A bunch of well made shots, not even a single praiseworthy sequence, heavily over the top and colorful costumes that were least needed, a pathetic plot with narratives that meander without any purpose-these all can define 'Pullimaan', the new movie from Kalabhavan Mani which is more than a torture for any viewer.
A movie which can definitely be a dictionary for what all are the don'ts in sensible film making, 'Pullimaan' seriously lacks serious imagination, perspective, and a director in its helm.
Debutant director Anil K Nair doesn't show any attempt to put together any semblance of a plot. His script lines cast Kalabhavan Mani as a village singer Kunjunni (Kalabhavan Mani), whose past is a mystery. But villagers love him to such an extent that they never sleep or awakes without his song. The villagers hate to the same extent, one rogue named Kaalan Vasu (Ponvannan), a womaniser who is feared by all in the picturesque hamlet.
With the arrival of a gypsy group into that village of Perumannur, Kunjunni develops an interest for the gypsy girl Radha (Meera Nandan) .In the meantime, Vasu hears about that the new beauties in the village and asks Kunjunni to get her for him. But after repeated pleading from Kunjunni, Vasu turns a good leaf and leaves her for Kunjunni. The villagers try to get Kunjunni married with Radha but her father Raghavan refuses to give his daughter to an orphan. Again Kaalan Vasu makes a grand entry, this time as a saviour to Kunjunni, pressuring everyone to marry Radha with Kunjunni.
There are more nonsensical stories in store in the later half ,with dumb situations, asinine characters and flat built ups.
The biggest calamity of this no-show seems to be its dialogues, that goes as inane as it could be and could have been handled better by an eighth standard student with a better understanding of regular cinema. The flaws in the direction department are too much that it may take another page to mention the majors. The editor Sreenivas seems to have devised some new grammar in assembling shots and goes for lengthy fade outs in every possible chance. The costume department also falters big time, giving the most latest of the designs to the gypsy girl and the village singer.
The only mentionable positive of the movie seems to be its cinematography by Rajaretnam. Eventhough, the grading was over the board with lighting continuity jumping all the way, some good framing which captured the essence of the immensely beautiful locales was the sole thing that may tend the viewer to travel a very long 120 minutes. A couple of songs by Sharreth including the lullaby song and ''Mallipoove'' stays in our mind, while the others seems to be overworked with complicated tunes.
In the performance side, it is Ponvannan who comes up with a remember able feat, though his character which was presented with the most buildups, disappear in the movie in mysterious circumstances halfway. Mani appears younger than usual in a tailor made role and makes a cakewalk through a non-demanding role. Meera Nandan and Nedumudi Venu have nothing more to do than to offer their regular outputs.
`Pullimaan' hardly displays any level of competence, expected of a drama or a romantic movie. With no elements of tension or relief, the movie ends up as a pretty confused product which can be overlooked by serious viewers.
