Language: Malayalam.
Director: Dileesh Pothan.
Writers: Syam Pushkaran.
Cast : Fahadh Faasil, Unnimaya Prasad, Baburaj, Shammi Thilakan.
Genre : Crime | Drama.
Imdb: Joji (2021)
Streaming on Amazon Prime.
Joji stands on the ideologies of Macbeth but not a clear cut adaptation, that strongly pitched on covid shaded small town Erumeli in Kerala.
Dileesh Pothen had told in a recent interview how passionate he is to direct a drama film. Joji is a pure crime drama with a pinch of dark comedy that he can proudly present.
The story is centered around the Panachel family. The master of the house PK Kuttappan is 74 years old and a physically strong man who is feared more than respected. He never allows anyone to touch a single penny without his consent.
Joji, an engineering dropout and the youngest son of Kuttappan lives with a fervent appetite for wealth and admiration without doing anything. When an unexpected event happens in the Panachel family, the devil slowly comes into the limelight.
Fahad is exceptional and I can’t imagine anyone other than him to become Joji with those sublime expressions and mannerisms. The transformation from a feebly frustrated Joji labeled as secondary by society to a man with dark and sharp intentions, Fahadh balances the two dynamics of his character very naturally.
I’m happy to see how the director brings out the very best from every performer. Especially Unnimaya, Baburaj, and Shammi Thilakan. Love to see these people on screen like this. Others were also remarkable. Dileesh again turns out to be a perfectionist with Syam Pushkaran’s detailed scripting. Flashes of brilliance are planted throughout which explicates the Dileesh aesthetics of cinema.
Shaiju Khalid is still on board who has a wider eye to pick things up and show with fewer shots. Just like previous Dileesh movies the environs are graciously placed along with the characters. Justin’s Music is the spine that has the resemblance of a play that levitates every corner and drives the movie to another notch. The pace and the foreshadows of theatrics have a lot to do in setting up a mood. The lighting and color grading is bold enough to put unexpected chaos in the middle of nowhere. Kiran Das has done a great job in the editing room.
Shyam and Dileesh focused on whatever was needed for the development of the plot, without bothering about the structure of Macbeth. Joji is precisely a mark for how a well-renowned play can be rendered into a maximum of cinematic dimensions. The triplet combo of Dileesh, Shyam, and Fahad proved again where they’re still standing now.
Joji has a well-known structure that from one point slowly burns up to being ashes, eventually hooking up something on the viewer’s throat!
In between Maheshinte Prathikaram & Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum
Joji has its benchmark!
Verdict: 5/7 Stars
Excellent.
