Kunjacko Boban started off his career in Mollywood as a romantic hero, but his on-screen success was largely made by his boy next-door image. He is no gawky youngster, hardly appears in cheesy roles and there is no super star crown. Many directors have tried to cash in on his image and some even tasted success.
His new film Pullipulikalum Attinkuttiyum (Leopards and the Lamb) is nothing but old wine in new bottle. Boban as Chakka Gopan, a houseboat owner, who tries hard to make both ends meet, naturally plays his part, but a weak script and predictable twists and turns bog down the movie. Gopan looks after his mother and three lazybone older brothers who do nothing, besides boozing and dining. As a sport, they indulge in feuds. As custom suggests, cupid strikes the hero when he employs Mohiniyattam dancer Jayashree (Namitha Pramod) in his houseboat to perform in front of foreign tourists.
Boban does justice to his lover boy tag; the duo does the mandatory singing and dancing in between. And the villain, Kuriachan (Shammy Tilakan), another houseboat owner, pops up. From there, the movie starts to test viewers’ patience, offering nothing promising.
Director Lal Jose is known as a hit maker, but rehashing his own good old films in the backdrop of new picturesque landscape is going to take him nowhere. The story is set in magnificent Kuttanad with all touristy Gods Own Country elements to impress viewers — a houseboat, tales of innocent village souls and serene beauty of Kuttanad. But visuals only do not make a movie perfect.
After making many blockbusters, Lal Jose seems to be groping in the dark. A below average script by Sindhuraj (Elsamma Enna Annkutty fame) is the major downer with no surprise in store. Though nothing extraordinary from music director Vidyasagar, Shankar Mahadevan’s voice seems apt for the melodious numbers.
Hari Sree Ashokan and Suraj Venjaranmoodu as Gopan’s assistants and Bindu Panicker as Jayashree’s mother play their roles with restraint. Cinemotagrapher S Kumar captures the pristine beauty of the backwaters and the tiny hamlet surrounded by water elegantly. The director tries to make a feel-good movie, but it runs out of his hands. A disappointing on-screen experience.
Verdict: Watch it for the picture perfect visuals
Cast: Kunjack Boban, Namitha Pramod, Shammy Tilakan, Bindu Panicker
Director: Lal Jose