‘Pathonpatham Nootandu’ movie review: A package with some punch despite being a failure

In recent years, bigger-budget, larger-than-life cinema from the South has been making a splash across the country. In comparison to him, Vinay’s Pathonpatham Noottandu They may be small in budget, scale and ambition, but the film’s two protagonists are the exact opposite of the heroes of the bigger films, who proudly display their toxic masculinity.

One is Arattupuzha Velayudha Panikar (Siju Wilson), an 18th-century social reformer who fought for the rights of lower caste women to wear upper clothing and jewelry and built a temple where people of all castes could worship. Nangeli (Kayadu the blacksmith) is believed to have cut off his breasts in protest against the practice of levying breast tax in erstwhile Travancore. With these two personalities as his peg, Vinayana attempts to paint a bigger picture of the atrocities that the lower castes had to face in 19th century Kerala.

With the period’s historical record being the minimum, the filmmaker, who also wrote the screenplay, took considerable liberties in bringing in fictional elements to fill in the gaps. But the decision to center Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker is laudable, as he remains a neglected figure in popular culture, though he has taken a leading role in questioning regressive practices. The fact that he was also a wealthy merchant helped him in this endeavor and also in getting the support of the ruler of the time. Siju Wilson’s demeanor and transformation from a neighborhood boy into a formidable warrior is one of the highlights of the film.

A noticeable and depressing change from popular myths is Kayamkulam’s overtly negative portrayal of Kochunni (Chemban Vinod Jose), a Robin Hood-like thief, who is shown showering goodies on the poor only to cover up his wrongdoings. Despite the over-reliance on slow motion, well-thought-out action sequences are one of the mainstays of the film. Looks like this time the big budget at his disposal has enabled Vinayan to achieve something close to his vision in production design as well.

Intended to talk about the many atrocities of that era, the script lacks focus at times due to which some of the sufferings fail to move the audience. While the narrative remains engaging for the most part, there was obviously a greater focus on the action sequences rather than the script, which features some one-dimensional characters. The camera gaze at women is sometimes problematic, especially given the subjects the film is dealing with. Even Nangeli does not escape from this sight.

There will certainly be debate on the amount of imagination in Pathonpatham Noottandu, but the film does an important job of mainstreaming the troubled history of that period, at a time when regressive practices are welcomed in the name of ‘tradition’, a term the film effectively mocks. . Despite its setbacks, it packs a punch and is a notch higher than some of the most popular period films of the Malayalam industry in recent years.