Kammatti Paadam

Some films just entertain. Some films move you and then there are films which entertain you, move you and makes you think and ponder over it. Kammatipaadam is one such film.

Brilliant Script, Excellent narrative style, Beautiful shots, Great Background Score, Superb Acting. Iam sure many will complain about its length but I don't see any other way the director could have done justice to this film.

Iam amazed at the craft and inspired by it. Iam an aspiring filmmaker myself and I truly thank everybody associated with this film for having made this film.

Rajeev Ravi's third Malayalam venture is a not a so called clichéd gangster flick. Instead of being an action filled masala crap,kammatti paadam focuses in developing the characters. The characters feel so realistic. The script shows a huge potential in balancing the characters and their emotions. We actually care about them. The performance of the actors are excellent. Dulquer proves he's a class actor again by Continuing his dashing performance. But the real heroes are Vinayakan and Manikandan. Vinayakan gives his career best,while stage artist Manikandan pleases us with his extraordinary acting skill. In all, its a beautiful cinematic experience. But it is not everyone's cup of tea. If you know who Rajeev Ravi is and appreciate a well written, masterfully directed movie with amazing actors, go and see it. You will enjoy it for surely.

A Pure cult classic which has a unique quality in characterization. It shows how equations in life change when money comes in. Through fascinating characters, it also analyses what happens when their personal and gangster phases collide.

The blood soaked life of Ganga makes us to understand the life of ground level gangster from their shoes and Krishnan, a good example on how to make decisions in life in order to make it a peaceful one.

Kammattipaadam is a mixture of various emotions and the sad story of a population that we tend to forget as we crave for more luxuries, narrated in a disturbingly true manner.

Kammattipadam mourns the loss of innocence at the hands of the greedy, indifferent, and the deceitful. It is violent, like Ravi's other two movies. And it is unflinching. The film has noble intentions. It brings faces on screen that conventional Mollywood would never approve of. It takes their side and sings their songs.

Rajeev Ravi had earlier gave us films like Annayum Rasoolum and Njan Steve Lopez, which were realistic to the core and told love stories. Both those films got great appreciation from critics for its realistic portrayal of life, but failed to register its mark in Box office. So, this time he had tried to do a film which has some mass appeal as well. We can say that he become fully successful in that. But at the same time he kept the class which sets his film apart from usual entertainers. He narrated the film in a very different way and will be a treat for his followers.

Screenplay by P Balachandran also maintained a perfect pace and intensity throughout. The characterization and development of plot is the highlight of the film and Rajeev Ravi's craft is very much evident there.

Dulquer Salmaan gave a great performance as Krishnan and he is really improving as a actor. He really done a great job while portraying the different phases of Krishnan's life. He sported 3 different looks in this film and gave life to each phases with ease. Another great performance came from Vinayakan who was terrific as Gangan, the intimate friend of Krishnan. His change over for this character was too good. Manikantan, a theatre artiste, is perfect as Balan, Ganga's brother. Actors like Vinay Fort, P Balachandran, Suraj Venjarammoodu, Sine Tom Chacko, Alencier, Amalda Liz as Rosamma, Shaun Romy as Anitha, Muthumani, Anjali Aneesh Upasana, Manikandan, Soubin Shaheer, Alencier le, etc also done their part to perfection. Also there are numerous characters in the background who appear for less than a few minutes, yet create an indelible impression.

DOP by Madhu Neelakandan was one the highlights of this movie as his frames really set the atmosphere which the flick needed to tell the story convincingly. Music by John P Varkey and Vinayakan was very good as well and the background scoring was superb to say the least.

On the whole, Kammatipaadam is a realistic entertainer and those who loves these kind of films will be in for a treat.

Kammattipadam, a film that puts even the most acclaimed directors at the risk of being ashamed of their own work. Rajeev Ravi is not only a director that excels at what he does best but also raises the bar for upcoming directors to match up with. And i here expected nothing less.

A film that was shunned by the censor board and labelled an 'A' rated film that subsequently etches into the mind of every Malayali that Kammattipadam is nothing short of a porno, it is backlash to all the haters. The film contains mild violence and yet succeeds in its own way to capture us into the thriving wetlands of Kammattipadam, in a long 4 hour thriller. The film is a bit long and can be a hefty work to sit and watch a drama that unfolds slowly and steadily to end in a simple, non dramatic way. The film's score was undoubted brilliant, essaying with the tone and atmosphere of the film so perfectly that we are not aware that the only characters we are submitted upon are Ganga and Krishna.

Of all the characters that was portrayed, Ganga's was THE best. Vinayakan has done a role so perfectly and exquisitely that we are left wondering whether he was born for this role. Dulquer has also given a terrific job at portraying the troubled young teen and slowly transforming into the role of the wise. An actor who came into the industry as the son of a established actor, Dulquer has made a stride in proving yet again that he has build his own empire right next to his father, possibly bigger.

Although Kammattipadam revolves around these handful of characters, it is not the tale that the director wants to tell us. It is the supreme tale of friendship, love, lust, greed and how time can transform everything into dust. Just like the rise and fall of many great empires, Rajeev Ravi has done a exemplar work in manifesting that theme into the thickness of the Urban wreck ; Ernakulam.

Kammattipadam might be a one-time watch, since the characters that we see cannot go through the same loop again, which would spoil the flow of the time-line that the city has grown into. But then again, Kammattipadam, as a film can be enjoyed thoroughly and for extremes, is a must watch film.

Overall a tale that need to be preserved for future so that they can know that we still made films that are not confined to our artistic abilities.

A Exemplar 9.5/ 10.

It deserves more, but the perfect score is for another kind , with another brilliant story.