Kalyana Kacheri (1997)

I watched Kalyana Kacheri expecting a unique role for Shobana because of the synopsis (or whatever it's called) and things didn't go exactly as I was anticipating. Firstly, there was too less of her, and secondly, apart from the very first scene where the police apprehend her and Mukesh in a shady hotel, there really wasn't a lot for her to do. That first scene was hilarious, but again, too less. It's like showing a hungry person a buffet and then reminding her that she's supposed to be on a diet. Sigh. It's hard not to take personal offence at all these film-makers who didn't appreciate Shobana's talents enough. She does dance a bit in one song though, and that was another highlight.

Mukesh and Jagathy Sreekumar were genuinely funny in some scenes, and I was moderately invested in the twists and turns, but I found the climax and "explanations" a bit too rushed and unsatisfactory. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, and why it happened. A lot of it seems unnecessary, to be honest, and I wish there was a better script to do justice to the premise. Also, KPAC Lalitha didn't have a single funny scene? What kind of game were these people trying to play?

I guess the lesson to be learnt here is that for every Innale, there are five Adayalam(s). Sigh. The things we do for our faves.