Kerala

On a trip

Aey Taxi

The film takes us on a sight-seeing tour of various places, including the crowded bathing ghats on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, the dazzling city of Dubai and the sand dunes of the deserts of Arabia.

But along with this, the filmmakers also test our patience — by running a long-winded story around these locations. It involves a hero, a heroine, her father, a father-son duo of villains and a good Samaritan and others.

Only the performances of Mohanlal, in a low-key role of a good Samaritan taxi-driver and Amrish Puri, as the arch-villain, offer a little relief. The film is directed by Rajendra Babu and produced by C. Mohan.

Vikram (Aaditya) comes to Varanasi along with his college mates for a sports meet. He runs into Ganga (Rakshita) who has come there to immerse her dead mother's ashes.

Every time Vikram and Ganga meet, they end up antagonising each other. They leave Varanasi as sworn enemies.

Meanwhile, Ganga saves Vikram's grandfather, and on his invitation, reaches Vikram's hometown. Here, she meets with a road accident and it is Vikram who saves her life. Vikram and Ganga fall in love. Ganga's father, who is based in Dubai, agrees to their union.

But at this point, Ganga happens to see Vikram with another girl in suspicious circumstances on several occasions. She has reason to believe that the girl is pregnant and Vikram is responsible.

Though Vikram denies it, Ganga breaks up with him and returns to her father's residence in Dubai. Vikram follows her. Here, he gets a helping hand from the mild-mannered taxi-driver Mohan Nair (Mohanlal). Vikram soon discovers the villainous persons behind the incidents in his life.

The villains chase Vikram everywhere; the chase that begins on the streets of Dubai is carried on through the sandy deserts of Arabia and finally ends in the Ganga in Varanasi. But all this "sound and fury'' fail to enliven the viewer.

Ajayanan Vincent cranks the camera. The music is scored by Anu Malik.

G. Jayakumar

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