Njan Steve Lopez

The last time I felt a similar disappointment was when I saw the Hindi movie Rock star. The kind of comments that came from the audience after watching Njan Steve Lopez made me realize how badly the “entertainers” have damaged the brains of the common man. For those who like to indulge in cinema, Njan Steve Lopez is a very simple story that attracts you because of its realistic treatment.

Steve is a youngster from Trivandrum, studying in the college for his degree. His father is a DYSP and he is in a relationship with Anjali, his neighbor in the police quarters. On a particular day Steve had to witness a brutal murder in the middle of the city and his helping and concerned mind goes after this incident. The troubles he had to face and his realizations during this journey is what this movie talking about.

Yes it is true that the kind of offbeat treatment given to the film won’t please the audience of the conventional Malayalam entertainer movies. But what excited me was the fact that how brilliantly they included humor and realistic characters in to this script. If you are willing to invest a very little time to go behind the instances which at first look seems irrelevant, the movie will offer you some touching moments. Rajeev Ravi and his writers have taken up the challenge of presenting the one column news we all see in newspapers, in a very realistic way and for me it was really good cine experience when I “felt” the climax. And also you can find an interesting thing about both Rajeev Ravi films; he has gone after the back-story of the criminals in our society.

In the making Rajeev Ravi has once again showed his trademark style of visualizing things realistically. I felt Lopez as a more engaging film when compared to Annayum Rasoolum. The runtime is under 2 hours and the script succeeds in establishing the world and nature of Steve within that span of time. As I mentioned earlier there is an atypical approach to incorporate humor in to this realistic cinema. The script succeeded in demolishing the typical villain concepts and also showing the perspective of that conventional antagonist. Sudheesh Pappu’s cinematography was good. Music was enjoyable and that BGM with violin was so catchy.

Farhaan Faasil was good in his portrayal of the title protagonist. The challenges were less for the actor and Rajeev Ravi has used him perfectly. Ahaana Krishna’s screen time is a bit less, but she was good with her performance. Rest of the cast had very less familiar faces and they all did well with their performances.

Overall Njan Steve Lopez is a haunting tale. If you haven’t liked the film Annayum Rasoolum, please don’t go for this movie. Let the lovers of this kind of movies enjoy their cup of coffee with the required solitude. The rating is 4/5 for Rajeev Ravi’s Njan Steve Lopez. Recommended for a multiplex watch.