Ayappanum Koshiyum - When elephants clash, it is the masses that cheer !

ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch another unusual offering in the regional space, “Ayappanum Koshyium” the Malayalam film now streaming on Amazon Prime. The regional films in India have been high on experimentation and this is what is exciting about this film – an unconventional, no formula led, anti-hero protagonists facing off and a no-holds barred machismo that unravels over almost three hours! Ayappan Nair is a senior police official and here he faces off with an ex-Havildar from the Army Koshy. The film is a series of cat-and-mouse face-offs that are filled with on-the-edge thrill and violence.

1.       Watch Ayappanum Koshyium for some superlative acting from Biju Menon and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Both play flawed characters and are brilliant in the manner in which arrogance, entitlement and bravado combine to create fascinating drama. The manner in which writer-director Sachi manages to showcase the raw human self is commendable.

2.       Full marks to Sachi for creating an original. The script unfolds well depicting how the power struggle changes from Koshy in the first half to Ayappan in the second half. The hill regions of Attapady, beyond Kattapana and the rugged countryside add menace. The sight of Ayappan on his Royal Enfield is leveraged well to heighten the sense of threat. In many ways, this is Malayalam cinema’s own country western with no attempt to copy any specific template.

3.       The women in the film are caricatures and this is unfortunate. Ayappan’ s wife Kanamma is a tribal woman with a Maoist background and the beginnings of a sub-plot are quashed early on. While the supporting cast does a great job right though, justice has not been done to any of the other characters apart from the two protagonists.

4.       Sudeep Elamon’s camerawork is up to mark in some big bold shots that flirt with the larger than life action. The frames are filled with an earthy, masculine, gritty and rugged feel that is in keeping with the story.

5.       A special word for Biju Menon who steals the show and comes into his own after several roles where he has played hero, villain, second lead, buffoon and even tried his hand at comedy. He is very comfortable in his skin right from the opening scene and easily stands head and shoulders above Prithviraj in some scenes.

Ayappanum Koshyium is a novel idea and may not appeal to all. Punch dialogues, realistic duels and relentless action heighten the enemity between the two men and continues to grow. The very fact that the director manages to keep you in your seat through this uni-dimensional narrative is testimony to what a strong screenplay and some fantastic acting can achieve. Am going with a rating of 2.5 on 5 for this film.