Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Parvathy TK, Rima Kallingal, Asif Ali, Tovino Thomas, Revathi, Indrajith Sukumaran, Madonna Sebastian, Rahman, and others
A team of promising doctors, government officials and representatives all work collectively to protect their people during the outbreak of one of the deadliest virus in Kerala. Based on real incidents during the Nipah virus attack in Kozhikode and other districts in 2018, the film traces the story of the hard reality that follows the various stages of the epidemic outbreak.
Credit goes to director Aashiq Abu and writer Muhsin Parari who have lived up to the pre-release expectations. Newcomers must take a cue from this duo on how to make an already known storyline into something gripping and spine chilling. There is not a dull moment in the 2 hours and 38 minutes, having the audience glued to the screen, without any chance to look away even for a second. The genre is a melange of a medical/family thriller, a good one at that. The cinematography by Rajeev Ravi is effective and the screenplay with its perfect pace adds to the merits of the film. The storyline is well knit efficiently that all the incidents are beautifully curated and brought together. Background score by Sushin Syam adds to the grip.
Multi-starrers sometimes fall flat especially when there’s a huge hype around it before its release. But here, the compelling star cast is a massive plus, with every actor working in tandem with the story and not focusing on outshining each other. Every character portrayed by the actors are top notch and their roles are executed with perfection.
The brigade of actors comprising Revathi, Parvathy TK, Rima Kallingal, Kunchacko Boban, Tovino Thomas, Sreenath Bhasi, Madonna Sebastian, Rajamani Senthil, Joju George, Asif Ali, Rahman, Indrans, Sharafudheen, Ramya Nambeesan, Sudheesh, Indrajith, Poornima Indrajith, Savithri Sreedharan, Soubin Shahir, Basil Joseph, Dileesh Pothan, Sreekanth Murali, Jinu John, to name a few, have made the movie a sure shot hit with their stunning performances.
A special mention to Kunchacko Boban, Sreenath, Parvathy and Tovino for their impeccable portrayal. Needless to say, a senior actress like Revathi, her nuanced performance is one to remember for years to come.
While the story works, the VFX and editing wavers but that can be overlooked as the lag does not affect the screenplay of the film. There are times when the story loses its track but the characters bring it back on.
For a film like this, with an ensemble cast who live up to the expectations, there are few demerits of the film to speak of. Virus is also one of the few thrillers which traces an already known incident and yet keeps it racy without over dramatisation.
Rating: 4.5/5
Verdict: We don’t see a reason why you need to miss a film as brilliantly made as this one.
