Munnariyippu

There is a scene in the film Munnariyippu where our central protagonist C K Raghavan explains his philosophy or I should rather say his perspective about independence. To enjoy this film to its best, I think everyone should focus on the depth of that definition. Munnariyippu is a brilliantly scripted film that discusses a story which has a character whose perspectives about everything is quite different from a common man.

C K Raghavan is a convicted prisoner for murdering two females. A freelance journalist Anjali who comes to the central prison to help the prison superintendent in writing his autobiography becomes curious about this interesting prisoner and tries to explore the real story behind this man from his own pen. Anjali’s journey to know the intellectual Raghavan is what Munnariyippu focusing on.

Munnariyippu / warning is for those who try to forcefully access into someone else’s life or freedom.  The less than two hour long film’s most unique factor in my view was the climax. Almost everyone inside the theater would expect the writer to narrate the past of C K Raghavan. But Venu and Unni has made that portion in a very exciting manner that you will find sense in it when you patiently look into the clues Raghavan left for you from the beginning. It is also a take on the life of an ideologically lonely person’s life. Even though the direct warning is to the modern day media personalities, it can be conceived in a multi dimensional way.

Venu has made the film in an engaging manner. It’s not that totally offbeat film which tests the patience at times with long pauses. Venu has treated Munnariyippu in an uncompromised way that also fits into the domain of a commercial cinema. Star of the show for me was R Unni who wrote the philosophy of our unique Raghavan. To establish the character a strong write up was essential and Unni has done that brilliantly. In scripting too he has shown quality. Second half of the film has a lot of dragging elements and less philosophical charm. But when you analyze the climax bang, the sluggishness makes a lot of sense. Really good frames from the director and engaging edits from Beena Paul makes Munnariyippu more beautiful.  Applauds to the wonderfully composed minimal background score from Bijibal.

Even with his simple gestures, the actor in Mammootty mesmerizes you. Raghavan is a mix of innocence, freedom and philosophy. Mammootty has done a terrific job to make Raghavan a memorable character. Aparna Gopinath has also done a fabulous job as the journalist. Credit should go to her dubbing artist too, as the combined output was the one impressed me. Rest of the cast including Renji Panicker, Joy Mathew, Saiju Kuruppu, Kochu Preman, Sreeraman, Nedumudi Venu and many more in the long star cast showed a good on screen performance.

Overall, Munnariyippu will stay in your head for a long time if you have the calmness in mind to analyze the film. My rating is 4/5 and thumbs up for this story of a common man who found freedom in prison.