Painkili

Painkili: directed by Sreejith Babu and released in 2025, other than the acting by Sajin Gopu there is nothing to watch in this movie. Weakest plot ever, comedy that hardly makes one laugh. Almost like utter nonsense. The name is apt for the movie. A girl with desires to do higher studies keeps jumping away from her house when they decide on her marriage. Turns out the parents are not her real parents, so she feels orphaned as well. In the process gets into the life of Sajin Gopu who initially wants to get rid of her, then falls for her. But she's focused on studies and was buying time till she's 18 to get out of the house and do it.

Just not worth watching.

As a romantic comedy that tries to strike a balance between humor and romance but falls short in execution. While some comedy scenes land well, many fail to create an impact.

The biggest positive of the film is Sajin Gopu's performance, which stands out as commendable. He brings charm and energy to his role, but unfortunately, the script doesn't give him much to work with. The supporting cast delivers decent performances, but none leave a lasting impression.

The music and background score add a pleasant touch to the film, and while the songs are good, they don't have the recall value to make them memorable.

The film starts off on a promising note, keeping the audience engaged in the first half. However, as it approaches the climax, the storytelling takes a nosedive. The writing becomes weak, and the final sequences are chaotic and confusing. The climax, in particular, feels rushed and directionless, making it evident that the makers struggled to wrap up the story convincingly.

In the end, Painlili 2025 feels like a missed opportunity. It's not entirely unwatchable, but it certainly doesn't justify a theatrical experience. This one is better suited for OTT streaming, and even then, only if you have time to kill.

Painkili attempts to be a thoroughbred rom-com, and while the comedy here is quirky, at times situational, and mostly over-the-top, the romance aspect is not established well in any sense. That is primarily due to Anaswara's character not having any semblance of an arc to speak of, which is justified by her age (where mistakes seem apparent). Yes, there are some Jithu Madhavan-certified laughs, and Justin Varghese scores the film superbly; however, the film lacks a decent flow from event to event, overall.

Sajin Gopu gets to showcase more of his acting palette compared to his previous films, but since I watched Ponman way before this, I think his performance in that film (even with limited dialogues) was a lot more impactful. Here, he's asked to go all out-crying, laughing, being unhinged-and of course, bring some adorable romantic shades. He isn't successful at all of it, but if anyone (especially, the old-school directors) hasn't taken sufficient note of the guy yet, this will wholly ensure it. Anaswara is undoubtedly a wonderful actor, but this role will likely go down as one of her least memorable ones. The scenes with Riyaz Khan and LJP, intended to be comedic, didn't work for me.

P. S. Jayaram's hysterical scene from Kaavadiyaattam was poorly re-created.

An over the top comedy that tries to be a little bit like the successful Malayalam comedies from the 90s but also doesn't really want it to be called like that. There were a lot of moments that really made me laugh out loud. Any time movies make a lot of movie references it makes me giddy and even though this only uses it in like some specific scenes, those were all great. There was quite a lot of stuff that felt really forced and thus lost the humor in it. But just in the comedy aspect, it had so much in it that, even though the stuff that didn't work was a lot, there was more stuff that worked for me.

However, the issue with this film is the story itself. There are so many plot points in this movie that are too stupid, and the characters are given a pass after questionable actions. This kind of stuff was very common among the unsuccessful Malayalam comedies of the 90s too. This plot could have worked more if they hadn't wanted to add some thematic elements and thus a heart to it, it should have been ridiculous throughout, just the way it started. Jithu Madhavan's writing intentions feel like he wanted to make it a bit emotional at the end which is still hilarious like he did in Aavesham. In Aavesham, it was all focused on one character but here, there are two main characters involved and the writing fails to make it sensible. The second act which was supposed to build a base for the climax didn't really work much and the ending was really a confused mess. Performances from Sajin Gopu, Anaswara, and Jisma really carried a lot of scenes that would have totally failed if the acting wasn't as solid.

But even with all those issues, it was still hilarious for the most part. Overall, an above-average experience for me.

Watched Painkili...Mal Movie yesterday... PAINkili was really PAINFUL to tolerate in Imax Absolute waste of time and money... I wonder whether there is a deal between reviewers and film field...some online reviewers have given average and above average opinions....

Anaswara was like enthino thilakkunna sambar...may be to attract family audience Usual villans in comedy roles Abu Salim and Riaz Khan...different attempt Sajin Gopu and the second female lead were decent in their roles...

BGM was good most of the places but loud

Overall a below average experience

Better tile is CHALI or VALIPPU than PAINkili

3 star out of 10 for few scattered comedies and the effort by a few new casts

WATCH IN THEATRES AT YOUR RISK..