Vellaripattanam

Mahesh Vettiyar's live action debut is a cliché political satire which succeeds on the satire front, but falls flat plot-wise. A lot of political commentary, a subtext of political pretentiousness and a little bit of family drama make up this predictable movie, which could have been tightened up and made better.


Manju Warrier plays the role of Sunanda, who is strong, independent and ambitious. Her brother Suresh, played by Soubin Shahir, is equally ambitious but doesn't have the charisma that Sunanda does. Their struggle to get seats, win elections and take revenge on the villains form the crux of the movie. Here, the revenge element is subtle and in its predictability, leaves us with an underwhelming climax.


Especially after the 2014-film Vellimoonga, which treated political satire differently, Vellaripattanam felt like a faint imitation of several such successful movies. What's more, the humorous political commentary and its popularity in social media may not work that well in a movie, especially with a weak plot.


That said, Manju Warrier has done a brilliant job as Sunanda and Soubin was excellent as Suresh. But he definitely didn't need that wig. Krishna Shankar also had a lot of screen time and utilised it well. The film's cinematographer Alex J Pulickal has done a commendable job.