Prithviraj's directorial debut 'Lucifer' is intense. Right from the title to its characterisations, 'Lucifer' has ample Biblical references.
Father Nedumpally (Fazil) expresses his desire to know one 'secret' and asks Stephen Nedumpally (Mohanlal) as to where he was around the age of 16-25. And Stephen aka Esthappan quotes from the Bible in reply: “Jesus was lost in Galilee when he was 12 and he came back only when he was 29. Where did he go during that time is still not known. If you tell me the answer for it, I will give the reply to your question.” Although Nedumpally never compares himself to the Lord, he likes to be addressed as 'Lucifer', the fallen angel. The angel, though he appears as devil, has been assigned to protect God's beloved ones.
The movie oscillates between the good and evil, that at times merge and reappear as characters choose between the white and black shades. If Lucifer has a man's image, Reficul is believed to be it's female version and here the deal is set on fire by the female.
Cut to another scene. Priyadarshini (Manju Warrier) questions the morale of her husband Bobby aka Bimal Nair (Vivek Oberoi). Without any remorse, Bobby says guilty and leaves her with no choice than to bear with it. Priyadarshini in turn chooses the evil and the deal is with the devil himself.
There's no denying that 'Lucifer' is a pure Mohanlal flick. The first half is all about the great aura and terrific screen presence of the complete actor Mohanlal. Well-framed with fine performances, the film, however, takes the formulaic and cliched route in the second half.
The film is enriched with a star cast and it's hard to define each of them as they have direct or indirect links to the main character Stephen Nedumpally. Manju Warrier has given a decent performance and so has Indrajith. But the one who grabbed the lion's share was Tovino Thomas, probably the perfect casting as Jithesh Ramdas. His entry just before the intermission was bang on. Prithviraj appears in a cameo role with his stunts and actions.
A special mention to Vivek Oberoi for putting some genuine effort in learning the language. His dubbing, voice and mannerisms gelled well and there were no hic-cups in his dialogue delivery.
Prithviraj, the director, and Sujith Vassudev, the cinematographer, complemented each other in the most amazing manner. With excellent frames and visualisation, the 'Lucifer' cast has been able to lift a mediocre script by Murali Gopy to a new level.
Like Prithviraj said in his interviews, Lucifer is not a political movie - rather it has sourced the story from a politically inclined family. The styling and art department too have pivotal roles. Right from the intro scene, we get to see 'angel' Stephen dressed in white and the black comes into play when he unravels his evil side.
Made by fanboy Prithviraj, Lucifer is undoubtedly 'the-way-we-want-to-see-him' (Mohanlal) flick. To sum it up, what Karthik Subbaraj was to Rajinikanth in 'Petta', so is Prithviraj to Mohanlal in 'Lucifer'.