‘Disco’ Movie Review: Style can’t make up for the lack of substance in this generic mob story

A scene from the movie Disco. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Every day is Halloween in the underworld in Ullas Chemban’s second film Disco. No matter what grim situation they find themselves in, the mobsters in this movie somehow find the time and mood to dress up in matching colorful costumes before pulling off a hit. While the opening sequence has one gang dressed in Santa Claus costumes, the next sequence has another gang wearing goat head masks attacking a police van.

From the way it’s repeated throughout Disco, his costume designer was probably working overtime. Or maybe the screenwriter got in on it because the movie borrows a lot of its story from typical gangster movies and hopes it can get away with its stylish treatment. Like Ullas Chemban’s debut Anchakkallakokkan, Disco is strong in its technical department, but that’s not enough to save a film that relies too much on stylistics.

Much of the story takes place in a coastal town, bathed in a storm of color that has more of a Latin American flavor than a Kerala vibe. The mafia gangs and their actions also look incongruous if you imagine them in the context of Kerala, but some of them look believable if you follow the internal logic of the film. The non-linear narrative and multiple gang members make it difficult to follow at first, but things fall into place later on. The film’s structure consists of repetitive slow-motion scenes of various gangs, overhead shots of a coastal village, romantic interludes of various couples, and gang wars, all interspersed with hip hop music videos.

Movie: Disco (Malayalam)

Director: Ullas Chemban Cast: Chemban Vinod Jose, Dev Mohan, Femina George, Lukman Avaran, Sandra Chandran, Meera Vasudevan, Antony Varghese, Arjun Ashokan, Kalyani Anil, Sagar Surya Plot: Ousu and his gang join forces with a rival gang to achieve a big hit, but things don’t work as planned. Duration: 158 minutes

Although the fight sequences are mostly well staged, the overly graphic violence takes away some of the impact. The worst scene is undoubtedly the one in which a character repeatedly kicks and stomps on a pregnant woman’s stomach. If the purpose of a revolting scene was to arouse anger against the antagonist, much of that anger will eventually find its way to the scene and the director.

Chemban Vinod Jose who proved his writing talent in Angamaly Diaries fails to do the same in Disco. In the film, he is more effective as an actor, as the gang leader who hatches one big plan after another without ever tasting success. The film seems to be a mix of ideas and processing from Angamaly Diaries, Thallumal and Bachelor Party. Clocking in at over 158 minutes, Disco makes it hard to sit through with its unimaginative writing until it reaches a predictable climax.

In the end, one can only wonder why Disco was called that, when the film has nothing remotely to do with it, other than some members of the gang dancing at a disco for a few minutes. Such a film, which seems to be written on autopilot, is not meant to raise further questions.

The movie is currently playing in theaters.

Published – 06 Nov 2026 21:07 IST