth, who undergoes a drastic transformation. Suresh Gopi is convincing as Harish an old troubled officer. This is the kind of role he can excel going forward. The script is the best element of the movie, while the director has done a good job of creating a gripping narrative. The plot of Nishanth's transformation is only partially convincing if you think of it, but it's not a problem because there is no time to think during the movie.

The supporting cast is also impressive, especially Nishanth's wife, played by Divya Pillai. She has a crucial role in the movie, though she does not have much screen time. The movie avoids the melodrama from Harish's character background, which was a smart decision in the script. The actors, even in small roles, have done well. The only bad actor in the whole movie is Thalai vasal vijay , who gives a serial kind of performance.

Garudan is a movie that will keep you hooked till the end with its thrilling plot, brilliant performances, and unexpected twists. It is a must-watch for fans of crime dramas.

Engaging thriller with a fascinating premise

[Jithindurden · 7/10 · 3 November 2023]

Biju Menon as usual is brilliant here compensating for Suresh Gopi's performance which even from the writing phase is filled with the ghosts of his past police roles. The film has a fascinating premise although the story eventually becomes predictable. But the screenplay and the making make the film a totally engaging thriller even if there's nothing special to boast of. The ending felt like it wrapped up too fast through dialogues and the epilogue felt weird. Maybe they wanted the twist and the stars to make an impact more than telling it through the visuals. The film totally relies on Suresh Gopi's past as a successful actor in police roles so much that it makes you feel as if even he has started believing he's one, although not an impressive one however much the film tries to make him look like it.

crisp and well written decent crime investigation

[sachinxavr · 9/10 · 4 November 2023]

The movie is different from usual investigation thrillers. The duration was perfect. Since the script is good enough, throughout the movie is engaging. Really like the bgm and cinematography.

All the characters were performed so well. Normally thrillers follow some cliche patterns but this movie I really like. There were no extra gimmicks. Film flows so naturally.

Suresh gopi did a good job. Don't expect the vintage police character of suresh gopi. In this movie he is a retired police officer and hos mannerisms and gestures including voice modulation were good.

Still we get goosebumps when we see sSureshettan on big screen.

After all SG nailed it. He should do back to back movies.

A fairly engaging crime thriller with few moments of dramatic high! [+62%]

[arungeorge13 · 6/10 · 4 November 2023]

The first 45 minutes of Garudan play out like any other thriller. There's a crime (a rape, i.e.), the police team led by Harish Madhav (a languid Suresh Gopi with 0.75x speed of delivering dialogues) zero in on the culprit based on DNA evidence (?), and he's put in prison. There's nothing that stands out in these portions except for the details surrounding the crime along with its questionable circumstances. The direction (Arun Varma) is straightforward, sans gloss, and the music (Jakes Bejoy) is adequate. Ajay David Kachappilly's frames set the tone for a dramatic first hour with events playing out one after the other in typical fashion. It's only when the film moves to the 7-years-later timeline that things pick up.

At that point, the film turns into an out-and-out Biju Menon show. He excels in the role he's given, and it helps that the character comes with multiple layers. The pre-intermission stretch is the most interesting part of the film, and as audiences, we feel the mystery is truly yet to unfold. The second half's pacing takes a dip, and it's focused heavily on Harish's internal frenzy, as his personal and professional life begins to go haywire. The underlying mystery still remains (even when you get some hints) and this keeps the film from lagging a lot. The climactic finale, while rushed, is emotionally satisfying, with some one-liners hitting the intended mark. The film's title also finds its true relevance in that stretch.

Endnote: Midhun Manuel Thomas is on a solid thriller-writing spree, and hopefully, his next with Jayaram redeems the actor's lost glory to some extent.

Real movie. Worth of money

[bimaljithk · 9/10 · 6 November 2023]

Fantastic 😍 thriller. Must watch. Don't miss it.

Background Previous Quote Good Movie Quotes Background Next Quote I have a very simple definition of a good movie: a good movie makes you forget you're watching a movie.

Inside Out' - that was a really good movie. That's the first animated movie I saw since.

