Jaykrishnan, the protagonist of 'Meppadiyan', represents legions of simple, innocent folks who follow life with the heart than the brain. It will be hard for anyone, who has frequented government offices to avail of services meant for citizens, to miss a relating story. Writer-director Vishnu Mohan has been able to reinvent and plot the situations as exactly as they happen in real life. Each of the characters in the movie reminds us of someone or the other we have encountered in our lives.
Jayakrishnan is a mechanic in a small town near Kottayam. A simpleton and good-at-heart youth, he has his mother and other kin to take care of. He lives on a meagre middle class financial backdrop and is able to run his shop more or less smoothly. One day he plans to buy a plot as part of a family binding. But things take a turn for the worse with Philip (Saiju Kurup) joining him in a bid to purchase a large plot of land with an eye on bigger profit. The trail of misadventures Jayakrishnan steps into thereafter and how he treads the quagmire set the premise of the plot.
Incoherence of scenes in the early part of the story aside, the movie catches steam as it climbs the main course and carry the viewers for a smooth ride. Though it's a string of turmoil one after the other, the perpetual stress leaves no burden as it's evolved artistically. Besides, there is a Saiju Kurup blitzkrig, who nails the character with a perfection that is hilarious.
Unni Mukundan follows his character with a well-balanced gait and has been able to deliver in total the tribulations which weigh down Jayakrishnan during critical situations. The makers have been able to pull off a high drama by adopting scenarios of simple and real life events.
Once again, the film proves dubbing is as important as acting or other areas of theatrical performances, for there are several occasions which glaringly display amateurishness of dialogues of some of the characters. Though smatterings of comic elements appear here and there, the plot mainly revolves around the serious issues the protagonist faces.
Aju Varghese, departing from his usual comic line, posts a serious and matured performance as Thadathil Xavier. In fact, each of the ensemble cast with less or more screen space registers a thumping impression on the whole story. Anju Kurien as Jayakrishnan's love interest Renuka, Indrans, Kalabhavan Shajon, Major Ravi, Sreejith Ravi, Nisha Sarang, Arya, Pauly Valson all have portrayed their characters well, capturing their intended dynamics.
The movie produced by Unni Mukundan Films Pvt Ltd. has Neil D’Cunha as its DOP and Shameer Muhammad as the editor. Rahul Subramanian scores the music and tunes the songs penned by Ajeesh Dasan and Joe Paul.
It may not be a highly thrilling drama but is nevertheless an engrossing tale that keeps viewers hooked till the credits roll up.
