22. MADANOLSAVAM (2023)

 

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Comedy/Political Satire

The satirical comedy starring Suraj Venjaramoodu , directed by  debutant Sudheesh Gopinath and written by Ratheesh Balakrishna Poduval, speaks about the tale of Madanan Mallakkara,whose life turns upside down after being chosen as the left wing's dummy candidate to run against the right wing candidate Madanan Manjakkaran. In keeping with Ratheesh's previous films, Madonolsavam blends irony and satire in each and every scene, as is clear from the opening sequence, in which the film manages to amuse and provoke thought just by scrolling through some random news footage. The film brilliantly illustrates how Madanan's life changes from that of a naive, apolitical commoner to that of a wise, opportunistic, and somewhat political man, who comes to his senses about the unjust political scenario that decimates him and his family and how he manages to take advantage of the situations.
 

Although the film does a good job of highlighting the contradictions and problematic elements of contemporary politics, somewhere along the way, we as viewers would start to feel like this isn't the same kind of movie we have seen before or get a gut feeling that this is what's going to happen next. As I've already mentioned, the North Malabar setting and the comedies that were produced are strikingly similar to Ratheesh's earlier works, such as NNa than Case Kodu and Android Kunjappan, to the point where the creator's style needs to be reinvented and this time lacks the finesse and punch in contrast to the earlier ones.

 Even in highly predictable situations, there are some truly captivating details that keep us intrigued, such as the Namboodiri Brothers, the quotation team, who are a rewriting of all-too-common Brahmin families in impoverishment.  Suraj deserves praise for managing the proceedings almost entirely on his own from the beginning to the end, and for the first time in a long time, we get to see the perfect blend of Suraj, who can handle comic and emotional scenes with equal prowess. The Namboodiri brothers, PP KunhiKrishanan, Bhama Arun, and the actress who portrayed Madanan's aunt were all delightful to watch. Although Babu Antony's role appears to be strong and unique on paper, his performance opportunities were few.

 In a nutshell, Madonolsavam can be seen as a potent sociopolitical commentary; it has its ups and downs and undoubtedly has its moments; however, there are times when it lacks impact.

   My opinion: Watchable