It is hard to say how much I liked this deviant comedy about a gold lender and family which defaults on its promise. Basil Joseph, who started as a director to watch, is now more of an actor to be watched. His variety of roles, funny at the top and deeply tragic beneath, has set new goals for performing ambiguity in Malayalam cinema.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Basil has emerged as a force to reckon with. Ponman reinforces his burgeoning power. He plays Aajesh, a gold lender who bails economically challenged families in their wedding arrangements by lending gold for the dowry with the promise of quick recovery.
Things get out of hand soon enough, resulting in chaos that is deeply troublesome, and yet the fun element is never dissipated. This is the USP of Basil Joseph’s cinema: it makes you ponder on the vicissitudes of life without making us feel beleaguered.
Ponman secretes a lot of anger and sadness about the disempowered section, which has to make the most horrific compromises to make ends meet. The bride of the family, Steffi (Lijomol Jose), is no walkover. But is made to feel like one. Her brother Bruno (Anand Manmadhan) is an angry rebel without a cause—a disruptor with no redemptive quality. Steffi’s newly married husband, Mariyano(Sajin Gopu), comes across as a boozing bully.
And, of course, Aajesh, trying desperately to recover his gold from a family that has no means to stick to its part of the deal… Director Jothish Shankar preserves an able balance between authenticity and serendipity.
Even though the narrative becomes rudderless post-midpoint, the director keeps tight control over the caprices of the prominently pickled characters. Of course, adding to the flavour of the festive crisis are the locations. The film is shot in the coastal village of Kollam, where the water often enters the compounds of homes, and social activities are negotiated over makeshift brick bridges.
It is a messy existence in every way you think about it. The ongoing boozing doesn’t help ease the tense situation. Ponman tells us that adversity is frequently the root of compromise. But what if the economically distressed party is too much against the wall to negotiate for a compromise? That the film finds space to smile in the given imbroglio is not short of a miracle.
This is a film with a plot that has never been seen before. It is original and fresh, and the performers don’t PERFORM. They are just the way they are.
