The film is a ride by Kuttiyappan, accompanied by PillechanIt's the fate of all visual adaptations of literary works that it has to address two types of audience -- those who have read the original text and those who have not. In that sense, this review is by a viewer who belongs to the first category.
The story, which is all about a rich and spoilt youth's craving for an unusual sexacapade, appealed to the readers primarily for its shock value. Hence, the shock waves continued when Ranjith announced his plan to translate Leela into screen.
Also read: Playing the unusual macho 'Leela'
Unlike his previous attempt to make a film out of the novel KTN Koottur: Jeevithavum Kalavum as Njan which failed to connect with the common viewers for its textual intricacies, Leela with its rural and contemporary setting, day-to-day life characters and flow of the narrative keep the audience engaged.
From the Kottayam dialect to the choice of visuals, Ranjith goes for a realistic approachThough the director has attempted to make slight changes, especially in the order of events to make it suitable for the genre, the film is by and large a word by word translation of the written work. However, it must be said that the sequences involving an unusual angel (angels are frequent visitors to Malayalm films these days!) looked an unnecessary addition.
Also check: 'Leela' movie: Audience review
The film is all about Kuttiyappan (Biju Menon), the son of a judge who claims to have not gained the legacy of his father.
Kuttiyappan is a sum of his craziness, which is evident in all his acts. He keeps portraits of EMS, Marilyn Munroe and Bruce Lee in a single row in his bedroom, sets up a ladder for the elderly servant to serve him bed coffee through the window of first floor and arranges a function to honour the retired sex workers of the village. Like all the stereotyped prodigal sons, Kuttiyappan too is addicted to alcohol and women.
Now he is on yet another macho mission -- one which was triggered by an early morning dream. He needs a young girl, "one with voting right", and a tusker for that. While Unni R, the story writer had made Kuttiyappan's strange wish a launching pad for the narrative, the filmmaker and the scriptwriter in Unni have kept it as a secret until the climax.
The film is a ride by Kuttiyappan, accompanied by Pillechan (Vijayaraghavan) and Dasappan (Indrans).
Casting is the film's major plus point. With his perfect body language and voice modulation, Biju Menon easily transforms into Kuttiyappan while Vijayaraghavan proves that he is an yet-to-be-explored actor playing Gopi Pillai, an expatriate who is all amused by Kuttiyappan's unusual way of life.
Poster of the movieLike a diluted version of Bhaskara Patelar's Thommi in Vidheyan, Pillechan follows Kuttiyappan wherever he goes. Vijayaraghavan does a veteran's job performing the naivety of Pillechan.
Indrans as Dasappan, the pimp clad in white and white -- it's only one of the many subtle attacks on the tainted politicians of our times in the film -- proves his mettle once again. However, the film offers an element of surprise with the casting of Jagadeesh as Thankappan Nair. At a time when he is nearly out of big screen and entering electoral politics, a different and challenging character has come his way.
In Parvathy Nambiar, Renjith has found the right choice indeedEver since the project was announced, all eyes were on who would play the title character Leela. In Parvathy Nambiar, Ranjith has found the right choice indeed. Without even a single piece of dialogue, Parvathy announces a promising career. The nameless girl is christened as Leela by Kuttiyappan who must know that the word with Sanskrit routes has a sexual connotation.
From the Kottayam dialect to the choice of visuals, Ranjith goes for a realistic approach. Prasanth Raveendran's camera makes maximum use of darkness and shades apart from showing the lushness of the backwaters of Kottayam and wilderness of Wayanad.
Jagadeesh plays the role of Thankappan Nair in the movieBijibal plays his magical tunes once again to depict the mixture of emotions the character feel. While his Vaattolam vaniyare in the voice of Biju Menon sets the tune of the film as title score, Ambish Kumar's sketches portraying Kottayam add much flavour to the tunes.
Like the story, the film also leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Whether Kuttiyappan was a hero or the villain? Is it the story of Kuttiyappan, the outspoken super-rich macho man or Leela, the poor and silenced woman? Leaving these questions to the readers recommending it as a one-time watch.
Onmanorama Rating: 3/5
