Vampire Owl: This is one long list of people. I know some of them, I think.
Vampire Bat: You know Paulo Coelho for sure.
Vampire Owl: Yes, he is a much talked about figure in the New Vampire World.
Vampire Bat: The Alchemist and The Pilgrimage – you know them.
Vampire Owl: I know more than that, and I shall read more of it.
Vampire Bat: I am sure that your reading habit is coming back.
Vampire Owl: So, how is he related to this movie?
Vampire Bat: It is for us to find out by investigating while watching this movie.
Vampire Owl: It is one title of a movie that is sure to catch your attention too.
Vampire Bat: Yes, even we wonder what it is about, and the curiosity catches the audience.
[Gets three cups of tea with banana chips].
What is the movie about? :: Ayyappa Das (Rudraksh Sudheesh) is a kid who has always had the dream to travel in an airplane. He has been growing up thinking about nothing other than this one thing, and almost everybody in the village knows that. There is one toy that he always has with him, and that is a tiny model of an airplane. He and his best friend, his cousin sister Ambily (Abeni Aadhi) spends their time hoping to find him a chance, by praying to different dieties. He had two chances to go in the plane though, the first one spoiled by a disease, and the second one when his father died, having taken visa and paid for the airline tickets in both cases. With his father dead, his chances for traveling in an airplane seems to have reached a new low, but he still believes that there is some chance here or there and is not ready to give up.
So, what happens next in the movie? :: The other significant character in this movie is Kochavva, whose real name is Ajayakumar (Kunchako Boban). He is a very helpful person, and is loved by almost everyone in the village. A man known for his good heart and the intense desire to help people in need, everyone calls him by the name Kochavva, no matter they are older or younger to him. Having given up his love Anju (Anusree) due to the goodness in his heart, he is the man who is now going to help Ayappa Das in getting closer to his dream. One day, while teaching children swimming, Kochavva tells everyone about how significant swimming is, and how it can help one to achieve more, along with doing it as an exercise. Ayappa Das sees it as an opportunity to travel in an airplane by going for competitions outside Kerala.
So how is the dream to be achieved? :: The problem is that Ayappa Das is afraid of water, and it is not just some fear – it goes deeper. When almost every kid in the village was taught swimming by Kochavva, he had always stayed away – he has often felt water as death. The movie goes on to bring to its viewers on how the boy managed to overcome his fear of water, and how Kochavva uses the quote from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist – “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” to make him believe in himself, and also in the rest of the people around him. With his dream of traveling in an airplane on the line, can Ayyappa Das finally become the person that he and Kochavva want him to be? Is it possible for him to finally achieve that one thing which seemed to be not happening as everything in the universe earlier seemed to conspiring against him?
The defence of Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho :: With the whole tale based on and hoping to thrive on Paulo Coelho’s popular and best known quote from The Alchemist, there was something inspirational coming up for sure, and it could be seen from a long distance – it is the same that is delivered here, with the protagonist’s hope to achieve his biggest dream, but at the same time, there is the assertion on goodness which is in keeping one’s dreams as second priority for the sake of others. The village setting nicely supports the whole thing, and with a certain light-hearted momentum, this one manages to move towards becoming that motivational movie which is expected. “Neelakkannulla Maane” is an amazing song, which might be the best of the year so far. Everyone needs an inspirational movie, and when it is based on dreams, the feel-good effect only gets better, and surely there is more approval for such an idea.
Claws of flaw :: The movie doesn’t have a full flow if we look at it, and it does drag at parts. There is also that ending which could have been something bigger, but it is not. We could have had the effect of many other motivational movies like Mili, Rani Padmini and Su Sudhi Vathmeekam, but that didn’t happen here. There are points when the pace comes down, which shouldn’t have been the case. There is no shortage of inspirational movies in Malayalam, and so this could have done better to keep itself strong, but it has managed to be surely better than the partially inspirational movies from Bollywood like Dear Zindagi which cares only about the new generation richer class minority who moans for no valid reason. The amount of humour is also a little too less considering the scope which was there – with Suraj Venjaramood and Aju Varghese there, one has to wonder why the funny lines were kind of hard to come by. The final cameos were not needed either.
