keralam – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I see a movie about midnight here.

Vampire Bat: I do not think that this movie is about vampires drinking blood at midnight.

Vampire Owl: Yes, I know we are supposed to prefer the witching hour over midnight.

Vampire Bat: Witching hour has now been copyrighted by witches.

Vampire Owl: They cannot have that. They already have infinite access to all magic.

Vampire Bat: They control most of the demons of our realm.

Vampire Owl: There was a time when they only controlled animated skeletons.

Vampire Bat: According to the new pact, they have transferred them to necromancers.

Vampire Owl: Necromancers have always animated dead bones.

Vampire Bat: These are perfect skeletons, and not those created out of random bones.

[Gets a paneer puffs and three cups of Kandy tea].

What is the movie about? :: SI Jancy Kurian (Navya Nair) is the new Sub Inspector of a rural police station on probation, who is struggling with a certain amount of confusion as a beginner while also trying to cope with her personal life which is close to breaking down due to the possibility of a divorce, despite them having a much-celebrated love marriage some time ago. Her personal life keeps her detached from social life and her approach to different cases is also hampered due to her fear of being alone in life as they live separate from their families after the love marriage which came out of a college relationship. Civil Police Officer Hareesh N V (Soubin Shahir) is also facing divorce and is going through a custody crisis with his wife, who keeps asserting that their daughter should stay with her at all times. The inability to talk to his daughter and the hostility of his wife also starts affecting Hareesh as he becomes not interested in working with women. But on one night, due to a sudden requirement of leave for another policeman, Jancy and Hareesh are forced to team up for a night patrol together.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: On the same night, as they travel near the forest, they see a car parked in a suspicious manner among the greenery. As they approach, they see a man running away and the woman in car drives the vehicle away. They chase the man who jumps into a swamp area and vanishes. Hareesh tells Jancy that there is no point in doing anything now as the person would have gone through the swamp to the other side and escaped. At the same time, they get a call about a girl committing suicide and Hareesh tells her to just leave as this is just irrelevant search that could lead them to trouble. Returning to the swamp out of guilt and worries, she is shocked to find the area recently covered with sand and wonders if someone could be under the sand. This further affects her daily actions, as she wonders if someone was dead and buried due to them. He talks to Hareesh about the same, but he dismisses these concerns and adds that the man would have escaped at that point itself.

And what more is to happen as further complications arise? :: Her anxiety increases as her husband in a complicated relationship with her leaves home after resigning his job, just after leaving her a letter. As the swamp was covered illegally, the court orders for the swamp to be reverted to its original form due to environmental concerns, but it is then that a corpse is found from under the ground. The dead body is identified to be that of a well-known journalist and investigative reporter Ansar Ali (Sunny Wayne), who was reported missing on the night when the two cops had seen the unknown figure. After checking multiple cameras and conducting unofficial investigations, they understand the woman who was with Ansar, his former college mate Anjali (Athmiya Rajan). But as she is the daughter of the DYSP, Suresh Kumar Menon (Achyuth Kumar), and he would make sure that nobody would know that she was with a married man among the trees and swamps in a car, and Anjali is also not interested in talking to anyone about it as it would devastate Ansar’s marriage and reputation as a leading journalist. As Hareesh and Jancy were there at that time and with the same proven through their walkie-talkie and mobile locations, they become easy targets to be framed for this murder. Can they escape from this situation and find the real culprits?

The defence of Paathirathri :: Navya Nair comes up with a highly controlled performance as SI Jancy Kurian, as she shows the physical and emotional strain of a woman balancing a troubled personal life and a demanding job, but tries hard to maintain both. Soubin Shahir also balances both, but he is more of a police officer than a husband in this one, but the conflict is nicely shown by him too. Their chemistry on screen can also be considered as one of the film’s highlights. With the support of their performances, the movie goes through the fatigue and psychological burdens beneath the police uniform and this brings an engaging, realistic rhythm which never goes for an overdose which would keep it realistic to the core. The visual are interesting and suitable, as the foggy landscape is beautifully captured to create a moody, tense aesthetic that suits this world of mystery. The tension is always there and so is the mystery which is never really solved until the very end, which provides that much needed twist.

Positives and negatives :: The movie could have had a little more of conviction with its content, as we see this never really providing the feeling that there is danger around. Even though the pace is fine, there are moments when it could have been increased further. The movie does not have that much to go to a length about two hours. But we can see that Harisree Ashokan and Indrans who come only in small roles could also make a fine impact. Athmiya Rajan who is best known for Joseph, does incredibly well too, and she is one underrated actress whom we should be seeing more often in movies, and there is some stoicism in her character here which find close to life. Ann Augustine also nails her role in a way that we would remember her with a certain amount of melancholy of the character which we notice realistically. When the emotional and personal side of the police is shown instead of showing them as machines on case, one can feel that this goes the realistic path. The final twist is surely working, and we are able to connect with the main characters who feel real. The investigative side could have been more powerful though.

How it finishes :: Paathirathri remains a movie which needed a better attention that it managed to get, as realistic police investigations with focus on emotions of the focus is very much rare in the industry even though flawed cops like those of Memories, John Luther, Abraham Ozler, all are still there and hunting psychopaths. The mystery here does not point that much to danger and fear generation though. But we see that clear sense of empathy for people with some power trapped in a flawed system which allows those with even more influence to take advantage of them and even ruin their lives forever. Despite the thoughtfulness and the competence in a real world that we see here, the narrative does struggle at times. For those who are looking for a slow-burning, performance-driven work focusing on the vulnerabilities behind the people in uniform, this works, even in a slower pace. After all, we are not making those dumb Bollywood police movies which turn into a universe which has ridiculous buffoons as police officers, and have lady cops who are even dumb and brainless as Lady Singhams.

