Writing a sequel for a popular film series with a history of more than three decades and many successes is no mean task. There is always the expectation to better the previous ones or at least match up to them. Seventeen years have passed since the last film in the CBI series was released. Since then, Malayalam cinema has changed unrecognisably. So have investigation thrillers. Yet, there is still a market for nostalgia, which is what the director-writer duo of K. Madhu and S.N. Swami aims to tap in CBI 5: The Brain.
But, nostalgia alone cannot do all the heavy lifting to make a movie appealing. Unfortunately, for the fifth film in the series, there is hardly anything else to add value. Even nostalgia gets milked to its limits, with that popular theme music that accompanies CBI officer Sethurama Iyer, getting repeated plays, even when he visits the Chief Minister.
The investigation this time revolves around a series of murders, which are termed ‘Basket Killings’, for reasons which are never explained in the movie. The victims include a minister, a police officer, a cardiologist and an activist, all of whom seem to be connected in some twisted ways. In between, one of the dead minister’s staff members go missing, the Chief Minister gets a threat mail and so much else happens, including several character introductions and possible explanations for the murders that it is hard to keep track.
CBI 5: The Brain
Direction: K. Madhu
Starring: Mammootty, Jagathy Sreekumar, Saikumar, Asha Sharath
The police investi
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