Partners Malayalam Movie
At the centre of this film is its relatively novel idea of a financial scam in a bank. 'Partners' has a murky premise and director Naveen John has exploited a little chunk of its potential in his attempt to achieve the objective. A compelling treatment is the perfect approach to deal with such a plot that has several volatile moments. The film has a riveting take off with a reference to a crime in 1989. The glossy vibes in the beginning struggle to be consistent in vital parts of the tale. Dhyan Sreenivasan plays the protagonist with unimpressive expressions in a story that demands a perky attitude and his subdued 'eloquence' is far from elevating the proceedings.
Set in 2005, the film begins with the arrest of a Pune-based small-time businessman Devarajan (Prasanth Alexander) by Income Tax officer Parthasaradhi, played by Kalabhavan Shajon, and his team. The plot is unveiled before us with a flashback when five employees take charge in the new branch of Uduppi Gramin Bank in the remote village of Bedakam in Kasaragod district. Very soon, Vishnu Govind, played by Dhyan Sreenivasan, who is the cashier of the bank, and his colleagues including bank manager Krishnakumar (Sanju Sivaram), peon Chacko (Dinesh Kollappally), clerks Lakshmi (Devaki Rajendran) and Rahim (Aneesh Gopal) smell something fishy about the bank. Vijay, essayed by Rony David Raj, the top official of the bank's head office pressurises the employees and takes away cash regularly from the bank.
Matters become worse when Vishnu and his colleagues borrow money from the rich man in the village Raghavendra Bhatt (Madhusudhan Rao) to run the bank. Gradually, the well-planned banking scam unfolds before them. The movie shows that the gravity of the conflict seriously affects the families of Krishnakumar and his wife Azhaki (Neeraja S Das). While Lakshmi is struggling to earn money for the treatment of his brother, the family details of others are not explained here.
The screenplay, written by Hariprasad, Naveen John and K V Prasanth, has a novel idea on offer; still the narrative pattern is engulfed in a formulaic template. For instance, the establishment of relationship between Vishnu Govind and the village lass Padma (Satna Titus) serves little impact on the tale, besides the intrusion of songs hinders the flow. Moreover, mediocre performances fail to enhance the proceedings even as the plot enters its crucial stages. It's a trap for Vishnu and his colleagues and the solution in the climax is rather a complex plan that lacks clarity. Dhyan's mien is absolutely lacklustre as he struggles to channelize the energy of a protagonist into the flick.
Kalabhavan Shajon appears as a regular character with hardly any significant contribution to the tale. But the interrogation of Devarajan by Parthasaradhi has a pivotal role in 'Partners' and its outcome is interesting though there is a tad vagueness regarding the official procedures. With a promising content, the journey of the tale is engaging in parts due to absence of a solid portrayal of events. Despite having a potential content as a core theme, this film manages to imbibe partial essence of it.
