Aandavan Malayalam Movie
Andavan is a typical Kalabhavan Mani-starrer that fails to impress. It tells the story of Murugan, who is known popularly as 'Andavan' and who is a thief living in a slum. But Andavan is a Robin Hood kind of thief who helps the poor with the stolen money. And he steals from one man only, the rich Parameswara Panicker, who is a financier cum businessman and a brewer of illicit liquor. Andavan steals from Parameswara Panicker and what he makes from that he spends on charitable activities such as marrying off the poor and such other things. If there is any money left, he flings it into the police station without revealing himself.
In the meantime a new Sub Inspector named Sreerekha takes charge followed by the coming in of new Circle Inspector Sadasivan. It so happens that Murugan, Sreerekha and Sadasivan are childhood playmates. Sadasivan is the son of Parameswara Panicker. Murugan stays in the attic of the same house that is occupied by Sreerekha and her ailing father. It is on seeing Sreerekha's father that Murugan recognizes the lady as his childhood playmate. But since her father was to a great extent responsible for the death of Murugan's father and also for Murugan getting transformed into a thief, he hates her too.
Sadasivan meanwhile helps his father in his shady activities and even uses his influence as a police officer. Eventually things take such a turn that Sreerekha gets to confront Parameswara Panicker as a daring Police Officer confronting a criminal, but the tactics used by the villainous father and son culminates in Sreerekha getting suspended. What happens after this forms the rest of the plot.
As for performance, Kalabhavan Mani as Murugan alias Andavan is his very usual self and doesn't do anything different or remarkable. It is high time he stopped doing such roles. Sindhu Menon is just OK as Sreerekha. Jagathy Sreekumar as Parameswara Panicker does a wonderful job in his characteristic style, while Anand is good as Sadasivan. Bijukuttan as the small-time drug peddler Bhaskaran and Salim Kumar as the iron-man Mayankutty are OK. Same is the case with Indrans, while Seema G. Nair is good as a harlot named Sarasu.
Technical aspects are in tune with the theme and plot, with nothing spectacular to mention, except that Bawa has done a good job of art-direction, creating the ambience of the slum in all ways possible. Of the songs, "Poonnila punchiri thookum…" rendered by Vineeth Sreenivas has come out good while "Kokkaro Kozhi…" is a usual Kalabhavan Mani-number that you would expect in any Kalabhavan Mani-starrer.
The main problem with Andavan is that it offers nothing new story-wise or treatment wise. Everything goes the predictable way, with a really boring climax to add to your disappointment. And performance-wise too you get nothing out of the film, except perhaps from Jagathy Sreekumar. Poor show, on the whole; avoidable stuff.
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