Pathemari

When half a dozen of national award winners meet,one will not expect anything short of a memorable experience and Pathemari is nevertheless a truly remarkable piece of film-making that brims with grandeur from acting,directorial and technical brilliance.

Undoubtedly among the best films to come out this year,Pathemari is a heartfelt tribute to all those expatriates who struggled & is struggling hard for their loved ones without expecting anything in return.Director Salim Ahammed solidifies his position in Malayalam Cinema with yet another striking movie after critically acclaimed Adaminte Makan Abu & Kunjananthante Kada.

There's something masked behind the Yardley perfumes and colorfully covered chocolates that we correlate with a gulf returnee and Pathemari throws light on those numerous souls who had strong belief that the most important achievement in ones life is the betterment of his loved ones rather than his personal well-being-A hearty tribute in all means! For someone like me who has dealt with and known people like Pallikkal Narayanan in person,Pathemari gave a feeling as if I'm a part of the narration with a major share of hard-hitting dialogs and situations experienced before or heard of.

The climax portions were simply outstanding and Mammookka nailed it with his brilliant act that made it difficult to control tears rolling down the cheeks.If someone ask me the most touching movie of 2015 I watched from theaters ,my immediate answer will be Pathemari.Period.

Hats off to our pride Mammookka for the touching portrayal of Pallikkal Narayanan who reminded me of few I know in person.Megastar enacted various transformations in the life of protagonist excellently with necessary variations and perfection.A class apart you are,Mammookka <3 Siddique and Sreenivasan were impressive in their respective roles as Launch Velayudhan and Moideen respectively.Jewel Mary made her debut performance memorable.Saleem Kumar,Joy Mathew,Santhosh Keezhattoor etc come in supporting roles and did their part well.

Music & score by BijiBal was soulful and calls for repeated hearing.The title song in Shahabaz Aman's vocals was the best part of the album and blessed with thoughtful lyrics by Rafeeque Ahammed.Oscar winner Rasool Pookkutty did his best part with sound design.

This review ill be incomplete if I left out veteran Madhu Ambaat who captured the visuals brilliantly.Another name to be noted is of Pattanam Rasheed who did a commendable job in the makeup department producing convincing make-ups for various transformations of Narayanan.

Overall,Pathemari is a must watch film for all those who love good films that reflects life as it is.Watchout for the climax which is sure to bring tears to your eyes !

"Pathemari" is a very studied thorough effort to portray the lives of those keralite men who leave their families away and move to the middle east to work and save their brethren from the clutches of poverty. Presented against thorough research with consistent content throughout the movie, it was a very satisfying movie watching experience.

The movie starts with a fable like depiction of how Dubai came up followed by it's city sights. The movie then makes nice smooth transitions in time between past and present, telling the story of Narayanankutty ( played by Mammootty ) who, motivated by the abject poverty at home, takes the challenging and long journey across the seas on the pathemari( big boat) to find work in the middle east. The movie details out the specifics of the challenges of the journey, making some insincere attempts at using special effects to depict the sea storms which was probably the only thing that did not fall in place in the movie.

Thereafter, the movie portrays how he wants to push the family out of poverty and get back home himself as soon as he can and how his family continues to push in more and more demands on him and he is essentially forced into fifty years of gulf life. The subtle family situations that he gets put into have been chosen out of real experiences of many many such gulf malayalees through all the detailed research that has clearly gone into making the movie.

I would contend that each and every situation in the movie has been drawn out of real life, unaltered from multiple real people. There needs to be some conscious thought to understand someone who you do not see everyday. This movie is to push those thoughts into the minds of people who are not making the heart for them.

Mammooty has acted really well and becomes Narayanankutty. His subtle acting stands out beautifully. Narayanankutty has almost found a place in my memories now. I really hope that this movie serves as an eye-opener and allows at-least a few 'Narayanankutty's a fairer go at life.

The review would be incomplete without the mention of the songs penned by 'Rafeeq Ahammed' and music directed by 'Bijibal'. The lyrics capture the pain of the story so nicely that it can serve as a concentrate for the script. The music does great justice to the movie and adds another feather to my rising respect for Bijibal.

Best movie i have ever watched...mammootty shows the real life of peoples working in gulf countries

This is a Malayalam language film starring Mammootty.

It is a really good reflection of the initial folks from Kerala who had to migrate to the Middle East in order to escape poverty and hunger in the Communist state Kerala.

Even today the Kerala economy primarily runs from the remittances of these emigrants who had to labour and sweat to pull their families out of hardship. They actually never got to live a wholesome life as in most cases they couldn't take their families along. Living with roommates as boarders all their adult lives, just hearing stories of life that's moving ahead back in their homelands, yearning to be with loved ones, it's truly tragic. The director has depicted these beautifully without melodrama.

This is not even the story of the middle class Indians who reside there now. Having the best of cars and lifestyles, they are now there by choice.

This is the story of the hard workers who had to pay the price of believing their Communist political leaders.

How the protagonist opens everyone's eyes informing that when they send money, it is mostly by borrowing. And how the boatman opens the protagonist's eyes by bluntly saying they value the money you send more than you. The truth is so on-the-face, without Narayanan even informing the boatman Velayudhan about what's happening at home.

It is really touching when you hear in the end that he feels successful that thanks to his efforts, his family could lead a good life..

A hats-off to those pioneers truly is not enough. Our prayers to them.

A must watch movie for such an honest depiction.

The best movie of 2015..........

Mr Salim Ahmed has really done an amazing work.......

.The way the story is brought up is in fact the real truth about its success...... A realistic story... The end makes our eyes filled with tears........

I highly warn you that this movie should not be watched by weak heart ed people....

This is really a heart touching movie......

Really an amazing movie... I bet that this movie will be loved by everyone...... I request you all to watch this movie............. It is a movie that should be rated as excellent............