LONDON: Nivin Pauly starred Liju Krishna movie PADAVETTU is released in Cinemas across UK. The movie got in depth appreciations back in India and releasing now in Cinemas UK.
Padavettu‘s pacing is on the slower side, with the narrative taking its time to unfold and enter into its core plot. Some merciless editing could have made it tighter and more engaging. Take, for instance, the entire sequence with Jaffer Idukki as a sexist veterinary doctor mouthing cheap dialogue; it could have been chopped off in its entirety as it doesn’t add any value to the narrative. The film, however, boasts of some other riveting performances. Remya as the hardworking and outspoken Pushpa is brilliant and gets her moment of glory in the climax. Shammy Thilakan as the antagonist, once again, proves his prowess and it is heartening to see the veteran in such powerful roles of late. His Kuyyali is power-hungry, greedy, and scheming, and Shammy Thilakan ensures all of it comes across wonderfully in his performance.
Padavettu is strong in its aesthetics with Govind Vasantha’s music being one of the best things about the film. He gets the songs and score spot on understanding both the film’s mood and the rich culture of the land it is set in. As director Liju Krishna (who is facing charges of rape and sexual harassment) also hails from the same cultural terrain, he seems to be well aware of the native art forms, some of which he has incorporated into the film as well. The director also shows a lot of promise in scene staging and compositions. When we first see the villain, we see him on an earthmover, towering over his people, and showing tendencies to unscrupulously own the land he sets sights on. In direct contrast, towards the end, we see him once again on top of the earthmover, but this time he is just a pale shadow of himself. Even in a simple scene whose requisite is a casual chat between two characters, we get a frame that is filled with a lot of action in the background. Such creative decisions add authenticity to the proceedings.
Padavettu offers an insightful commentary on sustainable development and calls out political forces that come up with devious schemes to mislead the uninformed. The filmmaker, however, falters in handling the tonal shift when the story metamorphoses from a personal story of one man’s coming-of-age to a rather expansive exploration of land politics that he falters. The shift is, indeed, jarring.
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