Peruchazhi

In the beginning of the film, they have asked the audience to switch off their mobile phone and logic. However, asking us to imagine USA as a glorified Kerala was something that was beyond the territory of “switching off logic “. With only dialogue humor working out in scattered portions, Peruchazhi from director Arun Vaidyanathan is a disappointment.

The story is about Jaganathan who comes to America along with his two friends as per the demand of a Malayalee who is managing the election campaign for a candidate named John Kory. The illiterate (not completely) Jagan’s attempt to make John win this election is what the film telling us. (For more details, check the trailer).

Well the concept in many ways had the scope to make Peruchazhi a Munnabhai of Malayalam cinema. But it fails with its very delicate approach to treat the story as a mere festival entertainer where the fans of the star would celebrate each moment. Too much of exploitation of Mohanlal’s filmography was there and some will surely bore you. I do not understand the point in asking us to switch off logic when the cinema is discussing about the “smartness” of its title character.

Arun Vaidhyanathan’s attempt was to place a story that could have been smart, in a logic less land and that mix just doesn’t work well. Screenplay is uneven and some festive mixes to give us the old Lalettan does not suit the movie. I hope American people won’t feel offended for showing them as such idiots (duplicate machines for such an important purpose ??! Come on!). Cinematography and music are somewhat okay. Edits were nice. Sad to hear such slutty lyrics. Poor visual effects.

Well the only thing that made the film passable was the performance of Mohanlal. Can’t say that it was phenomenal or something, but the star did well. The typical humor of Baburaj helps the movie a lot in the first half. Aju Varghese does not have any significance. Vijay Babu is just about okay. Ragini Nandwani was pretty. I liked the performance of Mukesh a lot. Sean James Sutton’s performance was somewhat an over acting show.

I appreciate the sincere mind to give spotlight to some unsung sports heroes. However, Peruchazhi overall disappointed me. The rating is a very generous 2.5/5. The fans of the star can watch and celebrate this movie from a houseful theater. But for the neutral it’s something around that Hmmmm.