It is one thing for an actor of Mohanlal’s stature to give a massive hit as an actor, but when he is announcing his directorial debut that too aiming for a bullseye target of a certain scope of audience and makes a Fantasy film for children, the expectations certainly don’t reduce but does falter the high ambitions.
Barroz : Guardian of Treasures Plot
The titular character Barroz is a Malayali Slave who has been guarding the treasures belonging to the family of Da Gama but can only be trusted with the true heir of the Da Gama bloodline. Isabella and her father step down in Goa with the intention of converting the Da Gama mansion where inside the basement dungeon is the treasure, rightfully belonging to Isabella. How does Barroz make a connection with Isabella? Is the treasure kept safe amidst several looting plans?
The Positive Aspects
Mohanlal’s directorial debut could have been a masala filled action drama that would have gathered a better traction and response but his belief in Barroz and the project is applauding one. The actor has also not compromised on the technical aspects as visually creative parts of the movie such as the underwater song ‘Bambooziya’ or how Santhosh Sivan’s vision is free flowing for a visual treat for children.
#Barroz3D pic.twitter.com/LzIM08N1va
— Mohanlal (@Mohanlal) December 27, 2024
It is a Mohanlal film through and through except for the cinematography, the actor sets off to deliver a good performance in the role of Barroz alongside his companion Voodoo, which again is created with strong technical backup and graphics.
Mohanlal’s packed 2025 ahead : List of the star’s upcoming moviesThe Negative Aspects
A major drawback of a children’s movie is the lack of connection from one scene to another, be it a lackluster narration or a disconnecting scene, Barroz in several aspects failed to stitch up the parts of the plot to bind it as a whole narration.
The lack of emotions especially on the basis of casting is disappointing as the European actors have been given shallow roles that fail to make a connection even with each other. Apart from the main character Barroz, the rest of the casting seems off and would have had a greater potential if the casting was twisted and inclusive of talented Malayalam actors and actresses.
The characters are stagnant while the plot feels flat and slows down, making the target audience, the children obviously opting for other distractions. The way Barroz steps out of the spell and steps into the modern day, a stark contrast of his perception from 400 years ago was a cool trajectory, unfortunately unexploited.
Barroz had the potential, the backup and technical advantage to be a good children’s fantasy movie is led down by crumbling narration, loosely packed plot and several choices in casting, dialect and scenes that seems to be more distracting than an intended magical aspect for children to awe about.
