Ponman Movie Review: Basil Joseph Shines In A Well-Written Film Of Grit And Resilience
Ponman Movie Review: The film, starring Basil Joseph, leaves a lot to ponder about resilience, will of the heart, and survival of the bravest, despite being modest in its story and execution.
PonmanU/A
Ponman Movie Review: If one has to go on a quest to find why the Malayalam film industry is consistent with churning out good cinema, the journey will end with the secret alchemy of finding stories from the people. Lijo Joseph’s Angamaly Diaries is about Angamaly. Maheshinte Prathikaram provides a gorgeous landscape of Idukki, and so does Idukki Gold. Manjummel Boys is, well, about the resilience of the boys from Manjummel. Malayalam writers don’t make stories but end up finding them around. Ponman, written by GR Indugopan and Justin Mathew, is yet another story about everyday people in the port city of Kollam. The story, the conflict, and the stake of Ponman are small. But the film leaves one pondering about big things of human resilience, grit, and ethics–typical of good Malayalam cinema.
The film’s protagonist PP Ajeesh (Basil Joseph), has a rather unique and risky business called Madiyil Jewelry or Walking Gold. Ajeesh sells gold upfront to families who are struggling to come up with dowry themselves to marry off their daughters. After the wedding, the families pay him off with the gift money. The conflict in Ponman arises when Ajeesh lends 25 sovereign gold to the family of Steffi (Lijo Mol Josse), but her useless brother Bruno (Anandh Manmadhan) and hapless mother only make half the amount to pay back. With Steffi’s husband being a short-fused ruffian from a notorious area of Kollam, Ajeesh ends up in a do-or-die predicament to retrieve his gold.
related stories
Superficially, Ponman comes across as a world play, which means ‘Gold’ Man, denoting the profession of the protagonist. However, as the film unravels, another intention behind the title becomes apparent. Ponman can also be seen as the name of a superhero, as Ajeesh shows immense grit and resilience against all odds. He comes from nothing, yet he doesn’t betray an iota of fear or weakness. More than money, he strives to restore his reputation. Above all, he also has a heart of gold. I can’t imagine anyone other than Basil Joseph pulling off this well-written role. He fits like a glove for Ajeesh. In an incredible scene, Ajeesh stops Bruno from taking a drastic step and makes a powerful monologue about the will of the heart that is incredibly simple and immensely deep. Now, the scene fleshes out two characters, and that’s what is rewarding about Ponman. It takes time to delve deep into all its characters and reason out their actions, delivering a moving drama.
On top of the drama, Ponman is also a gripping thriller as one is kept on the edge of his seat most of the time as we are worried about the fate of the gold, Ajeesh, Steffi, and Bruno. Despite the modest setting and the nature of the conflict, the writing manages to bring a sense of urgency and anxiety. It also has a lot to do with the villain Mariyano (Sajin Gopu), a ruffian running a prawn farm. He provides the required dread to the film with his taciturn demeanour that makes him mysterious and formidable. With the epic showdown between this puny-looking Ajeesh and the Hulk Mariyano, Ponman also brings home the message about the real valour in a good fight and the shame in the dowry system with a sophisticated subtlety. And the brilliance lies in the fact that the film achieves all of this in a running time of just 127 minutes!
- Location :
- First Published: