Cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Tanu Balak’s Cold Case happens to be Prithviraj Sukumaran’s first film to skip theatres and directly release on Amazon Prime due to the pandemic. An investigative horror-thriller, the film boasts of an interesting narrative style – as the story is told through two parallel threads. Despite being set up as an intriguing police procedural and a paranormal thriller at the same time, the film doesn’t quite make a solid impact.
Watch Cold Case trailer:
When a skull wrapped in a trash bag is found in a local fisherman’s net, it becomes the headlines of primetime news. Assistant commissioner of police Sathyajith (Prithviraj) is called in to investigative. Forensic analysis finds that a murder was committed over a year ago and the skull belongs to a person whose identity is still unknown. As Sathyajith puts together his team to discover the identity of the victim and their killer, we are introduced to Medha (Aditi Balan), an investigative journalist, who moves into a new home in the city with her young daughter. Soon, Medha starts feeling an invisible presence in her home. Their stories meet each other and the film is kicked into gear.
The plot of the film makes for an engaging investigative thriller. But there’s a parallel story about a soul seeking revenge that doesn’t work effectively. On paper, the idea to have a story told through two parallel threads may sound interesting; however, the execution isn’t convincing enough to have us hooked. It would’ve made sense if the film was either an investigative thriller or a supernatural thriller. Somehow, the attempt to merge the genres only complicates what could’ve otherwise been a cracker of a thriller. Even after merging the genres, the story somehow focuses more on Prithviraj’s character as he also happens to be a star. Sathyajith ends up cracking most of the case and there’s very little left for Medha to do. In the end, Medha’s side of the story hardly makes any impact and leaves one scratching their head.
{{/usCountry}}The plot of the film makes for an engaging investigative thriller. But there’s a parallel story about a soul seeking revenge that doesn’t work effectively. On paper, the idea to have a story told through two parallel threads may sound interesting; however, the execution isn’t convincing enough to have us hooked. It would’ve made sense if the film was either an investigative thriller or a supernatural thriller. Somehow, the attempt to merge the genres only complicates what could’ve otherwise been a cracker of a thriller. Even after merging the genres, the story somehow focuses more on Prithviraj’s character as he also happens to be a star. Sathyajith ends up cracking most of the case and there’s very little left for Medha to do. In the end, Medha’s side of the story hardly makes any impact and leaves one scratching their head.
{{/usCountry}}Prithviraj looks smart and fit as ACP, but his performance largely remains one-note. One isn’t sure if it was a deliberate attempt to make him act a certain way. He was last seen in Ayyappanum Koshiyum, and it’s a film that brought out the best in him through a fiery performance.
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Aditi Balan, in her Malayalam debut, looks clueless for most part. After her standout performances in Tamil films Aruvi and Kutty Story, she looks lost in a role she hardly impresses in. Unlike most thrillers about a killer, Cold Case did take the road less taken with the identity of the murderer. However, the experiment needed a bit more work for the role was poorly written and therefore, another disappointment.
Cold Case
Director: Tanu Balak
Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Aditi Balan, Suchitra Pillai and Anil Nedumangad and Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli
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