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Malayalam dialogue writers these days do not know to write punch lines for superstar Mohanlal. As his characterisation gets repetitive and storylines thin, the lines that he mutters get all the more monotonous -- a far cry from his Mone Dinesha.
All that you hear him say in College Kumaran is I Love You, that too after winning brownie points in an argument with the education minister of the state or grounding an adversary in a physical duel. What a disappointment!
The film directed by Thulasidhas has our hero in the role of a canteen manager with a valiant background of a Captain (in the military), who can also quote verbatim from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar!
He is the most trusted counsellor for the students and can control fighting mob and help a female student who is blackmailed into sex trade.
If we have to talk about the story, it is simple than what the kids learn in kindergarten. It has got everything that is plaguing education system; there is an attempted rape in the name of ragging, greedy capitalist making colleges into business opportunities, students killed in police custody, leaking of question papers etc. The only thing that may be missing is a full-fledged romance that is the staple of campus films. Though there is a heroine in the form ubiquitous Vimala who plays an English teacher, her relationship with the hero is confrontational in the beginning then turning into admiration as she learns about his past.
The film is a typical Mohanlal fare where he has to fight bad guys in the rain, dance with students, also with the heroine (though in a dream sequence), and lecture the teachers and parents on how to be good in their respective capacities and fight for the right cause. The writer director duo of Suresh Poduval and Thulasidhas make it at least bearable by not going overboard in their hero worship. One only feels that they had made the character little more realistic and distinct.
Mohanlal is easy going but one does not know whether he enjoys doing such repetitive stuff. The others in the cast include Nedumudi Venu, Janardhanan, etc.
In a nutshell, College Kumaran is just an average fare.
Rediff Rating: 