Directors: Ajay Vasudev
Writer: Nishad Koya
Producer: Gokulam Gopalan
Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Rajisha Vijayan, Seetha, Guru Somasundaram
Crew: Ajay Vasudev, Gokulam Gopalan, Nishad Koya, V R Krishnamoorthy, Faiz Siddik, Riyas K Badhar, Baiju Gopalan, VC Praveen
How do catastrophes happen? If the calamity is occurring in an Ajai Vasudev film, it will undoubtedly be happening slowly and with an obnoxious background score. As you are trapped inside the same movie and can only move in slow motion, there is no way to get out of it. His most recent film, Pakalum Pathiravum, has slow motion throughout, starting with the police raiding a remote hamlet to apprehend suspected Maoists in the opening scene. A police officer, who is at best playing a minor role, is framed by the camera as it pans around him, and the lighting of his cigarette and leisurely approach to the individual who is challenging the police action are shown in exquisite detail.
The only goal of the slow-motion pictures is to lead the audience to believe that one or more characters have important roles to perform before they are disproven. A family in need of money who live on the edge of the high ranges is the subject of the story. The farmer father's drinking behavior (Manoj K.U.) exacerbates the family's financial issues. The family's daughter, Mercy (Rajisha Vijayan), is looking for ways to improve her life while debt collectors threaten the family. A wildlife photographer named Michael (Kunchacko Boban) becomes lost while travelling to the woods and spends the night at their home.
One would naturally think that when Michael enters the picture, he will contribute to the family's riches being changed. But, one is actually surprised to hear that this tired ploy is still in use when the scriptwriter uses it to establish the character's connection to the family.
Pakalum Pathiravum, which was based on a 20-minute play, is a remake of Dayal Padmanabhan's Kannada film Aa Karala Ratri. It is obvious that the play's shorter runtime may have been a success because it has a potentially exciting tale about the destructive forces of greed and hopelessness. Yet, in Pakalum Pathiravum, it is pointlessly extended to last for two hours. If it weren't for the antiquated filmmaking that can effectively ruin any good plot, it would have still succeeded to some level.
Despite the fact that Pakalum Pathiravum is a different kind of picture than Rajadhi Raja, Masterpiece, and Shylock, Vasudev uses the same loud style in both of those movies. The way the release of one such film is mentioned in passing while the camera slowly pans over the movie's poster reveals the director's natural affinity for the mass masala subgenre.
The BGM, by Kedar, is a little conventional and noisy, but the songs by Stephen Devassy are excellent. Pakalum Paathiravum would have benefited enormously from being presented with a bit more realism in these times when we hear and read news items that sound incredible, and it might have been quite a memorable movie.
Note
A wildlife photographer named Michael sets off on his trek from Kochi to Mysore with a detestable goal.
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