While watching Johny Antony's Malayalam film Cycle, a niggling thought keeps distracting you; that if the classic Nadodikattu (Mohanlal- Sreenivasan film) were to be made today, it would have been something like this. That does not mean that the story of Cycle is lifted from the classic.

Yes, the basic structure is borrowed and the story has some semblance to Nadodikattu but director-writer duo Johny Antony and James Albert (his second outing after the recent classic Classmates) deserve kudos for not just plucking the characters from the old and planting them in the new. To their credit they have made the characters contemporary in their outlook and value system.

The story is about two friends Roy (debutant Vineeth Sreenivasan) and Sanju (Vinu Mohan, whom we have seen in Lohithadas' Naivedhyam last year). Roy is a cashier in a blade company (a term for small private bank) and Sanju works as a salesman in an electronic goods shop in the same complex.

While Roy aspires to migrate to the Middle East in search of better prospect, Sanju is bitter that he could not make it to the state cricket team as he has no money to grease the palms of the powers that be in the Association. So we have Roy, a happy-go-lucky and jovial fellow, and Sanju, the angry young man.

Roy is smitten by Annie (Bhama) who works in the travel agency which is located just opposite his bank. Sanju, on the other hand is chased by Meenakshi (Sandhya) a rich girl, but he does not show any interest in her.

The conflict or turning point comes in the form of urgent need of big money for the boys to get out of the mess they find themselves in on the New Year's eve. The solution? They decide to rob the bank where Roy is working.

Credit goes to scriptwriter James Albert for creating characters with shades of grey. For example, when Roy finds a wallet, Sanju asks Roy if there is any address in the wallet and the amount of money in it. When they find that there is Rs 4000 Roy says, "This kind of money won't solve any of our problems. So let us go and blast in the bar". This is when you think of Nadodikattu; if Dasan and Vijayan were to find a briefcase full of drugs today, they would not go to the police, instead they would sell it in the market for an amount that would help them lead a happy life.

There are a few instances where the cinematic licence taken too far. The bank robbery sequence, for example and the build up to that is too simplistic to digest.

Coming to the performance, Vineeth Sreenivasan proves that he is the carbon copy of his illustrious father -- right from voice modulation to facial expressions.

Vinu Mohan too has done a credible job. The leading ladies have the desired screen presence. Bhama's performance in particular can be defined as a wannabe Manju Warrier cum Meera Jasmine [Images] mould. Sandhya makes her presence felt.

Cycle may be a youth oriented film but it is not all saccharine coated adventure of director Kamal's variety, but a somewhat dark film with a dash of humour.

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