The men in Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol, a handful of them in their late 30s or 40s, huddle up on a terrace to share a drink, as well as life’s changing scenarios, almost every day. Yes, it’s mostly about them; be it the dearth of romance, in their everyday reality, bogged down by life and liabilities, or their little flights of fancy.
Ulahannan (Mohanlal), the panchayat secretary, is one among the roof-top lamenters who seems to be perpetually grumpy, be it at home or at work. Annyamma (Meena) is his neglected wife, who doesn’t even pick up a good fight with him.
Following the sterling advice of an old college love, Ulahannan realises that what he needs to bring into his life is a bit of romance.
Venukuttan (Anoop Menon), a member of the roof-top drinkers club and relentless pursuer of women sparks an idea, and Ulahannan decides to look out for a possible fling.
The screenplay, though a bit sketchy, has every scene punctuated with ample humour. What goes on as a mid-life romance or the lack of it, adding on a few songs for support, stretches itself into the realm of teen issues, while trying to knot them all together.
Although Munthirivallikal... isn’t tedious, it looks momentarily caught up in a dilemma at mid point about where to go. And the movie does bring to mind another film in the recent past that had a father and son struggling with their respective love lives.
Mohanlal shines on and effortlessly plays the role. The womenfolk don’t really have a lot to do; while Meena could still take up some screen space, Srinda has a miniscule role, with litle scope to bring any spunk on the screen. Alancier Lopez, Kalabhavan Shajon and Suraj Venjaranmoodu fix up all the fun.
Although the movie does seem to be saying that ‘boys will be boys’, even though ‘girls are what they ought to be,’ it ups the fun quotient, and slyly hands over a message wrapped in the warm blanket of familial affection.