Pani movie sets a suspense tone early and manages to introduce various characters and plot threads that creates curiosity.
Ordinary Lives of Don and Siju
The viewers find random everyday events happening in the first 10 minutes of the movie. Two ordinary-looking men Don Sebastian (Sagar Surya) and Siju (Juniaz V.P.) who work in a garage decide to quit their jobs as they no longer feel attracted to the meager pay. A girl is shown calling Don repeatedly on his mobile while in the same background on the road, a man named Suresh is shown to be talking rudely on the phone about his property deal and how he won’t give up the deal to another man named Joshi (Anoop Krishnan).
Don and Siju’s Crime Revealed
Suresh meets another man and tells him to tell Giri about his land-related issue. In another scene at the Thrissur City Commissioner’s Office, the police commissioner is seen taking an update from his team and talking about the new gangsters that are originating from Thrissur itself. He pinpoints about how there is a failure in the system. Then the team comes up with a name called Warrant Davi (Bobby Kurian) who has a group of 400 boys with him to carry out his criminal activities. In the next scene, we see Don and Siju talking to Suresh near a closed ATM and immediately Don kills Suresh with Siju’s help. And guess what, the murder is covered up so well by the duo that they become the primary eyewitnesses of the case. This is how Joju George (director of the film) manages to hook the audience right from the start with a violence-theme-based setup.
Giri: A Local Gangster
In another scene, we get introduced to Giri (played by Joju George himself) who is riding his car listening to a devotional song, and conversing with his wife in a peaceful environment. Do you see the transition from a crime setup to a calm atmosphere? Giri is introduced to the viewers as a local gangster who loves his family and values peace and protection over violence. How Giri and his wife Gowri’s (Abhinaya) lives get intertwined with Don and Siju’s lives and how the movie eventually takes us to the themes of vengeance and power struggles form the crux of the story.
Performances by Ensemble Cast
So, there are several characters in the film performed by an ensemble cast of Abhaya Hiranmayi, Seema, Chandini Sreedharan, Alexander Prasanth, Sujith Shankar, Ranjith Velayudhan, Anoop Krishnan, Jayaraj Warrier, Babu Namboothiri, Bitto Davis, Jayashankar Karimuttam, Lanka Lakshmi, Sona Maria Abraham, Dr Merlet Ann Thomas, Rinosh George, Ramesh Girija, Ashraf Mallisery. Produced by M. Riaz Adam, Sijo Vadakkan, Pani movie is streaming now on Sony LIV OTT app in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi languages. Each of the actors or actresses who have worked in the film has managed to play their part well, thus making the story look naturally happening in front of us.
Whose Pani is better?
So, when we see Don and Siju walking carefree after committing a murder, the audience gets to know how criminally professional they are in their job/Pani. (Pani word in Malayalam means Job). The duo covers up their crime well and also makes the people passing by near the ATM aware that a death has taken place. Giri gets to know about the murder and the police are questioned by the media. But Don and Siju manage to steal the limelight by boldly telling the police officials that they were the first ones to notice the blood coming out of the ATM. This is just the first 30 minutes of the film that gives you enough premise if you want to continue watching the film or not.
So, there are several questions that the audience wants to know, which keeps them hooked to the film throughout. However, if you are okay to watch violent scenes and terrifying action sequences, then only you might be interested. If you want to watch the movie only for the performances, then skip those gory, adult scenes that may make you feel uncomfortable. After watching the entire film, I felt it was a typical revenge story that had nothing new to offer. However, when it comes to direction, I must say that Joju George has a good hold on the way the events unfold in the film to the viewers. Most of the time, he tries to get it right when it comes to the pace, timing of the events, and expression of various emotions by the actors throughout the film. So, it is Joju George as a director and actor’s Pani (Job) that wins.
Final Verdict
I go with a 2/5 rating for Pani movie. It is only a one-time watch. If you are okay with violent themes and enjoy revenge dramas, Pani might be worth watching. Otherwise, it might not be compelling enough to prioritize.
