Paavada

I saw this film with high expectations after watching Ennu Ninte Moideen and Amar Akbar Anthony. Heard this film was a commercial success as well. So I decided to give this a shot hoping it was a good entertainer. However I was disappointed. The film had several flaws with the script. And I hated the Prithviraj character Pammbu Joy. The first half and second half of the film appear to be like 2 separate films. Anyway they bring in an important issue through the second half of the film. Reminded me of the forgotten film Matinée from 2012. Paavada tried to be an entertainer but I was just frustrated and annoyed at several parts of the film. Though they did get my attention during the climax portions. G Marthandan has a lot more to improve on. It sucks to pay cash to watch a bad movie in a movie theater. On a positive note, some of the songs in the film are good to get a party started. ;-)

A glorious year filled with box office success have passed,but it seems as if there's no looking back for Prithviraj Sukumaran and his inseparable connection with movies that have the tag of superhit written over it.Even though a bit on the lower side considering the sky-high expectations from Prithviraj after three brilliant movies in the recent past,Paavada is a really enjoyable mix of humor and sentiments that's mixed in right proportion by Bipin Chandran who earlier produced a brilliant entertainer in the form of '1983'.

The movie started on a low note taking its time to register the characters in the story and as such was slow to role but gained the pace as the story progressed,reaching the peak by the end of the initial hour.The scenes just before the interval were handled very well by Marthandan and the best part of the 147minutes long storyline.The second half was slightly better in comparison with the first and turned more serious without losing the grip on the viewers and ended with a neat climax that received good response from the majority of the crowd.The climax has a surprise cameo which went well on screen.

The sequences where Prithviraj enacted diaogues from 'PazhassiRaja' and 'Sagar Alias Jackie' received overwhelming response from the crowd and was presented really well.The storyline is simple and has its share of minor loopholes which doesn't turn hiccups in a smooth experience due to the emotional connect that the movie maintains till the end of the presentation.

Marthandan can take a big sigh of relief after the poorly presented box office dud 'Acha Din' and did a decent job handling the screenplay by Bipin Chandranwithout much faults to point out.This one is certainly his career best flick and much better in comparison with 'Dhaivathinte Swantham Cleetus' which too was a box office success.

The heart of the movie is Prithviraj and he stole the show yet another brilliant performance that upholds his improvement in handling humor and controlled emotional sequences.The ease with which he enacted the drunkard 'Joy' is appreciable and makes the character close to the heart of the viewers.Anoop Menon gave good support to Prithviraj and excelled in the post interval portions in particular.Asha Sarath was impressive.Miya did her part well.Nedumudi Venu,Maniyanpilla Raju,Sunil Sukhadaa etc were adequate.

Songs by Aby Tom Cyriac were 'kickass' and lifted the mood to another level by energetic performance from Prithviraj and the rest of the cast.BGM by Gopi Sunder too was good particularly towards the sentimental sequences.Cuts by John Kutty were smooth and the cinematography by Pradeep Nair was impressive.

Overall,Paavada is decent entertainer that's definitely worth watching worth the price of the ticket paid.

anoop menon act as a lead role and his performance was great The sequences where Prithviraj enacted diaogues from 'PazhassiRaja' and 'Sagar Alias Jackie' received overwhelming response from the crowd and was presented really well.The storyline is simple and has its share of minor loopholes which doesn't turn hiccups in a smooth experience due to the emotional connect that the movie maintains till the end of the presentation.

Marthandan can take a big sigh of relief after the poorly presented box office dud 'Acha Din' and did a decent job handling the screenplay by Bipin Chandranwithout much faults to point out.This one is certainly his career best flick and much better in comparison with 'Dhaivathinte Swantham Cleetus' which too was a box office success.

The heart of the movie is Prithviraj and he stole the show yet another brilliant performance that upholds his improvement in handling humor and controlled emotional sequences.The ease with which he enacted the drunkard 'Joy' is appreciable and makes the character close to the heart of the viewers.Anoop Menon gave good support to Prithviraj and excelled in the post interval portions in particular.Asha Sarath was impressive.Miya did her part well.Nedumudi Venu,Maniyanpilla Raju,Sunil Sukhadaa etc were adequate.

