Ponman Review -  A solid drama on a topic that has been relevant for ages!

Ashwin Ram

Ponman is a dramatic flick starring Basil Joseph and Lijomol Jose in the lead roles. The film is directed by Jothish Shankar.

Premise:

Lijomol Jose’s marriage is fixed after the demanded dowry is promised. Basil Joseph provides the needful jewellery with an agreement to recover the money with the gift amount. What happens after the wedding forms the remaining story.

Writing/ Direction:

The narrative is a straightforward one, the complications in the subject are approached in a realistic manner, which makes the happenings relatable. An important plot-point is that two large groups of people don’t turn up for Lijomol Jose’s wedding, the reasoning for it is scripted validly fronting her brother, many scenes operate in the flow keeping it as the base. Like many Malayalam movies, the core is simplistic yet offers the experience of witnessing something fresh on-screen. Basil Joseph’s character is firmly penned, his stubborn attitude is understandable and yet the rooting factor keeps fluctuating throughout the movie based on the situations. His retrieval attempt portions are interestingly made, both the initial grounded blocks and towards the end when things become serious. The director is perfectly intact with all the lead characters, we travel along with them and blend into the story, then we tend to change our opinions towards them as they evolve. The climax is beautiful and the dialogue about the hero’s viewpoint towards Gold is clap-worthy, in fact it subtly raises a question against the dowry system. The film does slip at places, by leaving the heroine's mother and brother characters out of the picture towards the end when the drama peaks. Also certain flat moments after the interval, until Basil Joseph decides to go for a payback.

Performances:

Such a layered in-depth performance by Basil Joseph by comprehending the thick of his character and the situation that is going around for the others around him. Felt like Lijomol Jose had minimal importance at the beginning, but as the film proceeds, the character evolves and her acting is captivating as well. Superb role for Sajin Gopu that suits his physique, the intensity he showed worked big time for us to root for the character opposing him.

Technicalities:

Not much scope for songs, just felt like passable montage numbers during the first listen at the cinemas. Background score is very neat, doesn’t overpower the content and delivers what is apt for the flow. Neat visuals throughout, the geography establishment is when the aesthetic sense comes into play and in addition to all the good work, the climax was shot superlatively. Crisp editing of just 2 hours duration, the film wrapped up on time with unnecessarily dragging stuff.

Bottomline

There are minor flaws that lie in the later half. Overall a largely satisfying outing with relatable situations, empathetic characters and thoroughly engaging dramatic stretches. Also conveys a subtle message on the prohibition of Dowry.

Rating - 3.25/ 5