‘Rifle Club’ movie review: Aashiq Abu’s stylish film is a treat to watch, but needed better writing

Vijayaraghavan, Dileesh Pothan, Darshana Rajendran, Vishnu Agasthya and Hanumankind in stills from ‘Rifle Club’ | Photo Credit: Think Music India/YouTube

Dead wild boars and gun-toting humans floating down a zip line from inside a forest to a bungalow, dinner conversations replete with tall tales of hunting and backhanded compliments, residents for whom the gun is the one, and probably only, thing that matters in. their lives — this is the world in which Aashiq Abu’s Rifle Club is set. It is a closed world with strict honor codes, which doesn’t bar the characters from mercilessly lampooning the incompetence of someone else in the club. And, almost all of them belong to the same family.

Into this world governed by those with a “hunter mind” enters Shahjahan (Vineeth Kumar), a film star who wants to shed his romantic image and do a film which involves shooting and hunting — because that is the trend in the early 1990s — after the release of Mrigaya. Tailing him into the club is not just the audience, but a couple, close to the superstar, who have rubbed a much-feared Mangalore-based arms dealer Dayanand (Anurag Kashyap) the wrong way.

Much of the rest of the action plays out at Rifle Club, nestled deep in the Western Ghats, and one can easily predict how it is going to unfold right from the initial point. The makers too appear to be aware of this fact, preferring to lean on the riveting action choreography, the well-timed adrenaline pumps, and the exchanges between the wide array of characters, to carry the film.

Some of the action set-pieces work really well, especially the sharpshooter on a motorcycle roaring through the corridors of the bungalow, or the entire family staring without batting an eyelid when a menacing Bheera (Hanumankind) and his gang bring the place down. Then of course there is the smart shift to a grainy, VHS wedding video of club secretary Avaran (Dileesh Pothen) and Sisily (Unnimaya Prasad). Aashiq Abu, who has also handled the cinematography, brings to the table some rich frames, which along with Rex Vijayan’s music adds much to the film.

Looking at the list of screenwriters — Shyam Pushkaran, Dileesh Karunakaran and Suhas — one would assume the film to have some kind of heft, the sort of writing that props up a film even without the added stylishness. But, even for the genre that it belongs to and for what it seeks to achieve, there is a bit of hollowness at the core of the film which all the style and pace struggle hard to cover up. Yet, they manage to keep the film engaging almost all through by deftly switching between parallel scenarios.

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The weakest writing is perhaps in the climax exchange between the antagonist and the club members, which is preceded by an interesting buildup, with the leaders taking potshots at each other in Malayalam and Hindi. There are mentions of Uzis and Mexican standoffs, but how it pans out in the end reminds one of the good old PavanayiThat would have worked like anything in a comedy film, but not in Rifle Clubwhich badly needed that lift at the climax. Some of the huge array of characters do register, while at least a few of the talented cast appear wasted.

Rifle Club is a treat to watch for its style, but more solid writing could have elevated it further.

Rifle Club is currently running in theaters