At the end of the day it's got to be a good movie, it's got to be a funny movie, and it's got to make people think, 'Hey, I couldn't have spent my time any better.' As far as entertainment, 'The Right Stuff' is a good movie. As far as a documentary of the early space days, which they purported it to be, it is not at all.

Boring first half and average second half

[jyothraj · 6/10 · 4 November 2023]

First half is boring, nothing interesting to make you excited or entertained. Second half is too fast but OK. But doesn't show how he is investigating this. Hence looses enthusiasm. Direction has left a lot of loop holes unanswered. Since it's his first venture , its ok.

Most of the critical sequences are performed by villain ,hence one would feel that villain is on limelight everytime than hero. There was just one fight scene. Other roles doesn't have much to play.

Movie has no songs in it and that's good. It feels like movie is too short. Overall it is one time watchable and can expect in Amazon prime very soon.

Gripping Thriler !

[joyalbrightt · 9/10 · 5 November 2023]

A staright forward story line into a Engaging Solid Thriller ,that is Impressive !

A good directorial debut by Arun Varma and Excellent writing by Midhun Manuel Thomas is the Differnce here,he is becoming Expert in delivering Thrillers !

Music by Jakes Bejoy gave the Perfect support and Standout performances from both Suresh Gopi & Biju Menon !

It is not typical investigative thriller genre,it more like character driven face of beetweem the two male leads !

Suresh gopi as always shines in police role and biju menon done excellent job too !

A Neatly crafted thriller Deserved to be experince from theaters.

Good Thriller

[aryannairarun · 7/10 · 18 February 2024]

The film is good. No big flaws to speak of. Adipoli performance from Biju Menon. But Suresh Gopi's dialogue delivery is not as realistic as it needed to be. I was reminded of his roles from commisioner but this didn't match the seriousness of the movie. Every other performance is okay. The biggest problem is its pacing in the second half and the overuse of english. I dont have a problem with english in a malayalam movie but I felt like it ruined the impact sometimes. The film is engaging though so I would say its worth a watch. The film is also well directed without any major editing mistakes.

A mind blowing investigative thriller that is worth a rewatch

[srikkanth-m · 8/10 · 4 November 2023]

Garudan is a new movie directed by debutant Arun Varma. Written by Midhun Manuel Thomas of Anjaam Paathira fame with Suresh Gopi and Biju Menon playing the lead characters. Jakes Bejoy scored the music. Simply put, Garudan is a satisfying crime investigative thriller with some twists that I have never seen before.

To delve into the story, a college student is raped on a rainy night in an under construction building. The culprit barely gets a glimpse by a drunk construction worker under the flash of a lightning. However, the police fail to nab the culprit and seven months pass by. Finally, the police get a breakthrough and make an arrest. The court sentences the culprit to life imprisonment. After 7 years, the culprit is released early from jail due to good behavior. In the meantime, the police who handled the case is getting ready for retirement. The culprit files a petition in court to reopen the case to prove his innocence after serving his sentence. Why did he do that? Was he really the culprit? If not, who was? What happens to the police who handles the case and his retirement? Will the system ever find out who the real culprit was? All of these questions will be answered in the remainder of the movie.

Suresh Gopi played the cop who investigates the case and Biju Menon plays a college professor who has a PhD in finance and who gets blamed and goes to jail for rape. They are supported by Siddique, Abhirami and others. This is a Biju Menon show through and through. Suresh Gopi is at his usual best as playing a cop is nothing new to him. But it is Biju Menon who steals the show with his act.

Jakes Bejoy scored the music for this movie and it is apt and feels organic and contributes to the suspense. It is good.

The real star of the movie is Midhun Manuel Thomas. The screenplay keeps you engaged from start to finish. You become part of the narrative and you know you have a winner when this happens. The first half ends on a high and you feel the energy is dipping in the second half. However all of this is justified in act 3 which is about 20 minutes long. The pay off is worth the wait. You will probably guess who the real culprit is but you will convince yourself you are wrong because of the emotional connection to the characters. And yet something happens in the end that you couldn't have guessed.

Very rarely do you feel like rewatching a suspense thriller because you know what the suspense is. This is one of those movies. I will gladly rewatch Garudan.

