- Date of Release: 01 May 2026
- Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
- Language: Malayalam
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Patriot
Introduction
The new Malayalam film Patriot can be considered to be a wild step brother of Mahesh Narayanan’s previous film C U Soon (2020). It is interesting on how both films put technology at its pedestal – one allowing the protagonist to locate a missing person through the use of technology, while the other involving characters and their data that are victims of the technology. Within the first few reels of Patriot, you get a gist of the politics of the world – a corrupt politician JP Sundaram (Rajiv Menon) using the Periscope software to spy on civilians, much to the dismay of the honest CM Nalini (Revathi). It is pretty much a shocking premise in itself, one that borrows its feels from a real life incident of the Pegas*s app – a military software that was “allegedly” used for surveillance on civilians by the authorities, as a measure to control the narrative that wouldn’t work in their interest. Trust the Malayalam Film Industry to tick the right boxes with its central themes of anti-establishment. But the larger question still loomed around the film – would the much anticipated Mammootty-Mohanlal reunion be worth the wait in a thriller directed by Mahesh Narayanan, and co-starring Fahadh Faasil? The answer was a dreadful – NO!
Story & Screenplay
Written by Mahesh Narayanan, Patriot gets off to a bit of a flyer with respect to the character of Dr Daniel James – a scientific advisor to the government of India, who soon gets to know about the dreadful intentions of Sundaram. Immediately in the first act, the high stakes in the drama are established with an early death of a pivotal character, that causes Daniel to get deeper in the mess. Along with Sundaram is his nepo-kid, the loud and brash Shakti (Fahadh Faasil) – the owner of an IT company (Shakti Solutions) who wishes to use the Periscope software for surveillance and extortion. It is a shockingly familiar start that immediately spirals the narrative into a whirwind thriller with traces of espionage, even as Daniel seeks asylum in a foreign country, while continuing to expose the deeds of the corrupt minister through his Youtube channel. In other words, he transforms into a version of Dhruv Rathee while being termed as a ‘fugitive’ and a ‘traitor’. So far so good (but the ‘politics’ in the drama ends here)!
Structurally speaking, the fundamental issue that I had with the writing was its cohesiveness, or rather the lack of it, even as it transitioned from one sequence to another. For instance, there is an extended sequence involving a character Jyothi (Darshana Rajendran) that could easily have been a montage, as opposed to a 15 minute drag – something that not only adds crucial minutes to the narrative but also reiterates the points that are already established in the narrative.
Yes, the one takeaway remains the presence of another female character that holds the key to the entire mess, but that plotpoint doesn’t see the light of the day, until the third act! This, even while introducing another bloated sequence involving a Youtube summit organized by Shakti Solutions which is attended by Daniel. The question was on how was Daniel not screened before allowing to speak? It remained a massive logical loophole in an espionage space that doesn’t offer creative liberties!
The early signs of a convoluted plot is felt during the interval block that tries to hoodwink the viewers, with a couple of curveballs in the narrative. The twin issue for me remained the lack of characterization of mostly all characters around Daniel – something that simply made it too big an entity for the plot. With that then came predictability – I wasn’t fully exposed to the individual levels of intimidation for a character like Shakti, who was previously shown to have a tryst with the protagonist as an air force pilot. The subplot again seemed to be written in isolation, given that it had very little relevance to the main storyline. Instead if the focus was on his psyche and what brought him to use the periscope app (outside the one-dimensional money angle), it would have been so much more layered.
The convoluted second half can best be termed as a hot mess – with every sequence written in the most convenient manner possible, almost equally in isolation as opposed to systematically taking the plot ahead. Somewhere in between there are moments of respite with the much-awaited superstars’ reunion – in a sequence wherein both Daniel and Rahim (Mohanlal) remain gun-totting killing machines on a highway, or the warm camaraderie that emerges during a handshake, or even the two veterans using the age-old Morse code to communicate in a digital era. In fact, one of the highlights of the film remains a sequence staged in a hospital lift that really added to the excitement in the film. But the reunion itself felt short-lived – and no, I am not referring it to supersede the central plot. A little more banter would have turned the clock back, but alas!
