Patham Adhyayam Malayalam Movie
'Patham Adhyayam' is a film that has been long in the making and it really shows. What is even more depressing is that even the story that it tells seems age old and literally falling to pieces.
Achu (Bala), son of Kumaranasaari (Murali) is a gifted carpenter and a sculptor. He is assigned the task of sculpting the new devi idol when the temple renovation of the village is planned. The temple belongs to Poomuttam tharavadu, headed by the Karanavar (Madhu), and when his granddaughter arrives from the US for the occasion, childhood memories are rekindled in Achu.
The script is leaden and often hollow that it would be a surprise if we found ourselves caring for anything that is happening to anyone in it. There are so many things happening all at once and what is lacking in all these diversions is an emotional depth and intensity.
Achu's sister (Suchitha) falls in love with Niyas (Madhu Warrier) who plans to ship her across for trade. And later, Achu himself realizes that his parents aren't what they seem to be.
The problems with characterization is something that the movie can never escape from, and the plot is often found to be overly convenient, so much so that the impact that it has on the viewers is minimal.
With so much experimentation going on in cinema these days, it's a shame that people still hang on to done to death ideas that neither inspires nor enlightens.
There is nothing much to be said about the technical department. But what has to be said is that the song picturisations are plain awful, and there doesn't seem to have been a choreographer anywhere around. So we get to see the lead pair doing bizarre steps that you wouldn't use for a kindergarten dance event. The titles look quite amateurish as well.
The presence of the late actor Murali is the only fact that brightens up the affairs here. The film is a final reminder of what a brilliant performer the actor was. In 'Patham Adhayayam' he doesn't have much of an author backed role, and yet manages to come up with a thoroughly convincing act. Bala does an okay job of being Achu while the rest of the actors offer prompt support.
In 'Patham Adhyayam' there is nothing much to celebrate, and the film seriously suffers from connection issues. It desperately tries to reach out to its audience, but totally fails to establish a tie with its viewers.
