‘Disco’ review: Ullas Chemban’s stylish gangster film banks too much on style over substance

KOCHI: Everyday is Halloween in the ganglands of Ullas Chemban’s sophomore film Disco. In whatever grim situation they may be caught in, the mafia men in this film somehow find the adequate time and mood to dress up in matching colourful costumes before they carry out the hit. While the opening sequence has one gang dressed up in Santa Claus costumes, another sequence has yet another gang with goat head masks launching an attack on a police van.

Going by how this keeps repeating for the entire length of Disco, its costume designer was probably working overtime. Or, the screenwriter also pitched in, since the film borrows much of its story from typical gangster films and hopes to get away with it using its stylish treatment.

Just like Ullas Chemban’s debut work Anchakkallakokkan, Disco too is strong in its technical department, but that is not enough to save a film which banks a little too much on stylistics.

The film leans heavily on mood, colour, slow-motion and costume-driven set pieces to create its gangster world, but the narrative underneath remains familiar — rival gangs, police pressure, betrayal and revenge, seen many times before in Malayalam and Tamil gangster cinema.

While the visual flair and technical craft keep the film watchable in parts, the lack of a fresh story and emotional depth means the style soon starts to feel repetitive, turning what could have been a sharp gangster drama into a costume parade of violence.