A Weak Mystery Story

[ajaycfg · 5/10 · 3 December 2023]

Garudan just about flies, failing to soar. The first half of the movie is quite good raising our hope but then the second half lets us down by poor writing. Weak storyline; they could have done a lot better if they had used more imagination, or put in more effort.

As far as acting is concerned, the main players are Sidhique and Biju who have done a good job while Suresh Gopi's was average.

The direction and screen play (with too many unnecessary scenes) are again average.

My main complaint is that the makers have tried to present a mystery but without following the ground rules of writing/making mystery stories/movies. A good mystery story teller has to follow the basic rule that you cannot hide anything from the reader/viewer! They don't have to elaborate or explain to the reader/viewer at each step of the way but they should take us along as they investigate and discover clues. The best movies/books are those where the viewer/reader gets all the information by the end of the movie along with the investigator thus giving us the chance to think, use our brains and make our own deductions. Finally when the investigator discloses the identity of the killer/criminal - we get the pleasure of having deduced correctly or at least the surprise, the thrill at how the investigator reached his conclusion; that's the thrill of reading/watching a mystery story.

And this is where this story fails. They dont tell us anything about the antagonist - his history or background or character. There is no indication as to what kind of a person he is; we dont even know if he had really commited the crime? And then suddenly in the last reel, the SP starts pulling out rabbits out of his hat, one after another - proving that he was right all along and that he had arrested the right person.

Nor do we feel any empathy or respect for the investigating SP; because again the writers have failed to build up his character. All we know is that he is Suresh Gopi - looking quite old. At the verge of retirement the court orders him to compensate the antagonist for wrongful investigation. He immediately becomes a drunkard and starts fighting with everyone around him - all in the name of investigation! But by then we are past caring for this character.

My rating is 5.

Good theatre experience

[mohdashiqe-38335 · 9/10 · 6 November 2023]

Suresh Gopi sir and Bijumenon sir acted in competition and smash the film. This movie is meant to be a return of the old hero. A great little movie to watch with the family. Jagdish and Siddique have played a good role in this movie..It is a Kerala police movie....

Suresh Gopi sir and Bijumenon sir acted in competition and smash the film. This movie is meant to be a return of the old hero. A great little movie to watch with the family. Jagdish and Siddique have played a good role in this movie..It is a Kerala police movie.

Suresh Gopi sir and Bijumenon sir acted in competition and smash the film. This movie is meant to be a return of the old hero. A great little movie to watch with the family. Jagdish and Siddique have played a good role in this movie..It is a Kerala police movie.

A Classic Thriller Experience

[skmenon1993 · 10/10 · 4 November 2023]

***Garudan Malayalam Movie Review***

Directed by Arun Varma starring Suressh Gopi , Biju Menon , Divya Pillai Abhirami Siddique in lead roles..

Penned by Midhun Manuel Thomas & Bankrolled by Magic Frames

*** A classic Thriller from Magic Frames Production House ***

Movie Analysis

First comes the Performance, Suresh Gopi & Biju Menon. When the film kicks off & comes into the pace , I am able to witness a low phase of SG character & Biju Menon's character steals the lamp light in 1 st half.

I was worried whether it would be like his earlier movie Pappan but the second half could see the performance of SG especially the climax where we saw the SG we want & that's why he is the SUPER STAR OF MOLLYWOOD.

Biju Menon nailed the performance. When a script like this gets to this actor we just love to see his performance, that's what he delivers.

Jakes Bejoy BGM had raised the film viewing quality. The perfectly blended english song with the situation provides a quality viewing experience.

Ajay David Kachappilly cinematography was good. Focus shots of the hand of SG thereby creating a sequence important was a piece of great work.

Night sequences had perfectly colorized thereby leaving no stone of artificiality.

Script Writer Midhun Manuel Thomas core point is similar to his previous movie ". Anjaam Pathira" ( The 5th Midnight ) but the screenplay driving is excellent.

Arun Varma's debut directorial movie but for me it was never like that as he knows how to present each character well and it's being beautifully executed.

Overall Garudan delivers a Must Watch Compulsory Theatrical Watch Experience.

