`Makante Achan' is the movie that invited interests mostly due to the casting coup made in the form of immensely talented Sreenivasan and his son Vineeth Sreenivasan, that too in the company of ever fabulous Suhasini Maniratnam. The movie echoes the irony and aftermath of unfair prejudices held by keralite parents who always believes that securing high ranks in various entrance tests hold the key to their children's success. A well intentioned film, the thought is put against two diametrically opposite persons, a strict upright father and his son who loves to make big as a singer.
Starting out as a well made film, not pulling many punches as it gives you a heavily simplified look, 'Makante Achan' is all about a simple couple, Viswanathan a principled, incorruptible village officer and his wife Rema, who are living happily with their two children. Viswanathan always dreams to make his son an engineer and is taking all pains to make him successful in the entrance tests. His son Manu who is more interested in becoming a singer finds the continuous coaxing for studies from his father, too unbearable. They often mocks each other but once it goes overboard and Manu walks out of the house to prove himself, before his father .Into this tense atmosphere is the arrival of Himavalchaithaya, a fake Swamy who has his own intentions in the town.
The movie unfolds in a leisurely pace according to the strict grammar of a family flick and does not offer heavy twists or shifts, apart from the Swamy episode. All the characters in the movie support the corresponding actor's cliched screen images, in such graciousness that we can very well predict what all can happen to each of them. And thus Sreenivasan is here again with a wit and barbed tongue while Suhasini, as expected is as the typical Kerala house wife, often smiling and weeping with elan. Vineeth is as usual, an adventurous, funloving son while Jagathy, once again proves his versatility and makes a cake walk as a crooked swamy. Salimkumar after a long time has something to do in this movie, than being the hero'es man Friday, all the way.
The true brilliant part of the movie is its dialogues by Samjad Narayanan which is crisp and cleverly articulated .While the down point of the movie is the climax portions which are cliched and melodramatic. They are shown to their fullest languorously, demanding you to ask for the end credit role to come up at the earliest .Though the reality show sequences towards the end appear plastic, devoid of sprightliness and associated tensions, V M Vinu in direction and Manoj Pillai's cinematography has almost succeeded to make the movie an above average affair.
Don't expect any miracle when you step into theatres for `Makante Achan', but at least reaching near to the expectations is itself a big bonus for a present day Molly wood movie. And that is what this movie on generation gap offers, largely depending upon the witticism of the famous father -son duo.
