Minnal Murali review: Tovino Thomas, Basil Joseph give us the Indian superhero we have been waiting for

“With great power comes great responsibility,” a wise man once said. We often associate this quote with the comic book hero Spider-Man, who learns this at personal cost. In Basil Joseph’s fantastic Minnal Murali (2021), our hero Jaison (Tovino Thomas) grows from humble beginnings to finally accept himself and what he has to do.

Residing in the village of Kurukkanmoola in the 1990s, Jaison has an ordinary existence as the baby of the family. His school girlfriend Bincy is engaged to another, much to his chagrin. He still dreams of moving to the US to make it big in life. But fate, of course, has other plans.

It so happens, because of a rare triangular planetary alignment that takes place once every 700 years, Jaison is struck by lightning — in a Santa Claus suit, no less! The local doctor  (Mamukoya) is both astonished and relieved to see that Jaison is still alive. Once he gets home, it’s a different tale; he suddenly discovers superpowers of strength, hearing and speed, for starters.

This sequence where Jaison explores these new talents is delightful. His plucky sidekick and nephew Josemon (the adorable Vasisht) is the only one who knows his secret and clues him in on what a superhero does. Initially using his powers to settle personal scores, Jaison soon realizes what they should really be used for.

Director Basil Joseph, along with writers Arun Anirudhan and Justin Mathew, has created a believable world that examines the makings of a hero and also what turns you to the dark side. Minnal Murali is also a moving drama about doing the right thing while looking at the central theme of good versus evil.

The all-out finale is set at the local fair, with touches of religious symbolism, as Jaison steps up to save Kurukkanmoola from an internal threat. Doing so takes him closer to his past and his father’s expectations for him.

This is one of those rare films that doesn’t reveal practically everything in its trailer and I was pleasantly surprised as the story unfolded. We have fretted for a long time that there has been no credible Indian superhero to look forward to, but filmmaker Basil and his star Tovino deliver the goods.

Aided by director of photography Sameer Thahir, Basil sets up an authentic foundation story that emerges not in the metros, like most superheroes, but in the quiet village of Kurukkanmoola. While the action, designed by Vlad Rimburg, and the VFX are not over-the-top, they are convincing enough for this film. Sushin Shyam’s background score is pitch perfect and he and Shaan Rahman string the film with their melodious songs.

Tovino is both charming and sincere as the simple tailor who gains courage after a slight bout with mistaken identity; bonus points that he sews his own superhero costume when needed! Although, in an exciting sequence set on a bus, Tovino holds fort as a masked superhero in chappals and a lungi. This is something to root for; beat that, Batman!

Guru Somasundaram as fellow villager Shibu matches Tovino, beat for beat, with an emotional arc of his own as he turns lawless. Both he and Tovino anchor this audacious film with their strong performances.

The rest of the villagers have strong parts in the story and the artistes who play them add both vitality and depth to their characters. The antagonists include Jaison’s suspicious brother-in-law Pothan (Aju Varghese) and his fellow police officer Shinoj (Rajesh Madhavan) and inspector Saajan (Baiju Santhosh) who finds him unsuitable for his daughter Bincy (Sneha Babu).

Others like his father Varkey (P Balachandran) and karate teacher Biji aka Bruce Lee (Femina George) have always been in his corner. Varkey’s employee’s Daasan (Harisree Asokan) plays a key part connecting Jaison and Shibu.

Minnal Murali takes its time getting to the good part by setting the tale up, layer by layer, so it all falls into place in the end. This is, after all, an origin story and can afford to be a bit indulgent. The energy level dips only slightly going into the finale, before rising again.

The Malayalam film is a first-rate story about beginnings and belonging; I simply can’t wait to see more of Minnal Murali’s adventures.

Netflix begins streaming Minnal Murali on 24 December.