Perfect Thriller

[coolpaiyaa · 10/10 · 3 December 2023]

A good combination of script, acting, direction and casting... Suresh Gopi never disappointed. This is a completely different story than the usual Malayalam movie. The suspense keeps you confused till the last part of the movie. The climax part has been nailed, never expected such a twist.

Would love to see more such movies again from Suresh Gopi, it suits him perfectly well. It is completely different style of movie from him. Suresh Gopi has shown all his skills as a Police officer, even being a family man. A good movie to be watched with the family, no unwanted scenes or unrealistic parts. A complete thriller movie.

Decent thriller

[vjnambu · 8/10 · 8 December 2023]

A young girl Theresa(Chaithanya) is raped and slips to coma. IPS officer harish madhav(Suresh gopi) with the help of the eyewitness salam(jagadeesh) arrests professor nishanth(biju menon). The court sentence nishanth for life imprisonment. 7 years later, nishanth is released from prison losing his family, career and dignity. Nishanth appeals to high court that the investigation was done hastily and wins the case by being the advocate himself. Nishanth wins back his family and starts working as a public prosecutor. On the other hand, harish who was retired is asked to pay compensation to nishanth for framing him. Where the whole world starts believing nishanth's innocence, harish is still adamant that he is not done a mistake. Rest of the film is harish trying to prove that he was right or not.

Story of garudan is interesting and first half was pretty good. But second half loses grip were suresh gopi turns alcoholic and stubborn to prove he was right. Climax was also a bit underwhelming as the killer could have been well explored. It could have been more creepy but makers tried to play safe.

On the whole, garudan is a decent one time watch.

Good premise... execution could be better. A lot better.

[chellaton-05036 · 3/10 · 2 December 2023]

The premise- there's been a sexual assault. And a professor is sentenced to 7 years on basis of dna and testimony of a drunk witness.

So apparently this is a habitual offender which only comes up in the last 15 minutes.

Now if dna sampled are collected then this should have been revealed at the start. Unnecessary suspense. The idea that the prisoner Nishant would spin up an elaborate scheme to launder money, and entrap a dna testing facility and find someone to take a fall ... right out an Agatha Christie-esque fantasy.

The audio which sounds like it was recorded separately and then mixed in with the video gives it a decoupled feeling. Ambient sounds are missing and hence any feel for reality. At least the original track should be recorded live.

Seemed like dragged out soap with unnecessary slo-mo actions. Could be edited down to an hour or 90 minutes.

Garudan" (2023): An Engrossing Legal Thriller with Stellar Performances and Intriguing Plot Twists

[Gehan_Kanishka94 · 8/10 · 20 January 2024]

Garudan" is a gripping crime investigative thriller that keeps you engaged throughout. The movie is filled with unexpected twists at the beginning and end, making it a truly exhilarating watch. The performances, especially by Suresh Gopi and Biju Menon, are top-notch, adding depth to the intriguing storyline. Through out the movies i was on the edge of their seat. It had some trilling plot make it a must-watch for people who love crime dramas. It's truly amazing to see how far Malayalam cinema has come, and "Garudan" is a shining example of the industry's excellence. Can give solid 8/10 for the movie and the ending.

Rubbish

[JPEI64 · 1/10 · 3 January 2024]

A movie that glorifies a has been 'star' with the usual mysoginist approach from the 70s, with a ridiculous story line and absurd acting.

A weak copy from various Hollywood thrillers, this movie is not even a one time watch... Unless you want to be transported back in time to the 70s, where such macho men ruled the screen - and not because they had talent.

Absurd acting, embrassing dialouges and scenarios And a laughable 'story' line.

Why do these so called 'lead actors' not act their age?? And He even looks so out of shape and pathetic - sad!! Desparately hanging to their long lost youth! And as usual the women are just decoration.

Dragging movies back to the Dinosaur age!

Shame on everyone involved in this movie!

A moldy low-budget film.

