Annan Thambi Malayalam Movie
Rajamaanickam and Chotta Mumbai fame director Anwar Rasheed; Chanthupottu and Thommanum Makkalum fame scenarist Benny P. Nayarambalam; and ace actor Mammootty who has discovered lately that he has a funny bone in him - what kind of a film would you expect when these three team up? Hilarious stuff. That's exactly what Annan Thambi offers you - wholesome entertainment for the family. The film has all the ingredients that you would expect of a film from this team. But if you are looking for an arty or meaningful flick, you'd better look elsewhere.
Annan Thambi tells the story of two brothers, Appu and Achchu, who had always been clashing with each other since childhood. While Appu is of a loud and boisterous temperament, Achchu is born dumb, but physically as agile as Appu. An astrologer Madhava Panicker, advises the parents that it is better to separate the two brothers as they are likely to create more trouble if they continue to be at the same place. Panicker advises the parents of the twins to pack Appu off to Pollachi along with his maternal uncle Viswambharan.
Appu pleads with his mother not to send him away. And so does Achchu. But Appu is sent away. To avenge his being banished, Appu attacks Madhava Panicker by hiding along the way and letting a huge stone fall on the latter's head. He runs off, but is caught by Panicker's brother-in-law. Appu behaves like his dumb brother Achchu, and then runs away. Panicker dies and Achchu is arrested by the Police. From here the story takes a leap forward in time and we see Appu grown up as a goonda in Pollachi, whereas Achchu lives in Pallakad along with his father, who runs a ballet troupe. Appu is a dare-all kind of guy, while Achchu works as an actor in his father's troupe, but is physically very agile. Appu has as his lover the beautiful Thenmozhi while Achchu is married to Lakshmi and sadly enough they have no issues.
Appu has as his trusted lieutenant Govindan, while Chandran and Peethambaran are Achchu's aides. Appu never cares to come to Pallakad because if the twins come face-to-face, things are bound to end in a fight. But then things take such a turn that Appu and Achchu are forced to confront each other more like enemies than as brothers. Achchu, who finds that all the money collected from people for the temple festival plus all the gold pawned by people with him are stolen from his house, suspects Appu to be behind this.
Appu, who is constantly forced to clench his fists and fight the goons sent by Thenmozhi's villainous uncle, is knocked unconscious by them and taken along with Thenmozhi to her uncle's house and where they are locked up. It is then Achchu turns up in Pollachi seeking his brother, whom he suspects of having stolen the money and the jewellery. All this and other subsequent events add up to make a loud, hilarious and interesting movie.
For die-hard fans of Mammootty, Annan Thambi is a double bonanza. The actor does his best to enliven the characters of Appu and Achchu, both of which he plays perfectly well. Lakshmi Rai as Thenmozhi and Gopika as Lakshmi play their parts well. Suraaj Venjaramoodu as Peethambaran delivers the kind of performance that is expected of him while Harisri Ashokan is his usual self as Chandran. Siddique as Govindan has done a good job. Salim Kumar adds to the comedy part as the funny police inspector Shyamalan.
Janardhanan, Rajan P. Dev, Manianpillai Raju, Anil Murali, Kalabhavan Shajon and Jayan have done justice to their respective roles. The cinematography, the editing, the art-work, the costume designing, and the choreography are well in tune with the theme and the mood. The songs retain the tempo of the film, and are well suited to the colourful entertainer. If you are looking forward to a film of the genre of Rajamaanickam, go ahead and enjoy this roller-coaster ride of a movie.
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