Manu Swaraj’s Padakkalam, for higher and worse, performs out like a film buff’s moist dream. It mentions Vikram Kumar’s 24 and Richard Donner’s Superman and brings to the foreground the varied variations of the Joker. The film runs like a science fiction journey that performs round with the physique management/physique swap system. Swaraj gleefully shows his nerdy admiration for comedian e-book movies by producing an off-the-cuff, carefree tone. Padakkalam is simple to look at, which might be the very best praise one can bestow upon it. The film strikes with mechanical effectivity – it is like a properly-oiled machine. It is also fairly bland and unstimulating. Swaraj operates in a vacuum-sealed world whose partitions may as properly be adorned with posters of varied superheroes and sci-fi films. What one learns in regards to the director after watching this movie is that…he has watched films. Padakkalam resembles one thing Swaraj might need concocted throughout a boys’ night time out with mates like Ramsad (Arun Pradeep), Nakul (Arun Ajikumar), Kannan (Saaf), and Jithin (Sandeep Pradeep). The fabric is completely hokum, however what actually prevents it from exploding is the director’s indifference in direction of his personal story. Swaraj and his co-author, Nithin C. Babu, will not be simply novice dreamers; they’re additionally novice filmmakers. They’ve created this film solely on the premise of a wild idea, with out contemplating different dimensions of their story. Their characters are skinny (they’re used as puppets), and there are quite a few holes within the script.
At one level in Padakkalam, Jithin repeatedly sleeps for 16 hours. Throughout this era, his dad and mom do not name him. Actually, there isn’t a interplay between a scholar and a mum or dad all through the movie. The undergraduates of Shri Kartika Thirunal Faculty of Engineering apparently haven’t got both a father or a mom who checks up on them usually. Two hours and 4 minutes later, I’m nonetheless uncertain how and the place Jithin and his mates stay. When and the place did these mates meet for the primary time? Do all of them have the identical skilled dream? What’s it? Do they need to be a filmmaker, a comic book e-book author, an actor, or engineer? We’re advised that Jithin will quickly go to Germany? Is he going there to pursue a Grasp’s diploma in Engineering or to work within the area of films or comics? Jithin and Jeevika’s (Niranjana Anoop) relationship can also be not sketched convincingly. She merely…exists. If Swaraj needed to make use of her to provide romantic drama within the movie and emotional problems in Jithin’s life, he failed terribly. Padakkalam manages to hit solely a single word, and Jithin is so fully occupied with the difficult plot that there’s little room for his love life. On paper, the thought of placing Jithin in Shaji’s (Suraj Venjaramoodu) physique, not just for excessive jinks but additionally to provide him a transparent view of romance and life, sounds attention-grabbing. However what Jithin learns as Shaji and from Shaji’s home points (that are obscure and generic) will not be depicted on the display screen (the lesson is discovered offscreen). What Padakkalam presents is only a boring, lecture-y, sage-y line that Jeevika hears from Jithin. When Shaji’s spouse, Shobha (Pooja Mohanraj), tells Shaji (who’s truly Jithin) that she’s pregnant, all we get is a joke the place he screams, “This isn’t my baby!”
Swaraj is decided to maintain Padakkalam a household-pleasant affair. He does not use the physique swap system for carnality. Renjith (Sharaf U Dheen), as Jithin, for probably the most half, is unaware of Jeevika, and when Shaji, as Renjith, hugs Shobha, the second is transformed into an insignificant joke. What’s extra, it is established that if, say, Jithin (as Shaji) drinks alcohol, the one who will get intoxicated is Shaji (as Renjith). Then, why does Jithin/Shaji not expertise ache when Jithin/Renjith is crushed up by different college students? And how is it doable {that a} man of common construct like Jithin begins hitting all people like a macho, muscular hero when Renjith enters his physique? How can a change in character additionally change somebody bodily? Swaraj may say that he’s in no temper for logic, however as a result of lack of it, his movie appears like a slipshod movie college challenge made to impress individuals who suppose like him. Which means: His Padakkalam is an echo chamber of a film that can attraction to those that do not take their mind to movies. There’s a good Google Lens joke, and also you smile when Shaji, as Renjith, realizes how he appears from behind, however the movie, general, is tormented by monotony. The temper is similar from the start. Padakkalam initially enters an intriguing territory: Democracy vs oligarchy. The scholars protest in opposition to the brand new HOD as a result of he has pretend certificates and is appointed by his mates and colleagues. Swaraj, although, does not develop this line of considering or combine it neatly into the bigger scheme of issues. He appears as shallow as Jithin and his buddies. He merely needs to show off his mind and play together with his comics.
Last Rating- [3.5/10]
Reviewed by – Vikas Yadav
Comply with @vikasonorous on Twitter
Writer at Midgard Occasions
