Polytechnic Malayalam Movie
Kunchacko Boban plays Poly in M Padmkumar's 'Polytechnic' which aspires to be rollicking entertainer set on a politically charged milieu, but ends up nothing of the sort. Riddled with done to death scenarios, 'Polytechnic' might be considered as a nontoxic film that neither excites you with its brightness nor nauseates you with offensiveness of any sort.
Poly is a leftist leader first, and a young man who is generally having a gala time with his friends second. The love of his life Aswathy (Bhavana) is a cop, and her dad (Vijayaraghavan) isn't much awed by his prospective son-in-law.
To put it straight, there seems very little impressive about Nishad Koya's script, and it does not make you want to cross your fingers in anticipation. At best, it manages to splash a smile or two across your face, but that simply isn't enough in a real lengthy feature film.
Someone seems to be really obsessed with those hit films of yore, and the references are numerous. The intention, as is obvious, is to entertain, but whether they actually do would depend on the kind of viewer that you are.
What takes the cake and the entire bakery in this regard is when Poly decides to take over Dakshayani Biscuits, a business enterprise. No prizes for guessing where that allusion obviously arises from, and you wonder what the entire purpose of these hints are.
Perhaps the worst bit about the film is its running time. You fervently wish that the editor had done some severe chopping away, and the film could have been much easier on our nerves with all those useless appendages severed.
Kunchacko Boban goes about doing his job with an ease that must have arisen the moment he laid his hands on this character that is, simply stated, no great shakes. There are of course no immense tests before the actor, and he does what he has been asked to with a lack of concern, delivering no big surprises in the process.
Bhavana is back after a sabbatical of sorts, and looks slimmer and extremely gorgeous. No surprises again, when it comes to her performance. I especially liked Niyas Backer, who brings in a consistent charm to almost every inconsequential role that he plays. Aju Varghese merely repeats his act in a supporting role as well.
Much has already been said and perhaps written about the verbal duel song between Poly and his future father in law, and I wouldn't say much about it, except that the music department didn't serve my cup of tea.
And thus it is, that I come to the prediction, that its gonna take a while before the lull in M Padmakumar's directorial career comes to an end. None of the techniques that Poly has on show, are likely to do that for him.
