Pani Review: Joju George’s Debut As Director Won’t Disappoint You
Pani, directed and written by Malayalam actor Joju George, is another addition to the must watch gangster-crime thriller movies. Joju George, also the lead actor in Pani, who is debuting as director with this mafia movie, has made it sure that the movie and the director has made a good entry into the genre that often fails many if it is not handled with care.
Like in any other gangster and crime films, Pani also focuses on the depiction of crime, friendship, morality, and power, with an emphasis on the representation of the criminal as complex anti-hero. Pani examines the intersections of societal structure, corruption, and the criminal underworld with the director and screenwriter (both Joju George) employ various narrative and cinematic techniques to explore themes of loyalty, ambition, friendship, love, commitment and moral ambiguity.
One of the key elements in Pani, which is based out of Thrissur City in Kerala, is the picturisation of crime itself, which often serves as a mirror to societal fears and fascination with power and lawlessness. The movie starts with the two teenagers leaving their workplace to find their place in the power elite, to start with a crime.
Later in the movie, their previous employer reveals that he had told them the stories of the gangsters in the city – which will tell us why they wanted to be like that. But, what is intriguing is that the City of God (2002 Brazilian film) like ease the characters carry them forward as budding criminals. Sagar Surya as Don Sebastian and Junaiz VP as Siju KT, from the first crime onwards, then go on to paint the screen with blood, literally till the end of the movie.
On the other hand, established syndicates who live a normal life with their ‘underworld’ real estate and other activities put on to test as this invincible force takes form. Classic films like The Godfather (1972) and Scarface (1983) portray criminal enterprises not as isolated acts of deviance but as highly organised systems that parallel legitimate businesses, same as the one run here by Giri (Joju George) and his friends donned by Prashanth Alexander, Sujith Shankar, Bobby Kurian. Contrary to this, the surprise act of some unknown suddenly changes the course of the movie with a collision that happens between Giri and the boys.
The visual language in the film —gritty urban settings, shadowy interiors and characters, and stylised violence—conveys the glamour and brutality of the criminal lifestyle.
The linear story telling is in a way helps the developments inside the story and makes the advance of the story effortless. That is one aspect aids Joju to emerge as good director. He has control over everything, story and direction.
Read also | “Absolutely Unmissable”: Anurag Kashyap On Joju George’s Directorial Debut ‘Pani’
As in the regular gangster films, the main antagonist characters in rise from poverty, suggesting crime as a reaction to economic inequality, but their eventual downfall signifies the corrupting nature of unchecked ambition and power. The development of these characters would let us understand the personal motivations behind criminal behaviour, such as repressed desires, the Oedipal complex, or the search for identity – Don represents all these characteristics.
Timeline verdict: Pani, written and directed by Joju George, is a good movie from the gangster and crime genre. The director-writer-actor has managed to pull off a decent movie for all those who like the genre.
Pani crew:
Direction, Writing: Joju George
Cinematographer: Venu ISC, Jinto George
Editing: Manu Antony
Music: Vishnu Vijay, Sam CS
Cast: Joju George, Abhinaya, Sagar Surya, Junaiz VP, Abhaya Hiranmayi, Seema, Chandini Sreedharan, Prashanth Alexander, Sujith Shankar, Bobby Kurian, Ranjith Velayudhan
