Kolumittayi Malayalam Movie
The formula of children's films is often laced with didactic plot and virtuous tale. Filmmakers, who bank on such themes, strive hard to highlight and sustain the innocence of childhood throughout the film. But the difficulty lies in narrating the story in such a way that makes the audience glued to the treatment.
"Kolumittayi" has the innocence and stellar performances of child actors and that create an impact among the viewers. But the performances of adult actors, fragile storyline and slipshod execution take the sheen off the performances of child artistes, and of course, the 120-minute movie.
Unnikrishnan (Master Gaurav Menon), a class 6 student, belongs to a poor family consisting of his mother and elder sister. He along with his three-member impish gang is popular in school. Once his classmate Rony challenges Unni to beat him in a painting competition. Egged on by his friends, Unni agrees to vie against him. Those who fails has to take off his trousers!
Debutant director Arun Viswam's efforts to make an inspiring and pleasant movie fizzle out, thanks to his inconsistent delineation of the story.
The petty bet among the boys and the settings are riveting, but that's hardly enough for the movie to emerge from its inevitable debacle.
Despite his amateurish execution, Arun Viswam wins brownie points for extracting brilliant performances from all the child artistes, including Baby Meenakshi of "Amar Akbar Antony" fame. The milieu of the 90s and the innocence of school life are portrayed in a convincing manner.
Unlike the child actors, seasoned actors like Saiju Kurup, Devi Ajith, Anjali Upasana and Prajod Kalabhavan et. appear as pedestrians in almost all scenes.
Besides the children, finally, Santhosh Anima's visuals and Sreeraj Sahajan's tunes come to the rescue of the viewers. That's truly a solace. Built on a half-cooked screenplay, written by Arun Viswam and Abhijith Asokan, "Kolumittayi" turns out to be a sour candy for movie buffs.
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