Family values

It is to Blessy's credit that his actors end up looking exactly as characters on screen, even though they are the mega stars of Malayalam Cinema. After creating picture perfect families in Kazhcha and Thanmathra (I still do not agree with the casting of Meera Vasudev), Blessy does it once again with "Palunku". Lakshmi Sharma is a refreshing change and she performs as if she has lived her entire life in the hillocks of Idukki. Baby Nazria and Baby Niveditha are charming. Mammootty has always scored when he plays the illiterate villager, it is no different this time. His performance during the climax tugs at your heartstrings.

However, everything is not hunky- dory in this enterprise. The film works till Monichan, the protagonist moves to the city with family from his village, but during the second half, the script loses most of it's steam. The sequences are disjointed, you are confused whether Soman Pillai (played by Jagathy Sreekumar to perfection) is a villain or not, you wonder about the poet (Thambi Antony, overboard) who makes an appearance out of nowhere and you feel irritated with the teacher (Nedumudi Venu) who talks and moves around in a vague manner.

There is no clarity as to how Monichan's daughter would have fallen into Asalappan's trap! It is quite unconvincing considering the fact that the girl is even shown avoiding a teenage boy who winks at her in an earlier part of the film. What works to the film's advantage is the characterization and performances of Mammootty and Lakshmi Sharma. Together, they elevate the film to a totally different level and you end up forgetting most of its short comings.

Cinematography is another big- plus for Palunku and the minimalistic Art direction supports the narrative. Mohan Sithara's music is soothing. Blessy could have focussed a little more on the script and avoided some of the gaping short comings.

To sum up, Palunku is good cinema which could have been great, had Blessy been more careful. Definitely, a one time watch!