'Valiyaperunnal' movie review: Brave attempt marred by a jam-packed plot

A lack of coherence and focus drags this Shane Nigam film down after a point

For a debutant filmmaker, Dimal Dennis is brave. In Valiyaperunnal, he has taken upon an ambitious endeavour negotiating a maze of a script, filled with new characters at every other turn and handling quite a few complicated issues, ranging from inequality to corruption within the police force. Yet, this very ambition drags the film down after a point.

It is a difficult film to write an one-line description of, since there is so much happening.

We begin from the crisis faced by taxi driver Sivakumar (Joju George), who owes a large sum to lenders.

On one of his trips with a family involved in gold business, they come under attack from a masked gang, who loot all the gold.

After this prelude, the action shifts to the narrow bylanes of Mattancherry, focusing on the lives of Akkar (Shane Nigam), a dancer involved in small-time criminal activities. The script in the initial half is written in such a way as to soak us in the syncretic culture of Fort Kochi, especially on the underprivileged who are ready to fall for any crazy scheme to make a quick buck. But it is also marred by a certain incoherence. Tying together these different strands is left for the fag end of the three hour-long runtime.

Unhurried approach

In looking at the crime that forms the core of the story, the film focusses on the reasons for which each got involved it. Except one crazy fellow who participated for the thrill of it, the rest have their seemingly valid reasons. They contrast their plight with the rich. Their crime pales in comparison to the machinations of the criminals in uniform. Yet, all of these have been talked about more effectively in films like Kammattipadam and Annayum Rasoolum.

The unhurried approach is more suited for a series in a streaming service, but even there the lack of focus, with too many things happening, could be a downer. Maybe, some more work on the editing table could have made it a memorable film.

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