Pathemari

The life of an expat is a very turbulent one. I would know as the son of an expat myself. The Keralan community would have never prospered as quickly as it did without the influence of the GCC states. It has encompassed sides of things I myself have faced being an NRI, such as the feeling of being a tool to facilitate the ease of another man's life, the delusion that life there means a quick buck is a garunteed, and the breakdown of family relationships. The perils of NRI can never truly be encompassed unless you are one and hence why I believe this movie did a seriously commendable job at addressing what it did. The film is very well made, the acting is excellent and the screenplay is wonderful. It should go down as one of Mammooty's most socially significant movies.

"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

Fantastic movie from great director Salim Ahemed And Great actor MAMMOOTTY A best Class movie from Malayalam Pathemari is an interesting watch that tells you an already familiar story, but in a way that makes you sit up and realize that more often than not, the life of those we know living in the Middle East is not that cozy and comfortable as we often assume it to be. Or at least it was not for those who moved there before it became the buzzing urban centre it is today. A tribute to the hordes of Malayalis who leave home to go work in the Middle East to bring a better life to their families, Pathemari narrates the story of Narayanan (Mammootty) who travels to Dubai as a teenager and spends a major part of his life away from his parents, siblings, wife and children.

As far as the narration goes, the film takes you through familiar territory, like what we have seen in films like Arabikkatha, but let's just say that Pathemari is highly laced with empathy. At the end of the film, you can't help feel empathetic about the suffering and chronic homesickness that every Gulf Malayali or any expatriate would be going through for that matter.

Mammootty, as Narayanan, has delivered an impressive performance. You would really feel for this character who is caught between his own wishes and the needs of his family. Jewel Mary, as Narayanan's wife, has given a subtle yet strong touch to her character. One performance to watch out for is Siddique, who, despite very little screen time, has the most powerful lines and moments in the film.

The director, Salim Ahamed, has narrated this story with a pace and style that is now familiar to us through his last two films Adaminte Makan Abu and Kunjanandante Kada. To note are some one-liners that subtly pass through the scene, but says more than entire scenes put together. Madhu Ambat's camera holds you down from the opening shot. The opening credits of the film show you Dubai in a way you've probably never seen the Emirate before. Resul Pookutty's sound shows through, especially the portions where the sea is involved. Bijibal's score is beautiful and unobtrusive. It serves as the right backing for the manner in which the story has been told. Vijay Shankar's editing is seamless as it takes you to and fro from Kerala in the 60s and forward to the present day.

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.