Pappachan Olivilaanu Malayalam Movie
With all the facets of a feel-good cinema, 'Pappachan Olivilanu' never tries to break the barrier of the genre. The flick occupies the same terrain like any other family dramas sprinkled with humour while exposing the hero's selfishness and eagerness to project himself among his peers. It delightfully gets on with its relatable premise occupied by a string of rustic characters. But the screenplay is not quite sharp enough to fully complement the 'feel-good' tag and struggles to deliver the much-needed impact.
Moreover, director Sinto Sunny adopts an unbridled approach by frittering away the film's potential especially in establishing relationships between characters. Of the couple of scenes, first comes to mind is the unnecessary song sequence between the hero's daughter and his cleaner. It serves little purpose to the plot, except digressing our attention from the problems of the protagonist.
Saiju Kurup plays the eponymous character, Pappachan, whose father Mathachan (Vijayaraghavan) is a known hunter in a village in Idukki. Mathachan considers his old rifle that he used for hunting during his salad days as his pride. There are many tales associated with Mathachan's adventure in that village. As the son of a well-known hunter, Pappachan feels that it is his responsibility to do something adventurous to grab the attention of the villagers and earn their respect. As he was really a coward to venture out into the forest, Pappachan finds the easy way of spinning a yarn about his hunting activities to them.
Pappachan is a pickup van driver, who lives with his wife Reena (Srindaa) and two children happily. Once he serves meat for the First Holy Communion function of his son and it stirs up a furore. Forest officers raid his house for killing a wild bull and serving its meat. Pappachan goes absconding and his friend Benny (Aju Varghese) is arrested.
Police officer James (Alexander Prasanth), a classmate of Pappachan, is also waiting to trap him in a case and he finds it a good opportunity. Pappachan's brother-in-law Xavier (Kottayam Nazeer) is also arrested by the forest officials for eating the meat. Meanwhile, Pappachan takes refuge in Benny's house and his wife Sicily (Darshana Sudarshan) protects him there. The movie reveals how Pappachan solves his case and attains what he wished for.
The outcome of the case against Pappachan is less convincing and the script, written by Sinto Sunny, lacks clarity in the detailing. Saiju, who reminds us of Mamachan in 'Vellimoonga,' finely merges with the soul of the character with a delightful performance. Srindaa appears as a typical homemaker, who grumbles quite often about his hubby's irresponsibility. Vijayaraghavan impresses in the given space and he showcases well the dignity and valour of the character.
Pappachan's past love affair with Sicily brings nostalgic vibes to the film, which has a couple of good songs composed by Ouseppachan. The real issue of the film lies in the mash-up of laws towards the climax after sustaining the interest and raising expectations. Delightful in parts, 'Pappachan Olivilanu' is a light-hearted comedy drama that falls short of finishing-line due to shoddy execution and crabbed detailing.
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