Pallichattambi
Action Drama Malayalam
Small-town schemer Chattambi survives by staying ahead of his neighbors through risky plans. When his plans backfire, he has to depend on extricating himself from the mess he created.
| Cast: | Tovino Thomas, Kayadu Lohar, Vijayaraghavan, Sudheer Karamana, T G Ravi, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Johny Antony, Nishanth Sagar, Eldho Mathew, Prasanth Alexander, Nibraz Noushad |
|---|---|
| Director: | Dijo Jose Antony |
| Writer: | Suresh Babu |
| Editor: | Sreejith Sarang |
| Camera: | Tijo Tomy |
Guild Reviews
Tovino Thomas’ ahistorical period drama undone by heavy-handed approach
Subtlety has never been one of filmmaker Dijo Jose Antony’s core strengths, but even by his standards, the choices he makes in his fourth film, Pallichattambi, are quite odd. Like, the idea to introduce a much-feared antagonist by having him kill his pet dog with a fork, just because it was barking a little too much. The act was also to send a message to two men who walked in with unfavourable information during his dinnertime. The film’s treatment of history also follows a similar pattern, of landing a sharp fork at pages of history. Set amid the tumultuous period of the Vimochana Samaram (Liberation Struggle), led by revanchist forces against the land and educational reforms brought in by Kerala’s first Communist government in the late 1950s, the film’s protagonist is Pothan (Tovino Thomas), a strongman chosen by the Church to lead the ‘Christopher Sena’ to resist the Communists.
Tovino Thomas fights hard, but the script doesn't
A film’s mood is established in its initial few minutes. Pallichattambi opens with massive hype surrounding a feudal lord who oppresses people, without revealing his face. The narrative follows how the Church stood against the communist government in the 1950s, highlighting the history of the Liberation Struggle. Set in 1958 in the village of Kaaniyar, the story follows the Church as it seeks a strong protector against the rising influence of Communist workers. They find Krishnan Pillai, also known as Pallichattambi (the church rowdy), as their unlikely messiah. Pillai arrives in Kaaniyar as Pothan Christopher with the sole aim of halting the spread of communism.
Over-Written, Over-Edited, Carried By Tovino Thomas’ Generational Charm
In 1957, in Kerala, the world’s first democratically elected communist government took shape. They instituted land reforms that set the landscape bleeding red. The Church was peeved. They saw the Communists as the very embodiment of Antichrist, encroaching on their land. Dijo Jose Antony’s Pallichattambi is set in these ensuing years, where the Christians in the fictional village of Kaaniyaar, on the border between Kerala and Karnataka, strap up, hiring a goon to protect them.
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