Movie: Wanted
Director: Murali Nagavally
Producer: A.Jayan
Music: Deepak Chatterji
Cast: Mohanlal, Madhu Warrier,Aravindan,Aniyappan,Nishanth Sagar, Suchitha



Priyadarshan’s long standing assistant Murali Nagavally’s Wanted is stylishly shot and is quite a stunner. It is a kidnap drama written by Priyadarshan loosely inspired from a Hollywood film, that is absolutely absorbing and inspiring.

Unni (Madhu Warrier), Nandu (Aravindan), Mani (Nishanth Sagar) and Chupran (Aniyappan) are friends who are unemployed but have a lot of liabilities in life. Unni aspires to become a police officer while Nandu wants to go to the Middle East. Mani is a loner who is willing to take any risk in life to make fast money and Chupran is taunted by his parents at home.

Anu (Suchitha) is also in their gang and she needs money for her father’s (Bharath Gopi) heart operation. Meanwhile, Mohammed Ibrahim, a dreaded don who is wanted by the Mumbai police, flees to Kerala and lands in the same city.

There is a sum of Rs 75 Lakhs announced on his head by the police but Ibrahim hatches a plan to escape from India, by hijacking a plane with a union minister in it. He promises money to the young gang and seeks their help but in a fantastic twist in the aircraft, they kidnap Ibrahim for the bounty he carries!

But little do they realise that the criminals were hand-in-glove with the state police who try to track the youngsters. Now there is Narayana Swamy (Mohanlal), a sincere and efficient CBI officer from Mumbai who is out to track down Ibrahim.

Does he manage to trap Ibrahim? Will the youngsters get the money? All this is told in a racy climax inside a forest with a lot of twists.

Director Murali has made the film like a Hollywood thriller. He has been able to extract powerful performances from the four young actors. Madhu Warrier is promising and Suchitha, a spitting image of Meera Jasmine is likeable. Anniyapan has scored in the comedy scenes.

Mohanlal has done a role very similar to the one he did in Ramgopal Varma’s Company, that of a Palakkad Iyer. He is amazing and the ease with which he performs proves beyond doubt that he is simply the best.

Deepan Chatterji's music, Sabu Syril's art direction and Om Prakash's cinematography are the other highlights of the film.