Njan Steve Lopez review: This thriller set in Kerala is worth a watch

It’s a curious coincidence that Njan Steve Lopez (I am Steve Lopez) has had a limited release across the country on the same week as Singham Returns because unexpectedly, the two films actually share some central concerns. Like Singham Returns considers how the police keeps the peace, Njan Steve Lopez too is worried by the secrets that the police force must keep to maintain a facade of security. In the world of blockbuster films, the solutions are simpler and the violence is spectacular. Set in Kerala and dealing with the riddle of crime in today’s India, Njan Steve Lopez offers a more nuanced look at the problem. Steve (Farhaan Fasil) is a college kid whose major concern in life is how to tell his childhood friend Anjali (Ahaana Krishna) that he loves her. He has an iPhone, is on Whatsapp all the time, goes out drinking with his friends and generally lives a carefree life made all the more secure by the fact that Steve’s father George is a deputy superintendent of police in Thiruvananthapuram. This idyll is smashed when one day, Steve witnesses a stranger being attacked by men with scythes. Steve isn’t able to stop them, but when the attackers leave their victim for dead, Steve takes the injured man to the hospital. It’s here that he realises there is more than what meets the eye. The man he helped is from a criminal gang and it’s evident that George is very unhappy that his son has got mixed up in all this. Steve’s misgivings intensify when he’s called to the police station to identify the attackers in a line up and none of the men he’d seen are in that line up. On his way back from the police station, Steve spots one of the scythe-wielding men in a car and decides to follow him. The man whom Steve is following, Hari (Sujit Shankar), seems to be unaware of the college kid tailing him, but of course, that’s not really the case. Two of Hari’s men knock Steve out. When he comes to, Steve finds himself bound and gagged in a room that overlooks Hari’s home. Things become murkier when Hari says he’s going to let Steve go and Steve realises that Hari knows his father. All Steve wants to do is the right and humane thing by the people he encounters, but his acts of kindness just serve to muddle up the situation he’s in terribly. Steve realises George and the police force are somehow involved with the gangs and are playing sides, possibly to maintain a peaceful status quo. However, no matter how many times Steve asks, George won’t explain to his son precisely how the police is handling the situations. [caption id=“attachment_1667087” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Screenshot from Facebook.[/caption] Inevitably, Steve realises that the bad guys have human sides and the police have terrible secrets, but no one has answers to the questions that Steve has. The more he investigates this case in which he has unwittingly become a critical pawn, the more dangerous things turn for him. Aside from Steve, no one seems blameless and yet, he is the one who seems to be suffering the most. Although some of the sequences, like the one in which Steve follows Hari home, can feel a little tedious, the film’s tension is sustained by the mystery of how the police is connected to the gangs and whether Steve will be able to find answers to the questions his father refuses to even acknowledge. Njan Steve Lopez is both a thriller and a coming of age film. The insights that the film offers aren’t new. That crimes are often committed here with the police turning a blind eye and criminals can evoke sympathy — these aren’t revelations. It is interesting to see this world through the eyes of a young man who exists on the fringes of the different worlds he passes through. Steve is a student, but he’s barely present in college. He’s a policeman’s son, but is unaware of how the police actually function. His encounter with criminals brings him into their world even though he’s kept at a distance there too. While this gives a certain clarity to his perspective, it doesn’t really help in the real world where biases and blinders are part and parcel of everyone’s baggage. There’s a lot to appreciate in Njan Steve Lopez, beginning with the clever opening credits that have a graphic-novel feel to them. The rest of the film, however, is steeped in a grim reality. Rajeev Ravi, who was the cinematographer for Dev D, turns God’s own country into noir territory, turning almost a blind eye to Kerala’s natural beauty. A lot of the film is shot at night, filling the screen with dense shadows and darkness pinpricked by neon light. There’s a sense of realism to Njan Steve Lopez that makes the film feel particularly unnerving. From Steve’s home to the bars he and his friends frequent, nothing seems artificial. The well-pitched performances by the entire cast, including those with minor roles, adds to the film’s persuasive powers. The weakness in Njan Steve Lopez is that although the journey is intriguing and well-plotted, a lot of it — including the ending — is predictable. Given Ravi’s aesthetic, it’s evident that his story will not end happily, but more frustrating part is that there are no clear answers by the end of the film. This is not a movie experience that will leave you feeling happy, but Njan Steve Lopez does make you wonder about the choices we make and those that are made for us. For that alone, it’s worth a watch.