What is the movie about? :: John Paul (Kunchacko Boban) is a photographer, and his studio is the best in the area. Even though he is from the Kuttanadu area of Alappuzha which is surrounded by water, he doesn’t know how to swim, with a certain fear for water. His mother, Mary Paul (Shantikrishna) is in full support for him, and tries to keep a happy face despite the problems of her life, and her husband having committed suicide a few years ago. John has fallen in love with many girls in the past, right from his childhood days – his lover at school had only gotten married a few years ago, but his biggest tale of love was with Jessy Ummen (Aditi Ravi), a dentist for whom he arranged fake degree certificates. He had always thought that what we had with her was true love, the kind of love which would bring a sleeping beauty to life with a true love’s kiss.
So, what happens with the events to follow? :: But that idea had to change with the arrival of Peter (Ramesh Pisharody), an NRI who intends to return to London after marrying the girl of his dreams. It turns out that the girl of his dreams is none other than Jessy whom he wishes to marry and take back to England. Jessy’s father and Panchayath President Ummachan (Innocent) has no problem with choosing between John and Peter, as he hopes that by working at London, she would earn enough money to pay him back the cash which he had spent for making her a BDS doctor. Marrying off his daughter to a photographer would make no sense to him. Only Jessy’s love for John stands between Ummachan and his dreams of getting the money back. But can the love of John and Jessy stand the test at a time when the former will be without a place to live in a few days?
The defence of Kuttanadan Marpappa :: There are some funny moments in this movie, and there is that final revelation which will satisfy a good number of people in the audience – Kattappanayile Rithwick Roshan had that kind of a twist, as we remember. Kunchacko Boban has a good combination with Dharmajan with the comic side, and the romantic side with Aditi Ravi is also charming in the setting that we have here. We often feel that this is more or less a classic tale of problems in love, told in a different way, with a different setting. The visuals of the area are nicely captured, and we feel the beauty of the place to be close to being part of a fairy-tale. There is something about this world that will satisfy our needs to watch some of the best of backwaters. You have the chance to see Kuttanadu with all its beauty here, with Venice of the East scoring.
The claws of flaw :: There are occasions when one has to wonder if Kuttanadan Marpappa is a confused movie, in the model of Oru Cinemakkaran and Role Models – it seems to try too many things, and by doing the same, it also has the audience wondering where it is heading. There is so much colour, and the costumes look rather strange for most situations. There is one song which has the leading actor and actress dancing with strange steps and costumes, and the lyrics itself seems weird – the need for such a song was surely not there, especially with the video. This song itself is a reflection of the movie’s confusion, and we also feel a certain amount of drag within its tale. There seems to be an eternal struggle within this one, and a lot of things are more or less not really suited for the mood of this movie. As a whole, it seems to have collected certain items from different places, and scattered them.
The performers of the soul :: Kunchacko Boban being the lifeline of this movie is no surprise, as he plays another romantic character – nothing really changes with that one. He has another familiar role in control and has to do no wonders, coming out of his last flick, Shikkari Shambhu. Aditi Ravi, the star of Alamara had only smaller roles in the later big movies, Adventures of Omanakuttan, Udaharanam Sujatha, Lavakusha and Aadhi, which has been rather surprising. With acting talent, she is surely far ahead of many other actresses who have been performing in leading roles. She undoubtedly leaves her mark in this movie, and this would be compared to a few other roles; the kind of roles which would bring discussions about a certain kind of behaviour in love. The two does make a fine pair, and lets see if we can see more movies with the two together.
Further performers of the soul :: Shanthi Krishna had made a grand return with Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela, and we see her doing amazingly well with the lighter side as well as the emotional moments – she reflects that kind of a mother whom a young son or daughter dreams to have. The girl who played the sister of Aditi’s character also requires special mention, as she handles things so naturally and with a certain charm. Dharmajan has his moments of fun in this one as usual, while Hareesh Perumanna, for some reason, is underused, and so are Innocent and Salim Kumar. Aju Varghese does bring some laughter in the role of a priest. Ramesh Pisharody has some fun to provide, and so does Dinesh Nair, but we see that their characters are overdone, going beyond what was needed on a number of occasions. Soubin Shahir is there for even lesser period of time.
How it finishes :: There is not that much to be loved in Kuttanadan Marpappa, but for the family audience, this would be a good way to spend the weekend, as it would be for the youth. Without much of focus on the story, and leaving romance behind after some time, this seems to be that movie which tries to make the best use of the Maundy Thursday – Good Friday – Easter season with its special and catchy title, as well as by adding the kind of actors and actresses whom families would prefer. With Vikadakumaran being another movie which seems to have a similar plan, it is to be seen how well the plan can work. As of now, all movies seem to have pretty good viewership, and it will be the Easter Sunday which will decide the winner in this battle of movies, as Pacific Rim: Uprising, Poomaram, Hey Jude, Black Panther, Aadhi and Ira still stays at the theatres.
Release date: 29th March 2018
Running time: 140 minutes
Directed by: Sreejith Vijayan
Starring: Kunchacko Boban, Aditi Ravi, Shanti Krishna, Innocent, Aju Varghese, Salim Kumar, Ramesh Pisharody, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Noby Marcose, Vinod Kedamangalam, Dinesh Nair, Hareesh Perumanna, Soubin Shahir, Tini Tom, Kochu Preman. Mallika Sukumaran
@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.