Songs by Aby Tom Cyriac were 'kickass' and lifted the mood to another level by energetic performance from Prithviraj and the rest of the cast.BGM by Gopi Sunder too was good particularly towards the sentimental sequences.Cuts by John Kutty were smooth and the cinematography by Pradeep Nair was impressive

The first actual Malayalam film (snubbing Unni Mukundan's 'Style' for reasons many and side-lining Fahadh Faasil's artsy appetizer) of 2016 arguably fails to kick-start the year mostly for playing charade with its dumb audience.

Paavada (Menon) is a Shakespeare-quoting alcoholic who finds himself locked in a room of a de-addiction center with an equally notorious dipsomaniac Paambu (Sukumaran). Both have been sent there by their well wishers in an attempt to make them kick the habit that they so lovingly share. However, the duo manage to escape, and eventually hole up in former's house. There is a genre shift in the narration of the story as Paambu discovers Paavada's former profession, and then things blow out of proportion.

To some, this blowing out of proportion, although extraneous to what was possibly and illogically happening in the first half, would seem like a timid way of en-wrapping the gist of the whole shindig. But, the biggest problem with the whole film is that a bit of a social issue that it raises in the second half is what the makers primarily wanted to convey to its audience, and while it may work for some, it fundamentally reeks of the same liquor that was present in the film's belly when it was raising that issue.

Deadpan jokes along with loud, soap opera-like BGM heralds these characters into the story. Paambu manages with the help of a local pastor to cheat a dame (George) into marrying him while Paavada still serenades (not songs, but profanities) under the window of his former fiancée simultaneously jabbing philosophical slurs to whoever comes his way with a little of sobriety. The try at comedy is purely substandard, but that has everything to do with the receiving end who is still obsessed with all things alcoholic and 'beverage corporations.' One would find one or two jokes humorous, and that is all there is in the first half.

After the interval, these alcoholics start to grow a brain or quarter (pun very much intended) and begin to sugarcoat the social issue of soft-core pornography in cinema. What started out as a combination of cheap chronicles of these tireless men suddenly moves out of scope and carves itself to make itself look like something bigger. Unfortunately, not an iota of sympathy can be spared for any of the characters, because the story arc (which is unarguably ripped off by the largely unknown 2013 Malayalam film 'Matinee') is flimsy and without a base. Of course, one can surely keep the brains at home and sustain the blows that the film throws in in the first half, but then when it suddenly asks for a packet of intellect so that he/she can relate with the hapless victims of sexploitation or sexual poverty (as the film calls it), it begins to smother itself in its own puke.

Coming to the performance, Sukumaran crosses the line with his acting. The makers should know that characters who swing and dance under the influence are not funny. Mohanlal was not funny in Spirit (2012), neither was he two decades ago in Thoovanathumbikal (1987). And in here, neither Sukumaran nor Menon are funny. It's all just sleazy business without the sex, and the film wants you to empathize upon that.

I am all for comedy drama and I am a huge fan of Malayalam comedies, per se, but Paavada is a disappointment for being a gimmick. Look at the title of the film: what difference is there between the idea and inspiration behind naming the film so and the film's antagonist and his crooked plans?

To conclude, the blame is both on the makers, who churn out such mindless dramedies, and the audience, who roll down the aisles laughing. Watch the Maqbool Salmaan and Mythili starrer film 'Matinee' if you really care about the issue of sexploitation.

BOTTOM LINE: G Marthandan's third feature Paavada is at best a loud and fashionably flawed drama that slyly talks about an important social issue. It can be best described in a single Malayalam word that I have also used to describe actor Jayaram's last ten movies: 'valippu!'

GRADE: D-

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO

Profanity/Vulgarity: Medium | Alcohol/Smoking: Strong

Dont go for the negative reviews here. This movie gives very unexpected twists and give a good message to society. This is not a typical movie for prithviraj fans. So don't get biased by their reviews. Overall a feel good movie