Nadodi Mannan

When compared to the recent Dileep films that had a structured formula, Nadodi Mannan is definitely a pinch better than those. It’s a formula that is almost a mix of script writer Krishna Poojappura’s Janapriyan and Dileep’s Lion. But sadly the film lacks the quality to impress you completely with its content.

The plot revolves around Padmanabhan, a native of Palakkad. Padmanabhan arranges people for political parties and similar organizations to make their rallies or functions grand. The story here narrates the events that happens in the life of Padmanabhan after he comes to the capital Trivandrum for “Professional ” needs.

Frankly the first half offers some good moments of humor which will definitely make you smile. But still, it’s not devoid of imperfections or clichés. The first half builds the character as a loyal soul who reacts against injustice. The caliber of Dileep to convey this kind of humor has been used quite nicely and we don’t find the movie that annoying in those areas. As it progresses to the second half, everything goes quite unimpressive. The entry and the administration of the character Padmanabhan as the mayor will surely remind you of director Joshy’s Lion which had Dileep as the central protagonist. It’s almost like they just changed the first half of Lion. The same tactics to become Mayor, same personal loses, same revenge pattern and also a climax that looked so unreal. While Sringaravelan’s dialog humor was annoying in the second half, Nadodi Mannan fortunately doesn’t irritate you with such overdose.

Viji Thampi doesn’t show any great quality in the making and the formulaic script is presented in a conventional and predictable way. The lack of quality and abundant usage in the case visual effects made the movie look bizarre at many occasions. The screenplay just stitches the scripts that I mentioned above and produces a simple equation. Dialogs from Krishna Poojappura still lack that realism. Nothing so charming about the cinematography or edits. Songs were average and the background score was poor.

Dileep is quite comfortable as the Mayor Padmanabhan and he easily fits in to these kinds of roles. More than Ananya’s acting; the design of the character was the annoying thing. Mythili and Archana Kavi are there in totally useless roles. Nedumudi Venu once again portrays a royal character. Suraj Venjaramood occasionally comes in (date problems I guess). Janardhanan doesn’t have much to impress. A big list of cameos are there including Sai Kumar, Salim Kumar, Shammi Thilakan, Sunil Sukhada, Ponnamma Babu and many more. But it was once again the villain who had the most interesting role and Marati actor Sayaji Shinde did it quite nicely (credits to the dubbing artist too). The character was definitely a stereo type, but I liked the madness.

So to sum it up, it’s a below average comedy. The rating is 2/5 from my side. There are jokes in the film to keep you engaged, but I was not in for a comedy show. Those of you who thought Dileep’s recent films were enjoyable can surely have a taste of this.