CIA: Comrade in America has a story in it which has never been discussed in Malayalam cinema before. It tells the story of a large number of people who try to illegally crossover the Mexican-American border seeking asylum in the United States of America. The film, which is expected to break many Box Office records, is a political/romantic comedy drama where Dulquer Salmaan plays the protagonist Aji Mathew who is a highly motivated Communist Party member from Pala and is forced to go to USA to retrieve his love.

The movie which has Communism as an integral part of its soul, released on May 5th, the 199th birthday of Karl Marx. Directed by Amal Neerad and produced by Ajmal Khalid, the movie has Siddique, Dileesh Pothen, Soubin Shahir, Chandini Sreedharan, John Vijay, Jinu Joseph and Karthika Muralidharan in pivotal roles.

Shibin Francis, the writer of the movie has wandered into the unexplored territories of Malayalam cinema. Amidst all the movies with protagonists travelling miles in search of loved ones, CIA stands tall in current times with its strong and relevant theme. The direction has its highs and lows, but Amal Neerad succeeds in using the star value of Dulquer Salmaan to entertain the viewer. The sequences with Che Guevara, Karl Marx, Stalin and Lenin are a class apart. If the vexatious nature of illegal immigration had been captured on reel with the support of a zealous screenplay written after a more conscientious preparatory research, the movie would have turned out be a classic masterpiec
Dulquer Salmaan has delivered a fantastic performance as Aji Mathew. The actor effortlessly portrays both the mass hero and intense lover shades of his character. A special kudos for Dulquer's for pulling off the 'Pala' dialect with absolute ease. He is undoubtedly an actor who shows immense growth with each film.

Direction: Amal Neerad

Amal Neerad makes a partially successful entry into the genre of romance, with CIA. Even though he has totally succeeded in staying away from the shadows of his signature films, the director fails to deliver a film which totally satisfies the audiences.

The romance portions between the lead pair, which has been shown in the first half, lacks the spark. The second half falls into slow pace despite having the scope to be better and the movie rushes towards the climax.

Script: Shibin Francis

The major drawback of CIA is the loosely packed script, which impresses at a few portions, and fails to create any impact in the rest. The romantic track of Aji and Sarah looks forced and doesn't have enough space to develop. But, the mass elements and light humour in the first half are quite impressive

Like any other signature Amal Neerad film, CIA also highly impresses with the exceptional visualisation. The stunning visuals of Pala and the USA, which have been portrayed in two different colour tones, are totally praiseworthy. DOP Ranadive makes a fantastic debut with the movie and is definitely here to stay.

Music: Gopi Sundar

Gopi Sundar, the National award-winning musician once again impresses with the exceptional background score, with totally goes hand-in-hand with the narrative. The songs stand out with their uniqueness