A teeny tiny whopper: that's the only way I can describe this movie. It came without any hype or hullaballoo, first pricked the curiosity with the unusual title, then drew us in with positive initial reviews. My own review would have come earlier had it been not for a combination of circumstances that led us to waste a whole weekend when we could have watched Vellimoonga and its antics. As luck would have it, the hot, hot sun in Kozhikode where we were on an exploratory weekend led us into the confines of the refurbished Apsara theater and we finally caught the "silver owl" in full flight!
The story is simple: Mammachan, the long-suffering son of a highly idealistic politician father decides at an early age to eschew his father's calling. But by a miracle of sorts, he comes to don the same "uniform" of his father, only Mammachan goes to the other extreme of embracing only "practical" politics. Whether the aspiring politician is as bad as he makes himself out to others and whether he is able to survive in the cut throat competition is the story.
Finally, after several years, Biju Menon takes a single-lead movie and leads with aplomb. It's been painful to watch this talented actor don just bread-and-butter roles (villain, comic sidekick, cameo) for so long. I hope this leads to better roles for this actor who has proven again and again that he can deliver. Aju Varghese is hilarious as Menon's sidekick. The whole cast - comprising of some of the best character-artistes of Malayalam film industry and a couple of new faces - does an exemplary job. Asif Ali is suitably restrained in a story-turning cameo.
The movie is hilarious from start to finish. Even the twists and turns of the plot are liberally sprinkled with laughs. There was not a boring moment. How could there be with the wily fox-like Mammachan scattering one-liners all over the place. I will have to buy a DVD of the movie in order to catch some of the dialogues that I missed while laughing about the previous joke.
All in all, a huge round of applause for debutante director Jibu Jacob and writer Joji Thomas who were willing to spend years in developing this project and had the staying power to see it through - the maturing time has definite dividends. And I've been humming "വെള്ളാരം കണ്ണുള്ള വെള്ളിമൂങ്ങ " incessantly since leaving the theater!
Verdict: Go and watch this movie in the full theaters and have some fun!
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