‘Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte’ is mostly like the character John (Madhupal) in it who spends almost all his screen time idle, smoking away in his room. But when he finally opens his mouth to indulge in a sermon of sorts, you wish he was smoking instead. The film too has a lot of powerhouse tactics in mind, but little bite to go with it.
Shambu Purushothaman’s intent in his second film ‘Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte’ is pretty much clear and it belongs to the very same sort that he had in mind, in his first film ‘Vedi Vazhipadu’. Cinematically too, he does not make much of a progression with his second film, and sticks to those basic satirical tropes that he readily employs one after the other.
Roy (Vinay Fort) heads a Christian family that is quite obviously way past its heydays, and is head deep in debt. The circumstances seem dire, and Roy sees a golden chance when an offer arrives to marry off his younger brother Rohan (Arun Kurian) to Linda (Santhi Balachandran), daughter to an incredibly rich business man (Sunil Sukhada).
The engagement date arrives, and Rohan is distraught when he discovers in no time that not all is well with Linda. The presence of a mysterious man named Xavier (Alencier Ley) at the engagement event leads to further complications, and as Roy and his brother-in-law Alex (Tini Tom) corner him to question him on his intentions, more than a few skeletons tumble out of the family’s firmly shut closet.
It takes quite a while for this crucial expose to occur, and until then, most of ‘Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte’ is mere passable stuff, with a few odd jokes thrown in here and there. Take for instance, the ‘Save the Date’ video that is shot at the beginning, which does bring in a thoughtful grin to your lips, but thereafter, it’s a long wait until Xavier drops in.
There is no magic potion that Xavier holds in his hands, and after the initial jolt that he sets in the family, it’s all back to square one. There are a few parallel threads that run simultaneously, of which the most predominant is the one in which the much married daughter of the family Lissy Anumol) rediscovers her long lost lover Rajan (Anil Nedumangad) as a crestfallen waiter at the ceremony.
No doubt, the barbs are all aimed at a range of affairs that are laid out on a platter right before us. The one on fidelity that involves the ex-clergyman Xavier and one of his many conquests Jancy (Neena Kurup) is one such. Almost everyone around seems to be having an extra marital affair, and Roy’s wife Susan (Srinda) takes offence at his former lover Angel (Roshna Ann Roy) being invited for the party and gets drunk to prove a point or two.
Look back at all of it, and if you end up wondering what the clamour was all about, I wouldn’t really blame you. With Linda hogging the limelight for the most part of the latter half, it gets increasingly tiresome. With no end to her antics in sight, ‘Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte’ ends up a humdrum affair and almost all the inferences that are to be made in her passing references are lost in the chaos.
Performances wise, Vinay Fort emerges the best among the lot, and is ably supported by Tini Tom throughout. Arun Kurian does a decent job of playing the flustered Rohan, while Santhi Balachandran and Srinda play it up to the galleries. Anumol and Anil Nedumangad leave a mark, while James Elia affirms that he is a fantastic actor who has not yet got his due.
‘Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte’ is mostly like the character John (Madhupal) in it who spends almost all his screen time idle, smoking away in his room. But when he finally opens his mouth to indulge in a sermon of sorts, you wish he was smoking instead. The film too has a lot of powerhouse tactics in mind, but little bite to go with it.
Verdict: Average