Ponman (Malayalam)
Watching someone sink in way too deep, risking life, without a clue about getting out alive, you tend to think back to the time before everything went so wrong, wondering if any of it was necessary. Basil Joseph, neck deep in a muddy swamp in Ponman can bring about just such a thought. Why, PP Ajesh (his character), did you have to go through it all?
But even as you think it, you know Ajesh wouldn’t. With all his sensitivity and unexpected depths in character, he is not the type to waste time on useless thoughts. You have got to thank the writers of Ponman for putting him out there, for putting some hope out there, that there are people like him - unwavering, brave to the point of stupid, but reliable.
With all the trappings of a typical GR Indugopan story – rustic, rural, with petty fights that send terror – Ponman manages to float across seamlessly, much like the rare, calm visuals it has of people on a boat. Jotish Shankar, an award winning art director, has turned filmmaker with Ponman, adapting writer Indugopan’s story Nalanchu Cheruppakkar, and setting it on the alluring isles of Kollam. Justin Mathew and Indugopan have scripted the film that begins with a song you can’t ignore. Music is in the air, as a wedding is about to happen. Composer Justin Varghese's music becomes a prop, aiding a tightly packed story, as you are gently shaken out of the wedding reverie and cast headfirst into reality.
In the beginning, there is a wee touch of the butterfly effect leading the story into its crux. It all begins with Bruno, a devoted member of a leftist party, having an altercation with a parish sexton, just when his sister is about to get married, and the family urgently needs some jewellery. If the parish sexton had not removed the posters of Bruno’s party, if Bruno had not reacted to it by beating up the man, if the priest had managed to get an apology out of Bruno, maybe Ajesh would not have cropped up at all.
Anand Manmadhan, at the risk of typecasting himself, once again becomes the helpless elder brother (Bruno) to a bride in Kollam (like in Jaya Hey). Lijo Mol Jose takes, without anyone mentioning the tennis star namesake, the role of Steffi Graf – a picture of demurity until a more rooted side emerges. The other characters too, including that of the fisherman groom beautifully played by Sajin Gopu, appear to have levels of integrity, each of them judged within the confines of the film. Stereotypes are casually broken, tears shamelessly shed by men shown tough, while the reality of women whose opinions are unasked is not covered up.
Ajesh becomes a sort of standard. The character appears carved out of Basil, the actor chiseling out the leftovers of his other famous roles and turning into a jewellery man offering special service. Though there is a core element of rootedness you can find in common with some of his more popular characters - Rajesh in Jaya Hey or Anoop in Falimy – Basil’s flexibility is unquestionable. He can be witty and dangerous at the same time. And to exude that with his slender figure is where his strength lies, and perhaps where the film gets its title – ponman, the oriental dwarf kingfisher, a pocket sized bird of unimaginable beauty.
There were many ways the film could have gone wrong, Indugopan’s settings are not easy to replicate on screen. But director Jotish Sankar, together with the captivating cinematography of Sanu John Varughese, makes few mistakes. There is also the tight editing of Nidhin Raj Arol, keeping the film only as long as it should be, and gripping all the way.
Barring a few lines that sounded forcibly unemotional to perhaps convey the charms of rusticity in romance, there are hardly any hiccups in Ponman.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film’s producers or any other members of its cast and crew.