Kayamkulam Kochunni - "A Half-Baked Period Drama" Rating - 2.5/5

[AfsalTouchriver]

Kayamkulam Kochunni - "A Half-Baked Period Drama"
Rating - 2.5/5
Review
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The folklore surrounding 'Kayamkulam Kochunni',the compassionate thief,a robinhood-like figure for the Keralites is well-known to us all and the expectations sorrounding the movie produced by Gokulam Gopalan was humongous,which got upheaved further with the news of Mollywood superstar Mohanlal's proposed cameo as Kochunni's mentor Ithikkara Pakki.Tauted to be made on a budget of around 40 Crores,making it one among the most expensive Malayalam language movie till date,the cinematic take on the life and times of Kochunni is an unspiring effort that struggles due to a flawed screenplay,flimsy narrative and a mediocre lead act by Nivin Pauly.

The serial version of Kochunni was a big success and the makers of the movie should have taken proper care to create a product thats in par or better than the already existing version,which they have failed,rather than spending lump sum of money for erecting sets resembling the period illustrated.Loo-breaks are aplenty in the movie like a totally unwanted item dance and the poorly written coming-of-age part of the life of Kochunni.

Altogether the movie does qualify for a passable watch,the major saving grace being a pretty impressive cameo by Mohanlal as Ithikkara Pakki who steals the show in no time.The caste issues prevailing during the 19th century was presented well,a big plus in an otherwise monotonous screenplay.

Ask me to point out the best thing about the movie,its an imposing act by Mohanlal who ensured that the movie is engaging for the 18-20 minutes of screentime that he was offered for playing Ithikkara Pakki.With wicked smile,the portugese style costumes and powerful dialogue delivery,Lalettan was at his best,making it a memorable cameo in recent years in mollywood.Nivin Pauly tried really hard to step into the shoes of Kochunni,but ended up with a strictly average act as with the flashback sequences having an uncanny resemblance with Umesh from Oru Vadakkan Selfie.Priya Anand as the female lead was okayish.Babu Antony and Sunny Wayne were impressive in their respective roles.

The loud musical score by Gopi Sunder failed to go in tune with the narrative and the songs too were unimpressive and avoidable.Editing by Sreekar Prasad and cinematogrpahy by Binodh Pradhan were fine.

Overall,Kayamkulam Kochunni is atbest a passable period flick that failed to live upto all the hype that it generated before release.

Show & Movie Details-
Language::Malayalam
Duration::143 Minutes
Theatre::Archana Cinemas,Anchal
Date:11/10/18
Showtime::09:30 PM
Status::HF
CBFC Rating::U
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[VinuVerma]

Thanks a lot for the review... I too felt the same way.. The movie is ok but hasnt really lived upto to the hype