Panthayakkozhi Malayalam Movie

Apr 23, 2007 By Unni Nair

Panthayakozhi, directed by M.A. Venuu and produced Lal, who has produced only hits till date, is a film that disappoints you on the whole. It seems hard to believe that a director who had earlier given us a film like Chakoram could come up with such insufferable stuff.

Panthayakozhi starts with a bang. We are taken fifteen years back in time to Kalimuththupalayam in Tamil Nadu. A person who refuses to submit to the wishes of goondas doing booth-rigging during an election gets his hand cut off by the villainous Nachiappan.

And then we are transported back to the present with Nandagopal and his three friends, who live in Palakkad district of Kerala, spending their time merrily, playing all kinds of silly pranks on people, singing, dancing etc. But Nandagopal has his own responsibilities and lives with his mother Madhavi and mute sister Maya at his uncle's house. Nandagopal's uncle Shankaran Nair and aunt Bhanumathi make him work hard and rebuke him for no reason.

In the meantime one Abdulla Rowther arrives from Kalimuththupalayam one day and hands over to Shankaran Nair the documents of a house and property that is in Kalimuththupalayam. After Abdulla Rowther departs, Shankaran Nair informs Nandagopal that he had bought for Nandagopal, Madhavi and Maya a house in Kalimuththupalayam in Tamil Nadu. He asks Nandagopal to go to the place and sell off the property so that the money can be used by them for acquiring a new house and to marry off Maya.

Nandan sets off and is joined there by Bhaskaran, who has reached there as per the request of Nandan and his friends. As Nandan and Bhaskaran step into the compound of the house, they meet Chembakam and her gang of kids who have been stealing things from the compound. Chembakam remarks that the house is haunted and Rajappan, who runs a tea-shop nearby, too endorses this opinion. Nandan and Bhaskaran find it difficult to sell the house, as Chembakam does everything possible to dissuade prospective buyers.

Nandan's friends meanwhile arrive and they all decide to bring Nandan's mother and sister to stay in the house. When Madhavi comes and stands before the house, she is shocked. For there is a story from the past that she remembers - one that Nandan doesn't know. In the days that follow, Nandan is destined to encounter some very tragic developments and also face the crooked, scheming and powerful Nachiappan.

There seems to be nothing new or refreshing about Panthayakozhi and it seems that it is a film that should have been made some ten or fifteen years back. Narein, who does the lead role, playing Nandagopal, cuts a poor figure and even falters in the scenes where he has to emote strongly. He falters in dialogue delivery too, which he does rather unconvincingly at many places. He does the last scene very convincingly though, indicating the arrival of a new action hero, but the makers should have remembered that it is not a single well-executed scene, but the totality of the film that matters.

Pooja as Chembakam is OK while Ramya Nambeeshan has not much to do as the mute Maya. Cochin Haneefa as Bhaskaran is his usual self. Same is the case with Janardhanan as Shankaran Nair, Geetha as Madhavi, Indrans as Rajappan and Manka Mahesh as Bhanumathi. Sudheesh, Sreejith Ravi and Anoop Chandran as Nandagopal's friends are OK. Lal is OK in the few scenes in which he appears as Nandagopal's late father Raghavan. Rami Reddy makes his debut in Malayalam as Nachiappan and the character that he plays is just like those umpteen ones he had played in many films in Hindi, Tamil etc. Veteran actor Madhu does a very impressive cameo as Abdulla Rowther.

The songs are good, especially the "Karimbanayude kaattile…" and "Sundariye chembakamalare…" numbers. Technical aspects are good. Cinematographer Venugopal has captured the beauty of the Palakkad landscape in the song sequences, but we have seen similar locations in many other films and hence<