'LIVE' review: A weak take on a relevant issue

The film manages to keep the audience guessing about the villain

live-malayalam-movie

Fake news is the bane of today's society, which cannot be simply wished away. V.K. Prakash’s LIVE focuses on this evil - the film is about a girl whose life turns topsy-turvy by a fake news that goes viral, thanks to a media tycoon who manipulates it for vested interests.

The film begins with Amala (Mamta Mohandas) being given the district's best doctor award. She also has a YouTube channel, where she posts videos on medicine and more. However, she starts getting anonymous and inappropriate messages at night, following which she decides to file a police complaint. But her husband Sriram (Soubin Shahir) is reluctant, and, instead, slut-shames her.

There's a parallel storyline, too, of Anna (Priya Prakash Varrier), who lives with her grandfather, having lost her parents early. He wants Anna to become a doctor. In fact, Anna's mother and Amala were friends in college, and so the latter gives her all the help and support she can.

The first 45 minutes of the film might make it seem that it revolves around Amala and the anonymous cyber-criminal. But things turn on its head one night, and Anna becomes involved. Enter SJV (Shine Tom Chacko), the media baron, who uses Anna's predicament for his personal gain. How their fates are intertwined forms rest of the plot.

The film manages to keep the audience guessing about the villain – the cinematography and the background music help. Though the film has its share of twists and turns, the lack of an engaging screenplay and unconvincing character sketches let the film down a bit. Despite the shortfalls, it's worth a watch for the relevant theme it deals with.

Film: LIVE

Language: Malayalam

Director: V.K. Prakash

Cast: Mamta Mohandas, Soubin Shahir, Shine Tom Chacko, Priya Prakash Varrier and others

Rating: 3/5 

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