Release date: 17 October 2025
Running time: 128 minutes
Directed by: Ratheena P T
Starring: Navya Nair, Soubin Shahir, Sunny Wayne, Ann Augustine, Athmiya Rajan, Harisree Ashokan, Indrans

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

What is the movie about? :: A nameless man (Jayaram) is a mystery to many, as he owns pets ranging from cats, dogs and parrots to camels, horses, donkeys and elephants. He speaks and acts in strange ways, leading to most people of his neighbourhood belonging to upper middle class family not liking his presence in a plot right between their homes. Most of his collection of birds and animals are leftovers of a circus which had recently ceased to exist. He takes special care of his animals and birds, and sells them only to those people whom he finds fit to give them the best lives. Along with living with these creatures, he also has small real estate business and other small part-time jobs. Even though he might seem tough for people who never knew him, he is more than that, with no hesitation in helping others in need, having special love for children, as he is an orphan who never knew his father and mother.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: Meanwhile, Kalesh (Kunchacko Boban) is the MLA of the place, who was elected earlier because his father, the former MLA had died, leaving a wave of sympathy among the common people. Despite his father being a man loved by many people, Kalesh couldn’t do much for those who elected him, and is living in a mansion of his friend, Nazir (Joju George) with his wife Chitra (Anusree) and a complaining mother (Mallika Sukumaran), who blames him being not anywhere close to his father as a politician or a social worker. With his father’s former aid Udayan (Ashokan), Kalesh hopes to claim all the glory in style with a win in the upcoming elections. His opponent for this election is Jimmy (Salim Kumar), who hopes to reclaim the consituency for his party after a long time, in one way or the other.

And what is follow with the events? :: The journeys of the two, the unnamed man and Kalesh meets when the people of the neighbourhood tries to have the animal and bird lover evicted. Kalesh is the person whom they see to accomplish that aim. But not everyone thinks about him in the same way, as the the local police officer KO Rangan (Prem Kumar) himself finds the animals and birds interesting. Things get further complicated when Kalesh is forced to give the man some space in his home because of certain twist of events. With all creatures following him, Kalesh and his family might have taken in more than what they could have. Now, questions remain about the future of the animals and birds, as well as the political career of Kalesh. Can things get better in their lives, or is this strange combination going to ruin everything?

The defence of Panchavarnathatha :: There is some good comedy followed by a fine emotional end in this flick, which is never short of being interesting for the family audience. Along with the same, there is a good message being provided here, about doing good for the others, not just to humans, but also to the animals and birds. With its everyman characters, we feel the need to attach ourselves to it, rather than some random fan movie which has fan-centered life which is not applicable to the common man who think about their families and society rather than any random superstar. The songs are just okay. Ramesh Pisharody’s first attempt at direction surely feels better and closer to heart than those movies celebrated in the name of common man like Amar Akbar Anthony and Kattappanayile Rithwick Roshan. There is enough in Panchavarnathatha for most people, and the others are having problems which are surely not visible on the big screen. Some incidents in real life are also reflected here.

The claws of flaw :: There is one person whom we miss on the screen, and it is Ramesh Pisharody himself who has directed the movie, but never appears as an actor. Some of the comedy also misses out, and we feel that this kind of an idea could have had even better treatment, maybe closer to daily life’s incidents, or in a way that it goes beyond the self-inflicted restrictions – you feel the strength of the idea within this one, and the need to have more. It could have been a complete social satire, but that choice is not made even though there is politics with the ugly sides, and people within a society that has its own stranger sides. The movie is also a little too long as it deals with its content, which had to be dealt with better to go for such a long run. Also, these many animals were not needed, as it doesn’t help to take things seriously. There could have been a fine background story for the main character too.

The performers of the soul :: Jayaram is here with a different avatar, and after this year’s disaster of a movie Daivame Kaithozham K Kumar Akanam which competed with Queen to become the worst movie of 2018, he has redeemed up to an extent with this role. There is the absence of those big dialogues with this one, and the character serves with the divergence that was needed. Kunchacko Boban has this character under full control, and Anusree seems to be rightly suited for this role, as she goes natural with the performance. Mallika Sukumaran also contributes well on the usual lines. Dharmajan Bolgatty arrives later, but contributes well to the fun; before that there was Salim Kumar doing the same. Prem Kumar also brings some good contribution for the comic side, and Ashokan is there for the whole length of the movie. Joju George then brings a little more later.

How it finishes :: Panchavarnathatha is the one underrated movie of this Vishu – it seems to have managed less attention than Jayaram’s earlier lesser movies including Daivame Kaithozham K Kumar Akanam and Kunchacko Boban’s Kuttanadan Marpappa, which is rather strange. This one is surely better than Mohanlal which released with Panchavarnathatha gaining more attention, as the comedy is cent percent better working, and has characters that will appeal to us rather than some random fan girl who never really deserved to be taken seriously, as she went on to become a curse for everyone around here. We all need everyman characters, and Panchavarnathatha has something that touches the emotions along with the comic side, rather than becoming a pretender like many other movies; any kind of different uprising is always required among similar movies.

Release date: 14th April 2018
Running time: 147 minutes
Directed by: Ramesh Pisharody
Starring: Kunchacko Boban, Jayaram, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Anusree, Ashokan, Salim Kumar, Maniyanpilla Raju, Joju George, Prem Kumar, Mallika Sukumaran, Dini Daniel, Tini Tom, Seema G Nair, Kunchan