Hotel California (Malayalam)

Starring: Anoop Menon, Jayasurya, Maria Roy
Directed by Aji John
Rating:

On a flight from Mumbai to Kochi is a dizzying bunch of characters that people Hotel California. There is corrupt politician Tarun Singh Deol (Saiju Kurup) of the Rs 5,000-crore 5G scam fame (paltry by 2G standards) on a money-laundering mission, who is being chased by the Kochi police. Meanwhile, some first-time terrorists, desperate for cash, plot to kidnap Deol. On the same flight, a single pira­ted dvd of Prem Sagar’s (Anoop Menon) film Hotel California is being smuggled in from Dubai much before its release. Since Sagar’s last 12 films have flopped, even the carrier (also Saiju) is stumped by Jimmy’s offer of Rs 5 lakh for it. Jimmy (Jayasurya) is a wheeler-dea­ler with mean contacts in the flesh trade. There is also businessman Aby Mat­hew (Shankar) who is coming to Kochi to pursue a girl who plays a witch in a TV serial. There is more curious hand-baggage: Rs 50 lakh worth of a Bollywood actor’s sperm ordered by Kamala (Maria Roy) is being brought in too. A mix-up ensues when the terrorists pick up the wrong guy. It is a comedy of errors that has its mom­ents. But Aji John fails to do justice to the talented Anoop Menon’s script. Warning: turbulence ahead.