Pathonpatham Noottandu

When i first saw the teaser of pathonpatham nootaandu, I was surprised to see a good level of production quality especially from a director like vinayan whose previous film aakashaganga 2 being a so bad its good film. Such quality I didn't see even in movies like maamangam and marakkar both starring two superstars. I just wanted to see whether the writing too was updated.

The biggest plus point of pathonpatham nootaandu is its uncompromising production values. Hats off to gokulam gopalan for making high quality period films like pazhassi raja, kammarasambhavam, kayamkulam kochunni and now this. Siju wilson spent nearly two years of his career for this film learning horse riding, bodybuilding and martial arts. And it reflects it on screen very well. Hope he becomes a superstar after this film. Another freshness I felt was presenting kayamkulam kochunni with grey shades.

Though the film has good production values, the script is strictly average. The film looses its steam after the capture of kayamkulam kochunni character. And despite having an ensemble cast of talented supporting actors none of them are in their best form. Just an okayish performance from everyone.

On the whole pathonpatham nootaandu had the production quality to become a mini baahubali but writing turned to be just basic.

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.

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.

I had low expectations but this was even lower than that.

Siju Wilson did well and the nangeli actress kayadu also done well. Deepti sati , chemban Allencier etc supporting cast is also good.

There are some high production value and good constumes etc Some good songs and action sequences too.

Main problem is, this is a very artificial periodic drama. It is made as a low class masala movie , no justice to the periodical elements such as language and art.

Siju wilson has put lot of effort phisically, but all that got wasted. Cannot really judge if he has potential or not. Nothing more to write.

First of all I would like to appreciate the effort that has been put into making this film.

Positives.. 1. Good performance from The Nangleli actress. She did her best.

2. The BGM is nice even though there are places where its overdone.

3. The overall direction, art and choreography did well.

4. The film did bring those old era feels.

Now onto some criticism.. 1. Siju Wilson performance is just average, I mean the acting part.

2. Storyline is bit boring here and there. Not a totally compelling tale.

3. Gokulam Gopalan's casting as the lead actor's grandfather is terrible (cringe fest).

4. Also the Kannan kurup guy is below average.

5. Expected a more intense screenplay.

The film is better than Marakkar or Mamangam but no way close to Vadakkan Veeragatha or Pazhassiraja.