Padmini Movie Review: Light entertainment, well-served 

I admit to feeling a bit of trepidation when I saw the promos of Padmini. The first thought was, "This doesn't look like a Senna Hegde film. Why is he doing a 90s-style entertainer?" But aren't we being unfair when we expect the man behind Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam to make the same kind of (*cough* realistic, realistic *cough*) film every time? I admire a filmmaker who dares to try different cinematic exercises each time, the outcome notwithstanding.

Director: Senna Hegde

Cast: Kunchacko Boban, Aparna Balamurali, Madonna Sebastian, Sajin Cherukayil, Vincy Aloshious

After the lacklustre crime caper, 1744 White Alto, we find, in Padmini, Hegde's most lighthearted film. I say this because even in the 'feel-good' Thinakalazhcha Nishchayam, there are moments where one or two characters feel glum and become prone to angry outbursts. That's not to say Rameshan (Kunchacko Boban), the college professor in Padmini, doesn't ever feel the blues. He does, but Hegde has couched his predicaments in ample wrappings of humour. And this approach works because Kunchacko Boban (putting on his best charming self) has the backing of well-cast supporting actors adept at balancing Rameshan's 'darkness' with 'light' in the most opportune moments.

Padmini has a remarkable quality that some recent Malayalam comedies don't have: the ability to make even the lines spoken by a one-minute character memorable. I don't remember even Romancham, the first big hit of the year, having such lines. I recall almost every background character in Padmini. It's like those 90s films you watch with your folks and then discuss them afterwards and erupt in laughter when you suddenly remember that background character who said something funny (sometimes offscreen).

The college principal with a broken nose. The unpaid wedding photographer or his assistant who suddenly feels 'worthy'. The gossiping tea stall patrons. Rameshan's younger brother, who is prone to sudden online 'diversions' in the middle of an important assignment. The funny, well-meaning judge from Malabar (who may or may not be related to the judge from Nna Thaan Case Kodu). Padmini sees Hegde collaborating with Deepu Pradeep, who co-wrote the brilliant Kunjiramayanam. In Padmini, they tread a path never taken before. I liked how a female name -- the film's title -- is given to the male protagonist after an embarrassing incident in the film's opening (I don't want to ruin the surprise). And what happens when a man nicknamed 'Padmini' crosses paths with a woman named Padmini?

It isn't the sort of situation Mammootty experienced in the film Hitler, mind you. Rameshan is already going through the pain that afflicts most unmarried males in their 30s. If you are an unmarried male in his 30s, you could find something to take away from it, but Padmini isn't necessarily the kind to aim for intellectual depth. Well, different strokes for different folks and all that. Much of the humour comes courtesy of competent actors like Anand Manmadhan (as Rameshan's brother-in-law and sounding board), Sajin Cherukayil (as an affluent mattress brand owner who owns every scene he is in) -- and, of course, all the characters I mentioned previously.

Padmini is also a story of all its women. They are not on the posters for nothing. All three women -- Smrithi (Vincy Aloshious), Sreedevi (Aparna Balamurali), and Padmini (Madonna Sebastian) -- have a role to play in the emotional journey of Rameshan. By 'emotional journey', I'm not implying Padmini is an acting exercise. You won't find Kunchacko Boban bawling his eyes out like Fahadh Faasil in that scene from Maheshinte Prathikaram. Each of these women has reasons for behaving the way they do. Smrithi is the unpredictable, hyperactive sort; Sreedevi is the lawyer with zero success rate but shows up every day in court because survival matters; Padmini is the classy, reserved type burdened by pressures from home.

Of course, through the course of the film, one might have certain expectations of which of these women Rameshan would end up with, but going by Kunchacko Boban's recent selection of stories, the predictable route isn't likely, that's for certain. I'm not sure the finale, albeit decent, isn't as effective as the similar trick Hegde did in Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam. But I've no complaints about the actor who makes the cameo appearance.

Oh, and the interval and climax 'punch' is certainly worthy of mention. I cracked up. One of the merits of Padmini is its presentation, be it the placement of some comical flourishes or Sreeraj Raveendran's cheerful imagery which doesn't go overboard with the pastels or sunlight. When some of today's Malayalam filmmakers claim to "pay homage" to the 90s, rarely do they get it right. Padmini is the rare kind.