‘Live’ movie review: Taking sensationalism by online news head on; but falling slightly short

The new Malayalam movie Live has many layers, but at its heart, it deals with the issue of sensational news reporting by TV channels. 

Directed by VK Prakash, Live is a socially relevant film that also delves into the area of cyber crimes. YouTube channels that propagate yellow journalism also are highlighted in the movie. 

TRP ratings and live news that have a single-day shelf life and how these affect the lives of people are some of the issues craftily covered by Live. The movie is critical of new-age media that cooks up news stories without verification. 

Setting the storyline

Live’s screenplay is written by S Suresh Babu, who has previously written scripts for critically-acclaimed  movies like Oruthee (2022). Live is also VK Prakash’s second team-up with Suresh Babu after Oruthee. 

Live starts with the introduction of Dr Amala Sriram (Mamta Mohandas), a well-known paediatric surgeon, who is being targetted by an unknown person who is sending her obscene photos. She is married to Sriram (Soubin Shahir) who is a businessman. Their relationship is a strained one as both of them have different points of view towards society. 

While Sriram is focused on making money, Amala is interested in service. She works in a government hospital in Kochi. Then comes Anna (Priya Prakash Varrier), who is aspiring to be a doctor. She has the backing of Amala, who is helping her study and clear the entrance exams. 

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The conflict

An untoward incident that happens in Anna’s life takes the story forward. Anna is wrongly accused as being a member of a prostitution racket and is taken to police custody. Media glares and trials that happen after this incident are quite similar to what we see in the present world. 

Amala is the person is supporting Anna and her grandfather (whom Anna lives with) throughout this incident. Amala’s friend Nikhila (Reshmi Soman), a fellow doctor and friend in the media, is also helping Anna.  

The plot primarily focuses on fake news that is published by online media, without verification, for views. How Anna, Amala, and their friends face the fake media industry forms the crux of the movie. 

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Characterisation

While Anna is not strong, Amala is a powerful character. She is ready to fight against cyber crimes and fake news. She even says that it’s not heroism but heroinism when it’s done by a woman. These two lead female characters are mirrors of society following the advent of online media. 

Shine Tom Chacko as Chief Editor Sam John Vakathanam is a well-crafted character. He bears the characteristics of almost every editor that we see on national news channels. Unfortunately, his flashback of how he became a journalist — going from a driver to a chief editor — is pure filmy and unrealistic. 

While the movie primarily revolves around the two female leads, Soubin Shahir’s Sriram gets prominence at the end of the movie. But then arises the question: Are his “heroic acts” really necessary in this women-centric movie? 

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The performance

Priya Varrier was impressive as a teenager and she was given a good role to play. Mamta Mohandas was also good, but unfortunately not extraordinary. 

Shine Tom Chacko as the chief editor was well played, however, some of his scenes with Mamta Mohandas in the train could have been conceived better. 

Soubin Shahir didn’t have much to do, so his was a decent performance given the circumstances. The role of Dr Nikhila was a good one for Reshmi Soman.

Critical of media

Live is surely a critic of the media, mainly online media, which is interested in clicks and subscriptions. The movie even dares to question a huge media house in Kerala, which is considered to be popular for its integrity.  

How the media influences people and society is the main theme of the movie. Living in the age of WhatsApp forwards and unverified news on social media, this movie is relatable and current. 

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The flaws 

Since the movie focuses mainly on criticising the media and fake news, the flashback story of Anna and even Sam John didn’t make much of an impact.

But for the fact that the movie was a sincere effort to showcase yellow journalism and its after-effects on the common people, the script would have been better had the climax been more realistic. 

The final take

Live is a good effort by the filmmakers to showcase the dark side of online news.