[psychhelp · 5/10 · 4 November 2023]

A sloppy film with filmy story hinges. Overall, the film had a moldy feel to it. The initial scenes reminded me about films after 2010 and parts of Listin's JGM film, and an irksome thing that still remains with me is the transitional songs used, it reminded me about films that used such transitional songs for genre's other than this. From seeing the sketch of the preparator, I for a moment thought Ajay Devgan was in this film, but no, he wasn't. That was a bad sketch artist. I also didn't like the dynamics of the film, it was slow and a 1x faster nearing the end. I didn't like the unrealistic and filmy use of law and cases as well. The maximum those refered cases compensated were around INR 300,000 and that obligation didn't and doesn't fall on the police officer by law. I don't know how this plot hinge wasn't scrutinized before it was used as motive for re-investigation. After seeing Kannur Squad, I don't think Malayali audience is simply ready for listening to how a case is solved, cause for that there are far better and real-life case presentations and narrations on YouTube by experienced Malayali police officer's. I believe this is where the film skimped money, and opted the low-budget strategy. I heard Suresh asks INR 6000,000 for 4 days of acting, I believe actors with a staggering box-office performance or without any recent box-office hype should cut their fees in half and opt a profit-sharing strategy. Otherwise, medianly budgeted films wouldn't have resources to do these films properly. For some unknown reason, I wanted to see Saikumar in this film, I haven't seen him for such a long time. He could have handled one of the roles very brilliantly in this film with his presence. I felt Biju Menon's initial acting as a bit unimpressive, the director could have asked him to do things differently, maybe as a newcomer he didn't have the guts to do it. Though later on the actor added his weight onto the character, that reinstilled my confidence in him. Overall, the film lacked a patina of brilliance that couldn't be drawn out and visualized due to the inexperience of the Director. I believe if Shaji Kailas or Vinayan had this script, they would have crafted this film differently, and the executions might have been different. Newcomer's should do films in tie-up with experienced Director's and such contracts should be made via production companies, and there should be no shame in it. At least, some of the veteran and semi-retired directors should be hired as consultants that wouldn't involve in the final decision of the hired director but would be there to provide suggestions and guidance, even if they are not given face value. The craft and knowledge of one generation of Industry Master's shouldn't become extinct with them and the industry shouldn't be facing a situation where new people who come in have to reinvent the wheel. Otherwise, these newcomer's should have that experience or guts to execute films that demands proficiency a film in this span needs, more coherently. Sad fact is not many have it, and even after 1-2 films some still don't have it. Go watch it, if you have the money and feel like watching a criminal investigation film, but don't expect much.

our anticipation was deflated

[ngandacinema · 1/10 · 11 December 2023]

First time watching Suresh Gopi and our anticipation was deflated😔 We thought Mammootty couldn't act until we saw Suresh's performance.

Garudan was told in a casual way, nothing intriguing if not for the teasing cinematography and the curiosity to know the real culprit...😢

DELICIOUS

-The engaging photography saved the day😃 The camera movements reflected our inquisitive mind to determine what was happening and who was doing what.

-Garudan was a creative tale that showed what two individuals who firmly believed in different systems could accomplish.

BLAND

---There were lots of English lines in the dialogues taking away from the Malayalam beauty, almost felt like the characters were Americanized.

Additionally, the score was so loud and overpowering that it no longer appeared like a thriller

-The story was told in an average way: an incident happened, an investigation followed. There was not much to keep us glued to our seats as some elements were cliché, e.g. The perpetrator's profile

-An exquisite performance could have made a big difference at the end of the day. Suresh Gopi and Biju Menon were just there, not adding any zest to their role.

Suresh Gopi spent the entire time delivering his lines without being transformed by his character. This was disappointing to watch for 2 hours...

Flaws

[browntelevision · 1/10 · 8 November 2023]

There are few notable flaws and one is the lag. The film drags on in the middle rather unnecessarily. There are a few characters that got screen time but were irrelevant to the overall plot or lacked the intensity needed at a turning point in the story where even his own family is not sure Harish found the right culprit or later when Harish is asked to choose his own life over the rape case. Even Harish's frenzy was a bit boring after a period, not to mention Iype (played by Siddique) appearing a number of times in these scenes. While it was necessary to tell the audience the progress, perhaps something a little less obvious would have worked too.