Kunchacko Boban in a still from ‘Pakalum Pathiravam’ | Photo Credit: Goodwill Entertainments/YouTube
How do disasters happen? If disaster is going to happen in an Ajay Vasudev film, it is surely going to happen in slow motion, with a relentless, ear-wrenching background score. And there’s no way to escape it, because you’re trapped inside the movie, and you can only run in slow motion. In pakalam pathiravamIn his latest directorial debut, the use of slow motion begins with the opening scene of the police raiding a high-class village to nab suspected Maoists. The camera pans around to a police officer, who is playing a less-than-important role, and brilliantly captures the lighting of a cigarette and his slow walk towards a man questioning police action.
Pakalum Pathiraavam (Malayalam)
director: Ajay Vasudev
mold: Rajisha Vijayan, Kunchacko Boban, Guru Somasundaram
Order: 120 minutes
Story: A struggling family’s fortunes change when a stranger, a wildlife photographer, stranded on a jungle trail, takes shelter in their home for a night
The slow motion shots serve no purpose other than to make the audience believe that one or the other character has an important role, only to be proven wrong. At the center of the story is a financially struggling family living on the fringes of the upper class. The family’s financial problems increase due to the drinking habit of a farmer’s father (Manoj KU). As money lenders threaten the family, the daughter, Daya (Rajisha Vijayan), is looking for ways to lead a better life. Michael (Kunchako Boban), a wildlife photographer, gets stuck en route to the forests and takes shelter in their house for a night.
When Michael comes into the picture, it is naturally assumed that he will have a role to play in changing the fortunes of the family. But when the screenwriter throws an overused trope at us to establish the character’s relationship with the family, it’s really surprising to find that the trick still hasn’t gotten old.
pakalam pathiravam Remake of Dayal Padmanabhan’s Kannada film come dark night, which in turn was based on a 20-minute-long play. Frankly, that drama may have worked because of its short duration as a potentially thrilling tale of what greed and desperation can drive people to do. but in pakalam pathiravam, it is unnecessarily stretched in two hours. It still could have worked to an extent, if not for the old-school filmmaking that successfully kills any promising plot.
Vasudev, whose filmography includes works such as Rajadhi Raja, MasterpieceAnd Shylockbrings forth the same vigorous approach seen in these films pakalam pathiravam, But this is a different kind of film. The director’s natural affinity for the mass masala genre is evident from how the release of one such film is referenced in the script for no reason at all, as the camera slowly pans across the film’s poster.
This approach to the entire film ensures that the audience will be hooked even when the big reveal is made at the end. The lack of effort in building up these characters makes it hard to root for them. pakalam pathiravam Fallen alone by his mediocre filmmaking.
Pakalum Pathiravum is currently running in theaters