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Right when I was getting fed up with modern Malayalam cinema, I took the advice of many who urged me to watch this, based-on-”Macbeth” film and the result definitely justified the suggestion.

Joji, an engineering dropout, along with elder brothers Jomon and Jaison lead a life of fear under their dominating father Kuttappan, the owner of a rather large estate, who, despite his 74 years of age, is intensely well-built and quite brutal, particularly towards Joji, whom he considers a failure. Jomon, an alcoholic divorcee, aids Kuttappan in agricultural affairs, while Jaison manages their businesses in town. Jaison’s wife Bincy concludes the “council” while Jomon’s teenage son also lives in the estate, with these two also sharing a strong relationship with Joji, essentially the only ones who take him seriously. However, when Kuttappan suffers a stroke, matters of inheritance come to the fore, while the...

Film CommentaryThese are two very different films but there is a connecting factor — how the women characters suffocate with the patriarchal home.Sowmya RajendranJoji, directed by Dileesh Pothan, premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 7. Just a few days before this, Jeo Baby's highly acclaimed film The Great Indian Kitchen, also released on the same Ott platform, months after it originally came out on Neestream. (This article has spoilers ahead) The two films are very different from each other. The Great Indian Kitchen, starring Nimisha Sajayan and Suraj Venjaramoodu, is about a newlywed couple and how the woman starts feeling oppressed day by day within the institution of marriage. The film also looks at how patriarchy and misogyny are sanctioned by religion. Joji, an adaptation of the Shakespearean play Macbeth, has Fahadh Faasil playing the youngest son in a Syrian Christian family who exhibits murderous tendencies and ends up...

InterviewIn an online interaction with Journalists Dileesh Pothan explains the writing and direction choices in 'Joji', starring Fahadh Faasil in the lead.Haritha JohnDileesh Pothan's Joji, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 7. The film, starring Fahadh Faasil, Unnimaya Prasad, Baburaj and others, has opened to rave reviews. Before Joji, Dileesh had made just two films — Maheshinte Prathikaram and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. But with both of them winning critical acclaim and setting the box-office on fire, his Joji was a highly anticipated release. 'In an online interaction with journalists, Dileesh spoke about the writing and direction choices in 'Joji'. Dileesh is known for realism in his films. But, the director says that he wants to explore different kinds of cinema, including commercial films. Among the most interesting interpretations in Joji is the character of Bincy, played by Unnimaya Prasad. While the...

Review'Macbeth' is known as 'the cursed play' in theatre circles and Dileesh Pothan's film comes at a cursed time, making perfect use of the setting.Sowmya RajendranIn theatre circles, Shakespeare's Macbeth is known as 'the cursed play'. It is tradition not to call the play by its original name and refer to it instead with names like 'The Scottish Play'. Legend has it that the incantations of the witches that trigger Macbeth's ambition, were so powerful that the first ever performance of Macbeth was full of accidents, including the death of the actor who played Lady Macbeth. Superstition or not, it is still a tradition that is practised by many theatre groups. Dileesh Pothan's Joji, inspired by Macbeth and written by Syam Pushkaran, is set in what we can call a cursed time. A pandemic that has forced people to wear masks, stay inside the house, with the threat of death looming over us.