Pani Review | The Remorseless Antagonists Elevate This Usual Gangster Flick to Another Level

The idea of the movie Pani, the directorial debut of actor Joju George, is pretty slim and, to an extent, guessable. But what really elevates this film is the realness in the character dynamics and construction of the remorseless villains. The story here tweaks the usual system versus the mafia template by putting the gangsters in a spot of bother as there is a new set of antagonists who don’t have anything to lose. With the cat-and-mouse game between the main players getting a bit of psychological shade, Pani manages to be a thoroughly engaging watch.

Giri and his team are this underworld setup in Thrissur that has their own ways of doing their business and helping the needy. The main players of the gang, including Giri, are living a happy family life. Parallely, we see the story of these two young brats who want to be the next big thing, taking up a quotation job. Things took a different turn when these two had an encounter with Giri, which wasn’t a pleasant one. How the reaction to that catapults into something huge is what we see in Pani.

Gangster movies have an established generic structure where you will anticipate the downfall and rise of the hero. Pani is no different from that pattern. I think even Joju George is aware of that reality, and what he is trying to do is what we have seen in successful action films of late- infuse emotions convincingly into the script. So, in order to make the final act of the film convincing, he uses occasions that are happening along with the main event to establish the relationships. We get to know that the gang members have a family-like dynamic. We are shown the romantic equation between Giri and his wife, Gauri. We get an idea about how each character would respond if a certain situation arises.

Then, the storytelling shifts towards the antagonists. So even from a cliched point of view, the most prominent gang in Thrissur that has direct access to the police, trying to find noobie gangsters is an easy job. I think the catchy aspect of Pani is those noobies. When Davi tries to threaten Don, it is not his love for someone that is making him respond. It is the ego. And just when you think the boys will retract, their psychopathic traits make it more of a mind game than a usual fight. This character trait offers the script a justifiable reason to stretch the film to a bigger showdown. The events that happen, which pave the way towards the climax, have a very realistic feel. When the commissioner says the city is under high alert, we could really feel that.

As a maker, Joju George is not really going after typical heroism. Yes, he is a huge man, and when he does the Mohanlal-ish fight, there is that rooted swagger. But the character of Giri is mostly in a vulnerable situation. The set pieces in this movie, the chasings featuring the high-performance cars and that bike, have a terrific theatrical feel. When Joju George drives that car with no windshield, we can feel the speed. And Manu Antony has edited those spins and drifts, maintaining space continuity, which makes those action blocks even more real. The background score is on that typical mass elevation pitch, and it was done neatly.

As I already said, the character of Giri is mostly in a vulnerable state. The character design felt like a compilation of some of the prominent shades of Joju George. As a husband, he will sort of remind us of Madhuram. Then, the revenge mode is something we have seen in most of his action films as a hero. Abhinaya has delivered a convincing performance. The dubbing was done in a seamless way, and the chemistry of Giri and Gauri really makes us root for them. Sagar Surya as the eccentric Don and Junize VP as the restrained Siju are really the surprise packages of Pani. Lack of guilt in their acts needed to look convincing for the movie to work, and the duo will make you feel like slapping them. The film’s cast is elaborate, with familiar and new names portraying various characters, and the good thing was that none of them felt like an out-of-place casting.

Pani is not a plot-heavy film. But like Kill or even John Wick, it manages to trigger the audience by showing the demonic side of the bad guys, and the final event that puts an end to their psychopathic stint felt like a brutal and fitting reaction. The bloodshed is kind of unsettling. So I would say watch it only if you are comfortable with the kind of films I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph. Pani is not a movie that is going to surprise you with something you have never seen before. But it sort of surprises you by showing something you have seen in a grittier and real way.