Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri review: a complete package

Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri by Jean Markose has two narratives happening. You as a viewer would be excited to know how exactly will the movie merge these tow interestingly. Apart from that crucial merging zone, everything else in this fantasy drama is very much engaging. It is that kind of movie you tend to root for, even though you can sense some flaws.

Constable Kuttanpilla is an interesting character. He is afraid of ghosts, he loves Jackfruit and he hates crackers. His son in law has been forcing him to cut down the Jackfruit tree so that he can use it to finish the work of his home. We are shown another narrative where a bunch of people is traveling in a KSRTC bus to reach various destinations. Ultimately Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri shows us the link between these people and Kuttanpilla.

Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri in a way is a surprising experience. It starts off as a genuine comedy. Then it slips into a sarcastic satiric tone. After a while, a fantasy element drops in and it all ends on a convincing sentimental phase. A huge amount of appreciation has to be given to the technical team for pulling off the extremely difficult climax act which sort of recreates the whole Puttingal tragedy. At the end of the film, you can see how they actually did it. The Kuttanpilla story with family politics is also equally engaging.

The fantasy element is the linking element of Kuttanpilla and the other set of characters. The movie makes more sense when you look at it as a tale about haunted souls who want to get recognized for their life. If the movie had explored the second narrative more effectively, things would have been more intriguing. The cinematography was fine and the edits were precise. Sayanora debuts as a composer and it was indeed a good start as almost all the songs are memorable. The climax sequence is an output of well-coordinated work of fire and explosives team, production designer and visual effects team and they deserve a huge round of applauds.

Suraj Venjaramoodu owned the character completely and it is so good to see a talented actor exploring various characters to depict his versatility. Biju Sopanam plays a role much similar to his mini screen persona. Srinda was hilarious as the daughter. Midhun Ramesh, Sreekanth Murali, James Eliya, Rinsa etc. are there in the star cast who play the characters in the second narrative. The Kuttanpilla story has a lot of new faces and I must say that almost every one of them was able to create a good impression.

Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri sort of has multiple ingredients to make it feel like a package. The sentiments, the fantasy, and the black humor keep the movie in a thoroughly enjoyable phase. It would have been a much better experience if those two storylines got linked in a better way.