Mumbai, May 29 (IANS): Film: 'Kuttavum Shikshayum' (Malayalam; released in theatres). Duration: 138 minutes.

Director: Rajeev Ravi. Cast: Asif Ali, Alencier Lopez, Sunny Wein, Sharaf U Dheen and Senthil Krishna

IANS Rating: ***1/2

The Malayalam movie 'Kuttavum Shikshyum', directed by noted filmmaker Rajeev Ravi, explores the psyche of cops working on a criminal investigation. The script by police officer Sibi Thomas and Sreejith Divakaran stands out as it is drawn out from the professional experience of Thomas, who is with the Kerala Police, and is now posted as Circle Inspector at the Adhur police station in Kasaragod.

The movie is based on a real incident that happened in 2015 and begins with a theft in a jewellery shop at Kattappana, Idukki district. Circle Inspector Sajan Philip (Asif Ali) is given charge of the case and he forms a five-member team of police officers played by Alancier Lopez, Sharaf U Dheen, Sunny Wein and Senthil Krishna.

The police team, after closely observing CCTV footage and other material, reach the conclusion that the crime was committed by a four-member gang from Uttar Pradesh. The members of the gang were migrant workers in Kerala.

The police team led by Philip reaches a village on the outskirts of the UP-Haryana border. It gets the assistance of the local police to arrest the criminals, who are from a village in UP with a history of violence against the police.

The director and his team were successful in capturing the underdeveloped villages and the UP landscape.

The movie shows the risks involved in the investigation of the case and in the climax scene, the audience will feel positively for the policemen who risk their lives to solve a case. The patience, adaptation, diplomacy and balance of the police team are portrayed well in the movie with Asif Ali bringing out a brilliant performance as CI Sajan Philip, the head of the investigation team.

The movie, though, is slow and at times even though each actor plays his part beautifully, the chemistry between them seems to be waning at times. Also, the high expectations from a Rajeev Ravi movie invariably leads to a feeling of being let down. It could be because of the intricacies of the investigation and the movie not having many action sequences.

Rajeev Ravi has done justice to the movie even though he may not have risen to the expectations of audiences, who expect a repeat of his earlier movies, such as 'Kammatti Padam', all the time.

Cinematographer Suresh Rajan did a brilliant job behind the camera and Sreejith Divakaran has produced a beautiful script with a professional touch. A journalist-turned-scriptwriter, Sreejith has been able to translate the real-life experiences of a policeman onto the screen without anything being lost in translation.

It may be at times slow paced, but the film manages to hold your attention and is a clean watch.