When was the last time you had gone for a temple festival? It's been quite a while for me especially after Covid made its presence felt. What makes such festivals so special is the ambience, vibrant colours and sounds and hence when the trailer of Tinu Pappachan's "Ajagajantharam" was beamed, it certainly brought back memories of those days. The influence of LJP's mentorship was evident in the way Tinu had created the chaos & the unbridled masculine aggression. Though Tinu was successful to create a wholesome theatrical experience technically through his celluloid creation, the script as such was virtually non existent. Did it actually have one???
Basically it is the clash between Lali (Antony Varghese) & the wastrel gang in the locality headed by Kannan (Arjun Ashokan). Both the parties had egos that was bigger than the size of the elephant & it was just a matter of time before hell broke loose. There are a couple of subplots in the form of Kachambar Das (Sabumon), a wanted gangster, a drama troupe that is notorious for arriving late everywhere & pair of lovers who decide to elope on the night of the festival.
This is Tinu's second directorial venture after the interesting "Swanthanthryam Ardharathriyil". however, if that had a decent plot to narrate; Kichu Tellus & Vineeth Viswam barely had anything worthwhile except for situations that set the stage for a no holds barred 'naadan thallu'. Technically it was impressive be it the action choreography which was raw, Jinto George's excellent camera work, Justin Varghese and Mohammed Sanooj's music and thumping BGM and Shameer Mohammed's seamless editing.
First & foremost, kudos to all the artists for the efforts that they had put into the action sequences as it was a testament to their mettle and stamina. In term of performance, Arjun certainly stood out with the intensity he brought to the character, Antony, Kichu, Sudhi Koppa etc were ok while Sabumon & Jaffer Idukki tickled the funny bone.
Verdict: Certainly a movie that needs to be watched in theatres as it gives us a feel of the festival ambience. There is no doubt that technically it was impressive but the script as such was way too shallow for my liking. It seemed as if the only intention was to stage action sequences. In short, chaos & masculinity rules!!!
Rating: 2.25/5
Regards...Ben
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