Meppadiyan – A Simple Yet Impactful Common Man’s Tale!
| English Title | Above-mentioned |
| Language | Malayalam (India) |
| Cast | Unni Mukundan, Saiju Kurup, Indrans, Aju Varghese, Anju Kurian, Kundara Johny, Kottayam Ramesh, Sreejith Ravi, Kalabhavan Shajon, Nisha Sarang and others |
| Year and Runtime | 2022 | 2h 4m |
| Genre and Rating | Drama/Thriller | Suitable for all ages |
Hope is what drives us forward in desperate times. No big ambition, but hoping to live a normal trouble free life. What if it turns into a nightmare for no fault of ours? Of late, Malayalam cinema has offered intriguing thrillers, complex relationship dramas, artsy hyper intelligence material, but somehow, simplicity and relatability were missing. #Home was a welcome deviation from this trend. Meppadiyan too is a simple relatable story. It portrays the struggle of a common man.
Jayakrishnan, the protagonist of Meppadiyan, is a simpleton, a compassionate soul who does not know how to say ‘NO’. He is the typical innocent character that you will find in a ‘Sathyan Anthikad’ movie who does what his heart says. He is an automobile mechanic from a middle class backdrop who lives his life peacefully. Jayakrishnan has a loving mother and a fiancé who cares about him.
A land deal puts a Common Man’s life in Jeopardy!
Meppadiyan starts slow and meanders a bit initially, but picks up pace once the story unfolds. To help his sister, Jayakrishnan gets into into a real-estate deal when Varkey, an over ambitious localite persuades him. What seems like an easy money making deal turns Jayakrishnan’s peaceful life into a turmoil. How he deals with the situation forms the rest of the story.
Meppadiyan stars Unni Mukundan as Jayakrishnan. He gives an honest, subtle next-door guy performance. He completely got into the character of Jayakrishnan and handled the emotional aspects very well. The registrar office sequence is worth mentioning. The shift from an overly innocent person to the one who is smart enough to survive in the cunning world was worth watching and done convincingly. In that aspect, Meppadiyan has shades of movies like ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ and ‘Evidam Swargamanu’.
Meppadiyan also has good supporting casts with everyone doing justice to their roles. Most of the characters were well placed – Especially the non-cliché police role by Sreejith Ravi, Aju Varghese as a cunning friend, Kottayam Ramesh, Saiju Kurup, Johny, Indrans, Shajon, Nisha and Manohari. The fiancé character felt underutilized. Director Vishnu Mohan has done a fine job in making the film worth watching. After a slow start, the movie picks pace and second half offers genuine gripping moments.
Meppadiyan is a simple yet engrossing tale of an ordinary man learning the harsh realities of life and surviving thereon.
Meppadiyan is streaming on Amazon Prime
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Image source: Public Domain
Video Source: YouTube
12 Comments
Gayathri Sujaya Babu
Another great review from you Prakash. I already watched it in the theatre but you have just made me feel like seeing it again 😍
Prakash Thampi
Thanks Gayathri!
Ramesh Nair
Good review.. Looking forward to watching it soon
Prakash Thampi
Thanks da. Definitely worth watching!
Unni Krishnan
Would like to watch this movie after reading your review
Prakash Thampi
Thanks etta! Worth watching!
Sita
A simple yet great review as usual ..what I liked most is the way you outlined it without giving the whole story away…coz I’m yet to see it…good work 👍
Prakash Thampi
Thanks mami. It’s a simple movie worth watching!
Deepak Mohan Nair
Watched the movie, didn’t have high hopes for it. Felt frustrated that bad things kept happening to good people bit was relieved to see that Karma struck back in the end. Was a simple yet engrossing tale of a simple man.
Nice review as always.
Prakash Thampi
Thanks Deepu! Yes, a simple yet engrossing one!
Anil GS
Had to watch the movie first and then respond. You gave a good portrayal of Jayakrishnan’s character, which many of us can relate with. Also, the subtle transition of JK from a good soul to a ‘smart’ one has been brought out well. “Meppadian” underlines the idea that a movie can be entertaining at the same time realistic.
Prakash Thampi
Thanks maman