ThoppilJoppan Review - 50 % Mammootty's Swag in his "Achayan" Avatar, 50 % Humour which only works in Parts

PUBLISHED DATE : 10/Oct/2016

ThoppilJoppan Review - 50 % Mammootty's Swag in his "Achayan" Avatar, 50 % Humour which only works in Parts

ThoppilJoppan Review - 50 % Mammootty’s Swag in his “Achayan” Avatar, 50 % Humour which only works in Parts

Sethumadhavan


In a scene from Johny Antony’s latest Malayalam film ThoppilJoppan we see people waiting eagerly for the annual kabaddi completion in the town. The local team has been winning for a long time and is headed by ThoppilJoppan (Mammootty); the rival team is headed by a cop who clearly doesn’t seem to like Joppan. Joppan and his teammates arrive just in time for the match; even downing a round of drinks before the start (their team is called ‘Cheers’J). Needless to say that the Cheers team is all set to lose the match before Joppan comes to the fore and ensures a win. As a parting shot he even mocks the sub inspector and we know that there would be an altercation between them coming up later in the film. And yes it does, but Johny Antony plays it smartly, bringing the altercation at the right point and not stretching it, after all the emphasis is on comedy and not action in this film.

 

Johny Antony has had a mixed track record of late, his last film BhaiyyaBhaiyya (2014) did not really set the box office on fire. Mammootty on the other hand has had a busy year, with PuthiyaNiyamam and Kasaba doing reasonably well commercially while White was an out and out disappointment. With ThoppilJoppan we see Mammootty and Johny Antony joining hands together for the 4th time, their previous outings being the fun ThuruppuGulan (2006), the disastrous EePattanathilBootham (2009) and a decent Thappana (2012). With ThoppilJoppan we see Mammootty once again playing an “achayan” in style, something that he has gone on to perfect over the years as seen in many films including Kottayam Kunjachan (1990), KizhakkanPathrose (1992), PothenVava (2006), Nasrani (2007) etc.  This weekend saw the release of the ThoppilJoppan and with the film clashing along with Mohanlal’s highly anticipated Pulimurugan it was quite an interesting fight lined up at the box office. So how has ThoppilJoppan turned out?  Well that’s what I set out to find out for myself.

 

ThoppilJoppan is a well to do individual living in Kattappana and always seen hanging around with his associates. They work with him (though we never get to see that) and are also his companions whether it comes to playing kabaddi or drinking like there’s no tomorrow. Joppan was in love with Annie (Andrea Jeremiah) years ago and admonished by his father, he left his home to make a fortune for himself while asking Annie to wait for his return. Years later Joppan returns but is disappointed to see Annie getting engaged to someone else. He seeks his refuge in alcohol and the company of his associates, only to find himself falling for the charm of Dr.Maria(Andrea Jeremiah). Just when it looks like everything is finally going right for him, she reveals that she is already in love with someone else. What happens from thereon is what the rest of the film is all about.

 

Johny Antony has kept the proceedings fairly simple and allowed Mammootty to have a blast, which he does in style. So Mammootty goes on to mock himself, allowing people to make fun of his age (though that’s being done a little too often in his films of late), breaking into a jig and even doing an imitation of Mohanlal just for funJ. He is good with all this and that’s why the film doesn’t really end up testing our patience. But otherwise the jokes aren’t all that funny or interesting, the 2nd half even reminds you of this year’s hit film Paavada, but thankfully ThoppilJoppan does not get into an emotional overdrive into the perils of drinking etc. NishadKoya’s writing does not show any specific novelty and mostly aims to play it safe. In fact the proceedings get predictable beyond a point and if you cannot guess the ending it’s probable that you haven’t been watching too many Malayalam and/or Mamootty comedies of late.

 

Of the star cast veteran KaviyoorPonnamma as Joppan’s mother, RenjiPanicker as Fr.JacobAnakattil and Salim Kumar Fr.IsaacVaalamparambil are effective.  Alencier Levy, Sreejith Ravi, SajuNavodaya and SohanSeenulal play the companions of Joppan and fit their characters. Andrea Jeremiah looks a little too grim and serious all through the film, reminding us of her role in AnnayumRasoolum in a way. Mamta Mohandas as the livewire Dr.Maria does well of course. Ultimately ThoppilJoppan is a film that makes you chuckle at a few places but also one that makes you wonder why Mammoottyis continuing to do such films, as this is something that he can even pull off easily in his sleep by now.

 

Bottomline


 

Johny Antony’s ThoppilJoppan is engaging to an extent thanks to the antics of Mammootty who once again shines in his achayan avatar. However the film doesn’t really have any novelty either in terms of the story or the narrative.


Rating: 2.5/5

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