Even as movies from our neighbouring states have taken over our theatres with their Pongal releases, there was one Malayalam movie that managed to hold its own amidst all this mayhem. This was Vishnu Sasi Shankar's "Malikappuram" which was released in the last week of December. The title & the stills that appeared online gave the impression that it was a propaganda movie and hence I was a tad sceptical prior to checking it out. But I decided to give it a try & would have to admit that it was an endearing flick rather than the type that is trying to enforce what they have portrayed in it.
The protagonist of Abhilash Pillai's story is Kalyani (Devi Nandha) who had an unflinching desire to go to Sabarimala. This was borne out of her affection for Swami Ayyappan whose stories she had learned from her grandmother. After having repeatedly coaxed her father over the last couple of years, he eventually agrees to take her but destiny had other plans. The emotional content is the primary factor that makes this venture work with the emphasis being on the devotion of the child to Ayyappan. It takes quite a while to set the stage which could have been made crispier while the sub plot could have been more impactful. The action sequence in the jungle was neatly choreographed & certainly had glimpses of "Pulimurugan" & "RRR". Vishnu Narayanan has done a decent job with the visuals while Ranjin Raj's music was fine.
On the performance front, Devi Nandha was fantastic & was absolutely endearing, to the extent that I believe she will be in contention for the best child artist. Along with her, Sreepath was also impressive & provided comic relief. Coming to Unni Mukundan, I dont think there could have been a better or more apt choice than him for the role. He literally ticked all the boxes that was expected of the character be it the calm & cheerful demeanour, body language, chemistry with the kids etc. The rest of the cast such as Alphy Panjikaran, Saiju Kurup, T G Ravi etc have done their parts aptly while Ramesh Pisharody came across as rather artificial in the emotional scenes.
Verdict: As per box office reports, the movie has grossed close to 40C worldwide & seemed poised to add more as the Pongal releases have made way for it. It is a feel good movie with the focus being on the devotion of the kid rather than any religious propaganda. In short, give it a try!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Regards...Ben
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