The only thing we take home from the latest Shaji Kailas-Suresh Gopi Malayalam film, Time, is that in order to scriptwrite something like it, one needs to memorise news reports and link major political events to suit the hero. One should also be well-versed in the sacred texts of every religion, so one can twist those texts and integrate them into the dialogue.

This is what Time's scriptwriter, Rajesh Jayaraman, has done.

Meet Dr Appan Menon IPS (Suresh Gopi), a PhD in criminology called to investigate the gruesome murder of an ex-MLA who had resigned on charges of corruption. Appan Menon has been relegated to a desk job as head of Civil Supplies because of his eccentricities, but has successfully introduced a certain amount of discipline into the department.

The murder suspects are Susan Mary Thomas (Padmapriya, in a character inspired by Arundhati Roy) a writer and social activist, and her NGO Disha, which had exposed the corrupt politician.

Meanwhile, murder and mayhem continue. We have an episode where Appan's past is revealed through a diary that Susan is seen reading. The episode appears to be heavily inspired by the Suriya starrer, Ghajani.

Appan's father (Suresh Gopi again, with a handlebar moustache), a strict disciplinarian, is the root cause of the hero's personality disorder. As for the topical issues, we are informed of the controversy surrounding the issue of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), incidents in Nandigram and Singur, and more. No prizes for guessing who cleans the mess up.

Suresh Gopi is presented with a comic mannerism that gives freshness to his histrionic range. He does look natural and at ease with his character, although he should have been spared the need to deliver a punchline in English. Padmapriya is sincere, while Vimala Raman, as Appan's wife Vaiga, is mere eye candy. Siddique as the rival police officer provides some interesting moments in the beginning, but is underused as the film progresses.

All said, Time is good for timepass alone.

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