‘Paani’ Movie Review: Joju George’s gritty drama works despite its simple revenge plot
When a gruesome murder occurs in broad daylight at the beginning of a film, one expects the murder to be the big event around which everything else revolves. But Joju George’s the water Starting with a really small fight that Don (Sagar Surya) and Siju (VPJunize), two murderers, get into in a supermarket later in the day.
In the few sequences leading up to that supermarket incident, we sense that something has changed among the newcomers to the world of crime, giddy with excitement over the money they’re about to get from their first hit. They have tasted blood and now there is no going back. Only, this time, their paths cross with Giri (Joju George), part of a mafia syndicate that rules over the city of Thrissur. But the animal instincts that kicked in would turn the two into hunters instead of prey.
Joju George, making his debut as screenwriter and director, anchors the entire film on this peculiar mindset that guides their every move. Although the waterOn the surface of what appears to be a simple revenge story, it’s this focus on their unpredictable behavior that drives the film. No fortress seems safe, none too big to strike. They seem aware of this dynamic, when one of them tells the other that they can easily see the big family and their syndicate when they are too young.
water (malayalam)
director: Joju George
Staring: Joju George, Abhinay, Sagar Surya, VIPjunize, Prashant Alexander, Bobby Kurian, Sujith Shankar, Seema, Abhaya Hiranmoyi, Chandini Sreedharan
run-time: 143 min
story line: Two newcomers to the world of crime cross paths with an established mafia syndicate in a city
On the other hand, the internal dynamics of the mafia syndicate are masterfully drawn, giving us a sense of how they came together in college and ended up as a family. Giri and the characters played by Prashant Alexander, Bobby Kurian, Sujeet Shankar and Abhaya Hiranmayi, who make up the gang, all seem at ease with each other which can only come after hanging out together for years. The intensity of Giri’s relationship with his partner Gauri (Actress) is also revealed in a few scenes, which lends emotional depth to the latter.
The Syndicate is presented as maintaining a peaceful exterior, having grown large enough to delegate dirty work to their minions scattered across the city. With their people in the right place, including their cousin Kalyani (Chandini Sridharan) as ACP, they can maintain their respectable position in society as builders and real estate traders. Obviously they have their share of crime behind them, but the film presents the scheme of things in a way that makes us root for them.
Joju, as writer and director, has quite a grip on the progression of events that keep coming at almost the right pace and timing. We are in a rivetingly staged car chase;; Before the climax, leaving a big explosion for later. Some of the blood and gore may be a little difficult to handle for certain audiences. So are the gratuitously graphic scenes of sexual assault. In another film, the use of sexual assault as one of the reasons for men’s revenge is depressing.
In his directorial debut, Joju delivers a gritty, well-executed drama that works despite the revenge story at its core.
Currently, water is running in the theater
has been published – October 25, 2024 01:36 pm IST