Konthayum Poonoolum Malayalam Movie
A series of absurdities placed against each other, make an incoherent mess called 'Konthayum Poonoolum'. The film, directed by Jijo Antony is easily one of the most baffling films that I have watched in recent times, and baffling need not always necessarily mean good.
The multiple narrative that 'Konthayum Poonnoolum' adopts does not work at all, since none of the individual threads have the scope or are offered the time to develop into a full-blown account. They trail off here and there, meekly adding up into a synthetic jumble.
There is this man who works at the bakery (Kunchacko Boban) who rushes home to be with his heavily pregnant wife (Bhama), who has been left alone. There is his dear jobless friend (Shine Tom Chacko), whom he meets up with, once he is back home.
A police officer (Kalabhavan Mani), picks up a lady (Kavitha Nair) from the streets, but she disappears into thin air, making him believe that she isn't of the human kind. That he has made fun of his wife's spiritual beliefs earlier adds to his fears.
An old man (Janardhanan) doesn't know whom to turn to, when an accident leaves his daughter (Anju Aravind) and granddaughter in a critical state. A bunch of girls in a hostel decide to give the Ojho board a try, for one more time, which sends one of them wandering into the cemetery in the dead of the night.
A money lender, (Manoj K Jayan) who has developed an imaginary ,invisible friend called Johny, with whom he shares drinks, is shocked beyond his wits to find Johny (Saiju Kurup) following him, one fine day. And true to his character, Johny is invisible to everyone else, which sends the stunned man into a delirium. An old time photographer (Joy Mathew) confounds us to bits with his exploration of the super natural that lands him, though not literally, in the mortuary.
The movie that starts off with a story moves haphazardly along the timeline intersecting another story here and there, making very vague connections at times. There is nothing wrong with a wavering timeline, and at times the technique has even been found to be productive, but in a film as this, it serves only as additional pain.
The last five minutes are perhaps the finest, but I could see that there were very few people around, by the time the final revelations came up. It's this sense of tedium that the film builds up, which makes 'Konthayum Poonoolum' a total ruin.
A song, however melodious it might be, does not deserve to be anywhere around, and even that happens. All said and done, it should be specifically stated that the best thing about 'Konthayum Poonoolum' is the background score by Mejo Joseph.
Which is why, I would rather not talk much about the performances. The actors are all fine, but what does one expect them to do in a film as this? I have often been told that I have a bizarre taste for the absurd. But 'Konthayum Poonoolum' isn't my cup of tea either.
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