Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte Malayalam Movie
The hypocrisy in morality turns out to be a major tool for writer-director Shambhu Purushothaman's sophomore film. Surprisingly, the theme has striking similarities with his debut film's ('Vedivazhipadu' in 2013) theme, where he discussed a group of men's covert illicit relationship with a woman in an apartment. 'Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte' is set in the premise of an ancestral family. The conflict is humorously carved in the film by lambasting at the superficial decency of people; especially the family members.
The tale is crammed with unfaithful relationships and cuckolds, quite often lampooning man's greed for fortunes at the expense of losing his dignity and self-esteem. Albeit Shambhu's soft approach in the craft is commendable, the attempts to elevate the bizarre situation in the plot to a fitting finale end as a mishmash exercise.
The film opens with the visit of wealthy man Varghese Mathan (Sunil Sukhada) to the house of Rohan (Arun Kurian), who works in Google, for fixing the marriage of her daughter Linda (Shanthi Balachandran) with Rohan, the youngest in the family. The eldest son Johny (Madhupal) remains a silent witness to the 'bargaining play' of his brother Joy (Vinay Forrt) and brother-in-law Alex (Tiny Tom) for dowry.
Their mother Mary (Ambika Mohan) and Roy's wife Susan (Srinda Ashab) are also showing their interest in getting a big dowry as they have their own plans with the money. Roy, who is dreaming of clearing his debts with the dowry, gets upset when Alex expresses his greedy nature. Rohan too wants his share from the dowry for giving a party to his friends. The family members appear to be crude in their demeanor evoking funny situations.
The decisive episode of 'Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte' occurs on the day of the engagement, where an unknown man, Xavier (Alencier), creates a headache for Roy and the family. His revelations shock Roy and Alex. Adding insult to the injury, Rohan realizes truths about Linda. Umman Koshy (James Elia), the elder brother-in-law of Roy, tries to save the family from disgrace but he too finds that his wife Lissy (Anumol) had a past relationship with Rajan (Anil Nedumangad), who arrives at the function as a catering worker. Vinay has rightly absorbed the perplexity of Roy while Alencier as a cunning man makes an impact.
The ensuing fiasco is like a comedy of errors in the grave situation. The veil of fake morality of the family is torn up unexpectedly. Though it takes a jab at man's greed for money and hypocrisy, the potentially sarcastic thread is hilarious only in parts. The sharpness and focus are hardly enough to sustain your attention to the absurd events.
The conclusion is like a dodging act by the director sans giving comprehensive answers. The narration seems to be a purpose-driven endeavour from the outset, but the application is not quite enough to give a sublime output.
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