Kurup ticks all the Boxes of a Perfect Film!
Kurup is a brilliant picture that hits all the right notes when it comes to narration. The film is composed of a series of diary entries read aloud by a cop, spying on the strange but intriguing life of Sudhakara Kurup (the name has been changed for obvious reasons), a cold-blooded con artist who conned an entire state and its police apparatus in the 1980s.
Kurup (Dulquer Salman) has become a mythological figure in the Malayalee diaspora for all the bad purposes, and the film attempts to convey the general mood around the case that elevated his status to that of an infamous crime boss. The graphics ooze nostalgia, with gorgeously designed set pieces depicting the latter half of the 1970s and 1980s, and a superb synth-infused soundtrack by Sushin shyam that seamlessly picks up the pace while allowing the story to breathe.
Kurup is organised like a jumble of narrative threads woven together by different characters' views of the storey, or at least what they are persuaded to think. The writing gives Dulquer plenty of courageous moments, which are countered by later payoffs that expose Kurup's dark history, who may otherwise have gone away as a desi popular hero on the loose from the government.
Duluqer bears the brunt of the big production and never appears passive in his role as a plotting megalomaniac. The rest of the individuals are largely irrelevant to the storyline, with little going on near the ground and mainly existing to help the starring protagonist overcome the challenges he data-faces. All in all, Kurup is a well-executed huge production that checks all the criteria for good commercial cinema.