If you look at characters in Jithu Madhavan movies, the mental health of certain characters is something that controls the plots of those films. The loneliness of Sinu in Romancham and Rangannan in Aavesham sort of had an impact in giving structure to those stories. When it comes to the third script of Jithu Madhavan, Painkili, which is directed by Sreejith Babu, this trait of building something humorous around the mental health of characters is repeated. But it is done in a more obvious manner and the film lingers on to the humorous bit far too long. Despite the momentary humor keeping us occupied in the loud developments in the story, Painkili is drifting from one thing to another far too quickly.
Suku Sujith Kumar is our main man. He is this old-school Facebook guy who thinks posting cringe-worthy literature on Facebook would make him cool. At one point, situations in his life put him in a space where he had to get a false mental health certificate, and around the same time, a girl named Sheeba entered his life who had issues with her family and was constantly eloping to avoid her marriage. The events that happen in the lives of these two are what we see in Painkili.
If you look at the backstory of Ranga in Aavesham, it sort of gives you an idea about his obsession with the boys. A lot of the madness makes sense when you backtrack the story after knowing that aspect. In the case of Painkili, there was a scope to give us a better idea about the kind of loneliness both Suku and Sheeba were going through. But somewhere, I felt the makers were really afraid of the movie dropping the momentum, and a lot of overdone humor hijacks the film’s emotional core. The showdown between Suku and Sheeba towards the end and the sacrificial act of Suku just didn’t have the kind of emotional impact it was supposed to have, largely because there weren’t enough events to lead them to that phase.
We have seen the rough version and funny version of characters performed by Sajin Gopu in his limited filmography, and this one was actually very well-balanced. The eccentricity Jithu Madhavan has assigned to the characters and also to the treatment of the film is not something easy to pull off, and I think even in those overdone portions, Sajin Gopu was trying his best to keep things afloat. In areas where the character is in a relatively less eccentric zone, Anaswara Rajan’s performance was fine. When it comes to those portions where she has to emphasize the oddness of Sheeba Baby, the performance fizzles, and in combination scenes with Sajin, one can clearly see the difference.
Aavesham fame Roshan Shanavas gets a full-length role in the film, and he shared good chemistry with Sajin Gopu. Chandu Salimkumar was fine in his character. Content creator Jisma Vimal delivers a memorable performance in her acting debut. Lijo Jose Pellissery channels all his anger into the character offered to him. Abu Salim gets a funny role in the film. I can’t find the name of the actress who performed the part of Suku’s mother. Her performance was excellent.
The pitch of the humor of this movie is a very delicate one. When the trailer of the film dropped, there were a few comments that said “overacting.” The film’s theme is such that Sreejith Babu has to opt for a louder tone. But the problem I felt with the movie was that it was in that loud zone for far too long, and there are episodes in the film, especially in the second half, where we are clueless about why this scene has to be this loud. Some of the reactions of characters, the overnight change in attitude, etc., just didn’t make much sense, and it was like laughing at the jokes, especially dialogue humor, rather than laughing at the overall humor they created.
I wouldn’t call Painkili a tacky film that never had the scope to be entertaining. The conflicts in the film are definitely peculiar, and the decision to make a humorous movie that has these characters and conflicts makes sense. But like I said, the margin for error, when you handle such subjects, is very slim, and in the case of Painkili, the efforts to pamper the subject with humor lead to scenes and situations that sort of feel overdone.
In the case of Painkili, the efforts to pamper the subject with humor lead to scenes and situations that sort of feel overdone.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
