73. Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam; movie review

 

NANPAKAL NERATHU MAYAKKAM

Cert 12A

104 mins

BBFC advice: Contains infrequent moderate bad language

It's certainly a novelty to watch an Indian film that lends itself more to arthouse than mainstream.

And yet the star of Nanpakal Nerathu Maakkam is Mammooty - one of the most famous faces of the subcontinent's cinema.

This Malayalam/Tamil comedy-drama has the hallmarks of an adapted theatre piece - relying on dialogue rather than action and it is unusually short at less than two hours.

But despite it being surprisingly offbeat, I was rather taken with Lijo Jose Pellissery's movie.

It is set in Tamil Nadu where a chaotic coachload of Malayali tourists has been visiting a holy shrine.

The tour leader, James (Mammooty) is tetchy with his charges, the driver and even his wife (Ramya Suvi) and son.

During their long journey back, the group all drift off to sleep, unaware that the bus has stopped, James has awoken and wandered off into an outback village.

Thereafter, it gradually becomes clear that he believes he is a long-lost member of a village family and begins to behave like him.

If that sounds convoluted, it is - there is no explanation why James has been taken over by a completely different personality.

But, needless to say chaos ensues as he cannot understand why the villagers don't recognise him while he no longer knows the folk from the coach.

The farce plays out with classic Indian movie speeches playing in the background because an old blind lady is playing them so loudly everyone can hear.

Mammooty gives great gusto to a role and looks well below his 71 years and somehow it all works.

The disappointing element is the finale. It is as if the writers had created a lovely cake but didn't know how to ice it.

Reasons to watch: Great insight into rural India

Reasons to avoid: Will be too offbeat for some

Laughs: One

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? Mammootty could have been a lawyer. He completed his qualification from Ernakulam Law College and even practised law for two years at Manjeri.

The final word. Mammootty: "I lived in Chennai for many years. But the Chennai Tamil dialect and my character Sundaram's dialect are entirely different. My Tamil needed corrections, and I had to put effort and learn this dialect." Pink Villa

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