#SonyLiv
Language – Malayalam
Year of release – 2024
Cast – Mammooty, Arjun Ashokan, Sidharth Bharathan, Manikandan Achari
Trigger warning – Horror, violence,
Plot – Thevan (Arjun Ashokan) and his friend Koran (Manikandan Achari) are stranded in a forest and are weary from trying to find their way out of the forest. As night sets in, they settle down to rest in a small clearing and sometime during the night, Koran is seen walking away, seduced and ultimately killed by a Yakshi (a female spirit). This terrifies Thevan and he starts to run through the forest and finally reaches a large decrepit mansion. He walks around the mansion and thinks there may not be anyone around and cracks a coconut to quench his thirst when he runs into the cook (Sidharth Bharathan). The cook then takes him to Kodumon Potti (Mammooty) the owner of the mansion. Potti realises that Thevan is lost and is a folk singer and asks him to sing and in return tells him that Thevan can stay in the house for a while.
Thevan is shown around the decrepit mansion and is warned not to venture into some of the parts of the mansion. Thevan stays with Potti and over the following days learns from the cook that Potti is a descendant of a sorcerer Choudala Potti who inherits a chatan (goblin) locked up in a box. This chatan is then forced to do everything that Choudala tells it and eventually wears out the chatan to the point where the chatan gets vengeful and kills Choudala and his family members. The mansion is locked up and no one dares to enter it because of the chatan. Kodumon Potti is a powerful sorcerer and he is called to trap the chatan and return it to its box. During the process, Kodumon manages to catch the chatan and chains it in an attic.
Thevan continues to stay at the mansion and befriends the cook and over time realises that the Kodumon Potti he sees is actually the chatan and that the Potti has died. This leads Thevan and the cook to plot to escape from the mansion by extinguishing a lamp in the basement that is connected to the chatan. Once the lamp goes out the chatan also ceases to exist.
What follows next is a series of edge of the seat thrill driven series of events that keep unravelling around you. You are all at once excited and scared for Thevan and the cook and hope the ending closes well. Do Thevan and the cook escape? What happens to Kodumon and the chatan? Watch it to know more….
First off, what strikes you about the movie is that it is shot in black and white to give it the 17th century feel as well as create a sense of horror and dread throughout the run time of the movie. Black and white film creates an aura of mystery, eeriness and enhances the visuals of the entire scene. So while you watch, you will realise that you are adding the colour in your mind to the drab scenery. This technique was absolutely the highlight of the movie. The second thing that catches your attention is the background score as well as the songs. They are simple folk music with minimum instruments and rely heavily on the vocals and the music director Christo Xavier sings a couple of the songs! Poomani malika is a song that’s stuck in my ear and refuses and move on! The other unique feature in the movie is the characters. There are exactly 5 characters in this movie! If you count the extras at the end, you may get a grand total of 9! Since the cast is small, each character then makes his/ her role large!
Mammooty is a legend for a reason and Bramayugam, it only furthers the extent of his artistry! He is a genius and carries his role with absolute commitment. His role is layered and as the layers reveal themselves, you cannot but help gasp in awe of the man behind the character. He can make you feel sorry for his state as a loner living in a mansion basking in the glory of a bygone era, yet you are faced with his arrogance of his stature and position that he continues to command over his crumbling mansion. You fear his menace and you feel despair for his losses. He gives so much to his character that you cannot relate the man to the art. He is his character! I am sure he is winning the National Award for this performance.
Arjun Ashokan as Thevan is an absolute delight. His simplicity, naivety, curiosity and his helplessness are all woven so beautifully into his character and you find yourself rooting for him and warning him and hoping he will listen to your pleas! And he delivers a stellar performance! Every step of the way!
The cinematography is surreal, and without much action, conveys so much. Light and dark interplay in the house that’s visually falling apart and the camera simply takes you along through the dusty and cobweb ridden passages, opening on to green unkempt gardens and creating an experience for the audience. Every detail is captured and every angle gives you a sense of you being in the same room and experiencing the smells and space!
I am a sucker for horror and this didn’t disappoint at all! I’d put this next to Tummbad!
A 10/10 movie!
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