Pathonpatham Noottandu

This could have been an epic, landmark movie ! In terms of production and costumes the movie might be one, but had the storytelling be tighter, editing a bit more crispier, some insights into main character's origin or struggles or "thoughts" (we only see his final actions and repercussions of those actions.

Now coming to the movie itself - the actions sequences were well shot - but got repeating and quite honestly boring towards the end. I was almost sleeping through some in the Theatre after a while ( yeah there is bunch of similar slow motion action sequences which definitely could have been cut)

The idea of clubbing Nangeli, Kochunni and Velayuda Panikar as a creative liberty would have been fine had they made a significant difference - here these are done in a messy and pretty ridiculous manner. And king asking Panikar to capture Kochunni and Kochunni stealing from a poor priest are really doing injustice and totally wrapping history cruelly and un-necessarily as well ( it doesnt really after the overall narrative other much )

*** Pathonpatham Nootandu ( 19th Century) Movie Review ***

Directed by Vinayan...

Starring Siju Wilson , Anoop Menon , Chemban Vinod , Sudev Nair, Kayadu Lohar in lead role...

Verdict of The Movie : Super Hit ... 5/5 ⭐

Plot of the Movie...

During the era of 19th Century, in the place of Travancore, there was a custom that women of lower caste is not allowed to cover their breasts..They were deprived of their fundamental right... Moreover they also need to pay breast tax..

Also there were other crimes named as tradition like moustache tax for lower caste men, not allowed to visit temple, not allowed to wear the used clothes of the upper middle class...

So Aaratpuzha Velayudhan Chekavar a fierceless person who also belongs to the lower caste was on a battle against this unjust crime against the state...

Positive Factors of the Movie

1) Siju Wilson, this man broken the expectations of the movie...If he was a comedian in Premam, no one ever believed that he could carry such a heavy character..Even when the movie poster launched i was confident that this will be an another disaster for Vinayan the film maker but Siju you stolen the show...

2) Vinayan Sir writing and screenplay was good... His involvement was well evident in all the sectors of the movie, be it action, sound design, art direction etc...

3) Kayadu Lohar as Nangeli also gave a stellar performance...

4) Action sequences were well choreographed, especially the climax fight sequence was awesome...

5) Vinayan sir able to bring out the hardships faced by the lower caste people in depriving from their fundamental right especially the last scene wherein Nangeli cuts her breast to show her protest against the attrocity was heart touching.....

6) Cameo Appearance of Indrans stolen the heart of the audience....

Negative Factors of The Movie

1) Songs were not upto the mark...

2) Casting of Tiny Tom Deepti Sati , Chemban Vinod was not right...

3) Portray of Kayamkulam Kochuni characterization seems to be incorrect as Kayakulam Kochuni Malayalam movie played by Nivin Pauly was different...

Felt like a good watch, if you don't have much expectations.

The nangeli character really worked for me, especially the climax portion was amazingly shot. The climax scene definitely leaves a impact on us. The production design, costume, cinematography was nice. They nicely set up the 19th century period of Kerala. The music was good. The action sequences were good, especially the climax fight on the boat. It was shot beautifuly with a lot of top angle shots and very stylised with slow motion, that fight scene was pretty cool. The performances were ok, nangeli rocked in the climax.

The issue in the movie is the writing. They messed up in writing of the character of velayudha paniker played by siju vilson. Velayudha paniker is a person from the lower cast and he fights for their rights but he is never affected by any issues the people from that community is facing because he is rich. He has the money to pay all taxes, owns a lot ships, has money to build a temple. He just feels like a saviour who is doing a charity to the community people rather than being one among them. So the stakes involved for him in the story was pretty low. And there were hell lot of other characters which failed to create any kind of impact. I felt there was a proper structure missing in the screenplay. So the movie pretty much fails to create a lasting impact.

Among the movies which have came from time to time in malayalam film industry depicting the historical events, this movie stands out with its strong plot, perfect casting & power packed visuals.

The core of the movie is indeed the plot which grabs our attention and takes us to the unethical practices in 19th century and as a viewer we are able to experience it in a wider scale through this movie.

The power packed action scenes gifts a wonderful theatric experience without a flaw and give goosebumps in time.

Though the songs were not up to the mark the background score have done justice.

As an actor, this movie is indeed gonna be a turning point for Actor Siju, as his dedication level in portraying the character is really commendable. Actress Kayadu Lohar have also done a good job in executing the character in an intensive way and conveying the message.

This movie really needs a lot of appreciation as it's one of its kind which we can present globally, and can even add as a milestone in malayalam industry, but i was surprised to see the theatres with more empty seats within a week.

Anyway director Vinayan have delivered us a wonderful movie taking it to the next level and let's hope his future developments are also fruitful in time.

Pathonpatham Noottandu is an episodic re-telling of certain events that took place in the 19th century with extreme cinematic liberties taken by writer-director Vinayan. For sure, the visuals by Shaji Kumar, Ajayan Chalissery's production design, Supreme Sundar's stunt choreography, and Santhosh Narayanan's score give the film a strong technical backing but the script lacks the emotional punch required in a film like this. Siju Wilson's presence is imposing and he totally shines in the set-pieces as Ezhava spice merchant turned activist Aarattupuzha Velayudha Panicker. Kayadu Lohar's portrayal of Nangeli is also quite impressive. Chemban Vinod, who plays (a different version of) Kayamkulam Kochunni, is decent. The cast is huge, with prominent names filling up important roles.

For a relatively smaller budget period film, Pathonpatham Noottandu scores better than some of the other entries in this genre in recent memory (i.e. In the Malayalam language). Yet, most characters are uni-dimensional and fail to register as anything beyond good/bad. The melodrama, which is usually on the higher side in Vinayan films, is thankfully balanced out with the action blocks and sub-plots. He reserves it exclusively for the climax, which recalls a folklore we've all read or heard somewhere. There is a very chapter-by-chapter feeling to the film, be it in the way it introduces (and re-introduces) characters or major plot developments. This adds to the emotional disconnect between us viewers and the film's protagonists.