Pani
Introduction
Just like Marco, a film that was a spin off from a character in the film Mikhael, the Malayalam film Pani will have a recall value for its antagonists – Don (Sagar Surya) and Siju (Junaiz VP). There are atleast 3 instances wherein the unabashed duo get under your skin – each instance being at different junctures of the drama. It is early on when you are introduced to their characters that you see them sitting on a terrace, discussing ways to take over the town of Thrissur. Two scenes later, you see them randomly murdering a character in broad daylight, only to trigger the chain of events in Pani. As it turns out, they represent the misguided youth of the city who are shown to be gravitating towards the life of crime. Their mischievious antics do not end there – in a scene you see them entering a house with the intention of assaulting a character that they fancied in a grocery store. The scene pans to the broken pieces of glass on the floor that is stomped by the duo, only to later use that as a device to hurt the character by stepping on her toes. It is the kind of twisted psyche that the duo possess, even as they directly trigger the ego of the family of ex-gangsters to which the victims belong. And clearly, this face-off is made in hell!
Story & Screenplay
There is much to like in Pani with respect to the characterization – a family of ex-gangsters who are forced to return to the world of crime, after a couple of their folks are marginalized and attacked by an emerging duo of local gangsters. The dynamics are rough around the edges when it comes to the local police who are tasked with the idea of placing a lid on the surmountable bouts of crime that transpire in the city – with the focus being on these two groups. But they invariably are the third wheel in this violent triangle, even as the two major stakeholders are pitted against each other. An interesting aspect of this dynamic remains the power structure – the family of ex-gangsters are the powerful and influencial lot, the duo of Don and Siju are essentially the underdogs, and on every other day of the week, your sympathies would lie with the latter. But, this is where the writing offers a different angle – you cannot quite sympathize with the underdog duo, simply because you are witness to the crimes that they have committed that is ghastly and infuriating. This also doesn’t ensure your sympathies to the other party – but atleast their actions are reactionary to the ones that have been committed by Don and Siju.
One of the issues that I had with Pani was in the transition shots leading to a main event, that needed a little polishing. For instance, the scene involving a man being randomly murdered was a high point and well executed, but the events following that which included a little round-up on who the actual witness was to discovering the body, did linger on for a tad bit longer. Likewise, the love angle of Giri (Joju George) and Gowri (Abhinaya) did exactly emotionally engage me, a crucial plot point that was the foundation for a major event that would eventually transpire with respect to Gowri. A little more finesse and the drama would have elevated in stature.
Nevertheless, the proceedings are engaging even as a search operation begins for the duo. The cat and mouse game is pretty evident between the two parties, even as the drama transforms into a revenge thriller with broader strokes. Again, the writing chooses to surprise you by not completely committing to a meek surrender, given that Don and Siju are still newbies. There are punches and counter punches to lace the narrative, that definitely had me invested, even as the body count managed to rise. The counter punches are even brutal featuring Don and Siju that definitely land body blows to Giri and his family, in a brilliantly choreographed action sequence wherein you see their inexperience at handling a gun before literally learning on the job and landing a blow.
My little gripe with the drama again lay in its final act that had the same issue of a gory and brutal ending marred by a convenient and over-simplistic buildup. The final act is truly gory to the point that it would tap into the twisted space in your brain by serving a shocking turn of events to complete the film. However, the events leading up to the finale did leave me a little on the fence. I wasn’t entirely of the creative decision of being conservative with the body count, and the reluctance of the writing to bump off characters (remember the kind of impact that Marco had?). That body blow was missing even as it sped from one event to another while leaving a few plot-points to your imagination. These might seem minor blips but they played a significant role in marginally lowering the impact of the drama, that was good but never soared towards greatness (and this sentiment of mine may well have stemmed out from the ultra-high standards set by the incredible Malayalam Film Industry, I am officially spoilt now in that regard).
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are raw and powerful even as the lines make a splash with the simmering emotions that are prevalent just beneath the surface. The music and the BGM nicely prop up the drama by elevating the underlying emotions of many scenes. The cinematography is incredible too with some aerial shots to give an account of the city of Thrissur that allows it to play a silent character. Even the focus being directed towards a church is symbolic of how Giri and his family has been a protector to the city for years, just while focusing on newbies exchanging thoughts to take over the city. The symbolisms are definitely in play here, even why not shying away from the graphic content of violence and nudity that forms an important fabric of the drama. The frames beautifully convey the plethora of sentiments in store. The editing is pretty solid while retaining the emotional quotient of the drama to the point of making the drama supremely watchable. Director Joju George does make an impressive debut while orchestrating some major events of the film with ease. However, you can still make out that he is a little rough around the edges, particularly in transition scenes that don’t have as much control leading up to the multiple major events. But having said that, I did see a director who is unabashed and unapologetic with the massy sequences here, something that will only get better with time. The direction is pretty good here.
Performances
The performances are pretty good by the members of the cast. Lanka Lakshmi and Dr Menat Ann Thomas are actors with a stellar screen presence, and they definitely have their moments to shine. Sujith Shankar as Saji, Ranjith Velayudhan as the Commissioner and Prashanth Alexander as Kuruvila are wonderfully understated with their respective characters and all of them leave a subtle mark here. Chandini Sreedharan as ACP Kalyani was an interesting character given her association with two major stakeholders in the film, and she definitely was dependable with her act. Seema as Mangalath, Giri’s mother (you see the family name flash in the background when Don and Siji are discussing to take over the city in the first scene) is assertive and wonderful to witness. Abhaya Hiranmayi as Jaya and Sona Abraham are first rate, Abhinaya as Giri’s wife Gowri packs a punch while also wonderfully highlighting the vulnerabilities of her character in a good performance overall. Bobby Kurian as ‘Warrant’ Davi is fiery and manages to impress with his antics. Joju George as Giri delivers yet another powerful performance in a character that is intimidating and authoritative with zero remorse. Yet the show stealers for me are Sagar Surya as Don and Junaiz V P as Siju who are tremendous to witness. Their ruthless aggression is on full display here and they definitely pack a punch. I would love to witness an R-Rated spin-off action film featuring the duo, on the lines of Marco wherein they unleash their evil side to the hilt. The boys have a lot of potential, are the producers listening???
Conclusion
Despite its shortcomings, Pani is a fiery revenge drama boasting of solid performance that doesn’t propel into greatness but still remains a good watch, overall. Available on SonyLiv.