How it finishes :: As Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho marks the return of Udaya Pictures which was the first ever movie production company in Malayalam cinema, this one is also the seventy fifth movie of Kunchako Boban who has brought his legacy strongly. He is very good here, playing a role in which seems to be very comfortable – it is a simple role, with the protagonist driven by the simple need to help others as Fahadh Faasil’s character was driven by the simple need for revenge in Maheshinte Prathikaram. In the movie, it is the kid, Rudraksh who steals the show though. With some funny moments here and there from Suraj Venjaramood and Aju Varghese not being used to the best effect, this is one movie which thrives on the feel-good factor and positive messages, for which one should feel the need to watch Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho. This is where you see intelligence in simplicity.
Release date: 9th September 2016
Running time: 147 minutes
Directed by: Sidhartha Siva
Starring: Kunchako Boban, Anusree, Rudraksh Sudheesh, Suraj Venjaramood, Aju Varghese, Nedumudi Venu, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Abeni Aadhi, Muthumani, Mukesh, Sudheesh, Irshad, Musthafa, Maniyanpilla Raju, Mithun Ramesh, Biju Menon (cameo), Parvathy Ratheesh (cameo)
@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” . So finally, Did Kunchakko Bobban get the SOLO HIT which he wanted badly??
Gulf, Liquor, Bengali (not here). Iva moonnum illathey oru malayalam cinema chinthikkan kazhiyilla ennu thonnunnu ?? There could be some exceptions I guess ??
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I guess this one was a good hit, right? Couldn’t follow its progress that well in September; it was a very busy month!
I think the movie 10 Kalpanakal had none of the three, but it was one bad movie 😀
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The Youtube reviews gave an overwhelmingly positive review !! And this was far better than Oppam I think !!
And thus he got his hit !! Thank God !!
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I liked this one and Oru Muthassi Gadha better than Oppam, but by the time I was ready for these movies, only Oppam was there in the theatres! Multiplexes had one or two shows here and there, that was all, for these two.
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Oppam was YUCK !! Very good trailer by Alfonse Puthran but very bad movie by Priyadarshan !! What is he thinking ?? Take all his movies: His hero knows to sing, dance, play musical instruments, multitalented but bogged down always by PRARABDHANGAL !! Chandralekha, Vettom, all come running to mind !! Vimala Raman as a servant maid ??? Too hard to believe !!! And too much information crammed in in the first 20 minutes of the movie was too much !!! It was a let down !!
Oozham had a poor trailer…… It revealed everything…only the how mattered…..And it was executed not too badly……..but I guess it failed in box office ??
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I think Oozham did very badly, which is why Oppam did so good! Thoppil Joppan’s failure might have helped Pulimurugan further too.
Vimala Raman as the maid was the strangest thing in any movie this year 😀
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And what happened to Kavi uddeshichathu ?? Flopped ??
EZRA eppazha release ???
Hope Prithviraj will bounce back !!
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I think Kavi Uddeshichathu ran long enough to make the profit.
Ezra, Jomonte Suviseshangal and the big Mohanlal family drama, all three are to be delayed due to that strike, making sure that movies in other languages make big profits for the vacations!
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It could turn out to be a blessing in disguise !! Due to the DEMONETISATION !!!
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Beneficial to Hindi, English and Tamil movies, that is for sure!
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Dangaliney ithu gunam cheyyum ennu thonnunu !! Pinney Tamil valiya big releases onnum illa enna thonnunney…Ini pongaliney kaanu i mean jan 2017!! So yes other language movies…..But they will have to solve this question first : “2000 tthinu change undo mashey ?”
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It is solved for the malls, I guess – all are getting booked online so early! Daangal will surely score big!
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I am talking about Kerala as a whole…SINGLE SCREENS>MALLS if we take kerala as a whole right ??? They will find it harder I guess !! Yes the MULTIPLEXES will manage it not too badly!!
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Yes, and maybe the should have released these new movies at least in the malls, so that these local A class theatres can go back to being B class.
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Ha Ha !!
Anyway,
Wish you a Merry Christmas and A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2017!!
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🙂
Enjoy 🙂
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And Pulimurugan can continue to score with Kattappana Roshan 😀
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You have provided the 5000th comment here on this blog btw 🙂
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YaaaHoooooo !!!
I just walked myself into History !!
My name will be etched forever in the annals of Vampire Bat History !!
Blessed !!
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There is always more history to be written 😀
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The alchemist is one of the best books that I have read of Coelho’s. It is interesting that a single quote from the book has found its way to become a title..nice
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The book is quoted a lot in this movie; and all the time it is the same quote and the same author that are talked about 🙂
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Lot of my friends also were recommending this movie. After reading your take, I think it’s time to give it a try. Thanks
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🙂 🙂
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