The lack of characterization was even more evident in the second hour, wherein characters like Daniel’s aides – Michael (Kunchacko Boban), Ayesha (Zarin Shihab) and Lathika (Nayanthara) felt mere cardboards to the plot, having very little to substantially contribute to the screenplay. In fact, the isolated sequences make you lose sight of the central goal – leading upto a final act that felt so timid and underwhelming that I invariably found myself rolling my eyeballs. The lack of what it wished to stand for, in the wake of being burdened with starpower is what may have lead to a downfall, as far as the writing is concerned.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The one thing that goes right with the dialogues is the understated tone, that worked well in the vicinity of an espionage thriller. The music by Sushin Shyam is decent but really ought to have been better, and I can’t help but think that the soundtrack sank in the presence of a convoluted plot. The BGM also doesn’t really elevate the money shots of the film. Either that, or maybe I was too distracted with the incoherence in the drama!
The cinematography is actually spectacular in parts, with the film beholding the texture of an espionage thriller. The grand shots of real locations actually add depth to the proceedings. But the fumble actually transpires in some ultra-tight closeups, particularly in the fight sequences that made things hard to follow. Barring the one sequence in a hospital lift wherein the camera follows every blow of a specific character, the other action set-pieces don’t give you that high. Being understated is one thing, but that mustn’t excuse you to flatten the frames in action set-pieces. Also, the lack of an emotional connect through the frames is another weak point.
The editing pattern is choppy to the core, with every sequence being edited in isolation – almost like a reel. As a result, the lack of coherence in the drama is alarming to say the least. Director Mahesh Narayanan is usually a fine director, but he misses the mark here. I couldn’t tell if it was the burden to direct an ambitious film, or the baggage of having to direct mega superstars – but the fault lay somewhere. The convoluted drama gave me an impression that he remained confused with the identity of the drama – was it a character-driven plot attempted or a political spy thriller? Also, the lack of characterization hurt a great premise, something that is all the more relevant in times of artificial intelligence and data mining. The control just wasn’t there in the direction, something that pretty much defined the entire film here.
Performances
The performances are good by the members of the ensemble cast, which was nothing short of a casting coup. But in the same breath, the casting felt sanitized and pretty safe – two pieces of criticism that aren’t a part of the DNA of a Malayalam film. And needless to add that the writing has letdown most of the performances here. The likes of Nayanthara as Lathika and Revathi as CM Nalini are largely wasted here.
Zarin Shihab as Ayesha and Darshana Rajendran as Jyothi are good but the writing doesn’t fully allow their characters to grow. Talented performers like Shaheen Siddique as Vignesh, Grace Antony, Ishan Shoukath as Dibakar, and Sanal Aman are only reduced in the background. Prakash Belawadi is now completely typecast in similar shades of characters who works for the system or the government. Kunchacko Boban as Michael is sincere and earnest but again he is provided with limited moments to shine. Rajiv Menon as Sundaram is vily and scheming, but again the lack of characterization makes him pretty one-dimensional in nature.
Mohanlal as Rahim adds a lot of star power to the already star heavy film, showing once again that he just needs a spark to set the stage of fire. But his casting remained a nostalgia-bait, a character that could have otherwise been handed over to anyone else. The performance wasn’t the issue, the utilization was. Fahadh Faasil as Shakti is good, but at this point I have begun to have reservations about his repetitions of being cast as an antagonist. Films like these mustn’t reduce his talent by making him a typecast, and while Fafa does a pretty solid job – the writing made his character repetitive in nature.
Make no mistake, this is a Mammukka film, which basically means that it is Mammootty as Daniel who is the kingpin in the narrative here. At this point, I will watch anything that Mammootty features in – and he once again is in good form here. But at the same time, the writing doesn’t offer any spectacular shades to his character, allowing him to perform and quickly move on to the next scene. The emotional quotient is missing, something that is prevalent at a pivotal juncture in the second hour. I have seen better Mammootty performances, and although this one is good, it isn’t exactly memorable. As a Mammukka fan, I have been spoilt for choices lately!
Conclusion
Despite a solid premise, Patriot is a convoluted thriller with a messy aftermath that fails to impress. Even the much-awaited Mammootty-Mohanlal onscreen reunion cannot rescue this drama that is painfully mediocre in every sense of the word. Available in a theatre near you.