Mr. Fraud

Mr. Fraud directed by B Unnikrishnan, which made it to the screens after a lot of off screen dramas is an average thriller that relies highly on the heroism of the superstar Mohanlal. The dialogues that come in regular interval of time to keep the fans excited is the only thing that makes this film an engaging one. With some good songs and predictable thrills here and there, this movie is a passable one.

The story focuses on this man who is an expert in robbery. As a veteran in this field, he plans to retire from it with a mighty operation. This huge deal comes from a palace in Kerala where our antagonists demands Mr. Fraud to steal the treasure in that palace which is now under legal tussle. Fraud enters the palace under cover and how he executes this operation is what this film narrating.

The coolness of this movie was supposed to happen in the modus operandi of the burglary. But there isn’t any specialty in it to make us applaud or to think that he is the first among equals. Many plot diversions are there in the storyline but at the end of everything, nothing manages to create an impression. Usual techniques are used to execute the operations and that ultra-modern pop up blue screen thing looked like a slightly better version of what Jayaram did in Salaam Kashmir.

The direction isn’t that great from B Unnikrishnan as he follows the usual method to create heroism. The script as I said follows a very ordinary way to create the character. At many points in the film, his assistants are praising him for his style and brilliance, but none of his operations shown in the film looked that great, at least for me. The cinematography of Satheesh Kurup was good in certain interior shots and during that fight sequence before interval. Edits are fine. Gopi Sundar’s work in music department was really good. Mohanlal’s looks were cool except for that last one which looked like a “fancy dress” item.

On screen, it is not a complicated role for Mohanlal, but the actor has elegance in playing this kind of less talkative characters and that will surely please the fans. Siddique once again delivered a good performance. Miya was impressive. There is nothing much to do for Vijay Babu and those north Indian actresses. Sai Kumar was wasted in that police character.

To sum it up, Mr. Fraud is an average thriller. It is a film written for the fans of the actor. B Unnikrishnan has always failed in creating good films when he tries to take key elements from contemporary developments. Mr. Fraud, which took inspiration from the recent developments in the Sree Padhmanabhaswami temple and the treasure associated with it, could not develop much in the writing side. The rating is a very generous 2.5/5. Recommended for fans.