Wannabe writers often ask me, ‘What is the best method to protect one’s script?’ There’s no foolproof way to do it, anywhere in the world, I tell them, frankly. Further, registration with a writer’s association isn’t going help at all. Look at China Town, for example; the second half is straight out of a Hollywood film, Hangover, which, in turn, is a lift from another Hollywood film, What Happens in Vegas.
Though the premise is clichéd, the script is properly sprinkled with essential spices, including the robbed subplot. A trio, Mathukutty (Mohanlal), Zacharia (Jayaram), and Binoy (Dileep), are gifted a discotheque on condition that they run it together. A local gunda confiscates their business, and gives them three days’ time to leave town. But Mathukutty is no mood to go anywhere. The dialogues are as funny as the characters.
Mohan Lal makes a dramatic entry, and puts up a few rocking street fighting performances. There’s a natural flow when he does hand locks and throws punches; and this isn’t surprising, considering that he’s learned a bit of traditional martial arts.
But what spoils the show is that—unlike in international martial arts films of repute, in which the protagonist faces stronger opposition as the film progresses—one, the best fights take place at the beginning, and two, Mohan Lal bare-handedly destroys a tough weapon-wielding gang at the start, with ease, and later on, gets roughed up by a couple of ordinary fellows who possibly have never before in their life been in a fight. Silly, isn’t it.
He’s a laugh riot too, along with his partners, Jayaram and Dilip. It’s nice to see, together on the screen and in the same frame, three different schools of comedy.
The cameras have this peculiar habit of lazing around at various points on the sets during the non-stunt scenes, and when the action begins, the cameras start jumping and running all over the place, excitedly. Nothing particularly creative has happened at the cutting table. As though to compensate for this, digital gimmicks such as an array of popping stars, and a punchy soundtrack, add life to the images.
And yes, I loved the directors’ touch: old enemies jumping out of a sepia-tone faded group photograph, one at a time, and charging at our protagonist. Overall, audiences would find this to be quite a thriller. What would really thrill me, though, is the sight, someday, of a potent Writers Guild dragging films such as this to court.
