Adi Kapyare Kootamani

A J Varghese's 2015 Malayalam film covers four days in a men's hostel. The order among the young men falls apart entirely when a woman comes inside; they have to hide her and the situation grows less controllable by the hour. The film uses the structure of single-location comedy. Lies pile on lies, new people enter and resolution becomes impossible. Rhythm is everything in this kind of narrative and the film largely holds it. The ensemble playing of Dhyan Sreenivasan, Aju Varghese and Neeraj Madhav carries it. In the second half the narrative moves toward thriller and the danger becomes real, one of the expected steps of the genre. Who it's for: those who like Malayalam comedy and single-location farce. Who it's not for: viewers troubled by the woman character being kept passive; the film largely constructs her as a problem.