Humour in free flow, with impeccable timing, could turn even poorly written films into experiences worth sitting through. But, when the humour is forced, with the effort to make us laugh painfully visible in every other scene, it can bring down even a film with a decent idea. In Sreejith Babu’s debut film Painkili, written by Jithu Madhavan, the attempts to create comedy, except in a few scenes, are akin to the efforts to push out the last bit of toothpaste from a near-empty tube.
It’s not just big-budget Malayalam action thrillers such as Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan and Unni Mukundan’s A-rated superhit Marco that have had a huge hype going on before their releases. Even smaller films with a talented cast, sans any superstars, seem to be hugely anticipated among the fans. A recent example was director Sreejith Babu’s Painkili, which had Aavesham and Romancham fame Sajin Gopu and Anaswara Rajan, who was a part of Rekhachithram that you can stream now.
After a short theatrical run, the quirky comedy, scripted by Aavesham director Jithu Madhavan, is now all set for OTT release – that too on two leading streaming platforms ahead of Vishu.
The film revolves around police inspector Santhosh, played by Basil Joseph, who is assigned to investigate the murder of Babu, a wealthy and influential man feared by the villagers. Soubin Shahir takes on the role of Kannan, a worker at the toddy shop where the murder takes place. As Santhosh delves deeper into the case, the story progresses with twists and turns, keeping the audience guessing about the true culprit.
