Palthu Janwar

I think movie was short and a bit boring to be honest. Probably because I watched with family and paid close to $100. First half looked like a promising comedy. Second half mostly boring. Even the kids song at the end was boring.

When I went to watch I thought given Basil is actor there will be a lot of comedy. Surprisingly there wasn't much. Shammi Thillkan role looked pretty good and lot of comedy but his was a short role.

I liked the scenery and the village like ambience. Songs were pretty ordinary.

May be it would have made sense to watch myself before taking family. I never review but I think I lost money here. So thought of reviewing. Thanks for reading if you made it this far and sorry if I made you feel bad.

While most Malayalam production houses try and fail to gauge what the audience wants, the folks at Bhavana Studios seem intent on telling unique, high-concept yet salt-of-the-earth stories and trust the audience to rise to meet the challenge the content throws at them. The dream trio behind this elite production house-Dileesh Pothan, Fahadh Faasil and Shyam Pushkaran come up with their third rousing entertainer on the trot, with the immensely enjoyable "Paltu Janwar", a heartwarming coming of age story that will leave you with an ear-to-ear grin as you leave the cinema hall.

Basil Joseph has fast become a mainstay in Malayalam entertainment, both as a director and as an actor. After having established a new benchmark on what can be achieved within the confined of Mollywood with his awe-inspiring directorial "Minnal Murali (2021)", he backed that up with his stellar lead performance in the smash hit "Jan. E. Man", one of the movies of 2021. We catch him in "Paltu Janwar" as a disillusioned young livestock inspector, forced by circumstances to take up a job he has no interest in, that too in a remote village. The many obstacles that he faces as he comes to terms with his new environment and the many funny mishaps that ensue form the rest of this delightful feel-good comedy-drama.

Johny Antony proves yet again that he is a force to be reckoned with as far as character acting in Malayalam is concerned, with a heartfelt, natural performance as "Devis", a troubled farmer desperately trying to make ends meet with his meager livestock. It was also a joy to see Indrans return to his comic avatar after a string of serious roles and the veteran knocks it out of the park as usual with his delectable turn as "Member Kochu George". Dileesh Pothan, Sruthy Suresh and Shammi Thilakan further shine in their supporting roles in a film that gets its casting spot on.

Director Sangeeth P Rajan shows no signs of being a debutante, weaving an immensely relatable tale of the unavoidable twists and turns that life takes you on and the unexpected relationships and experiences that shape the journey therein. It is commendable how Bhavana Studios finds success in such diverse genres, first with the quirky family drama "Kumbalangi Nights (2019)", then with the psychological thrills of "Joji (2021)" and now the joyful "Palthu Janwar". Cannot wait to see what they come up with next. Highly recommended!

I think 8.5 rating is only you see first half after that you get confused as to what is even happening.

This movie deserves 10 STARS for FIRST HALF, ZERO STARS for SECOND HALF.

So ten minus five = five star rating in total.

Please stop watching after first half, especially when the pregnant cow scene starts.

You can thank me later, because you will feel deceived at the climax of this movie.

Why did I waste so much of time for this?

The first half has really touched all the subtle nuances of film making. The situations, the circumstances and ground reality of rural health sector in India.

There is this new veterinary guy adjusting to a new rural kind of atmosphere, the work place conflicts, the inexperience, the distaste for his own work, the frustration of his expectations.

I mean the first half is a masterpiece, so much so I was about to recommend it to my friends but alas, then in the second half the scenes decelerate from 100kmph speed to a grinding halt.

Some might like one emotional bubble gum being chewed over again and again as a cow or buffalo does, even after the flavour is gone.

That is the best summary for second half.

But when you have tasted the flavours of the bubble gum in the first half you will certainly feel that the movie has come to a stop in the second half.

So overall till pregnant cow scene, this movie is a masterpiece. After that kindly switch off. Else you will regret. Thank me later.

Seriously i saw this movie just because of 8.8 rating but this is not true nothing special in this movie get bored in first half i thought second half will be better than first half but it was useless

The film starts off well, and then collapses miserably in the second half. The premise, the people, their problems really helped make the first half more convincing. The second half was more of a stretched version to prove the mettle of the protagonist, to give the character much needed high, and that leads to a bigger issue of characterisation.

The protagonist is weak in every aspects, the initial graph builds up very well and then it strays and leads us to a place where I was wondering what was this movie all about. I felt the protagonist did not led me to any particular emotion where I can connect, everything looked superficial, even his qualms, his humiliation, his sudden spark of anger, all of these came out very casual without any empathy element, probably that could lead us to another aspect, the treatment.

The film starts off well, and then collapses miserably in the second half. The premise, the people, their problems really helped make the first half more convincing. The second half was more of a stretched version to prove the mettle of the protagonist, to give the character much needed high, and that leads to a bigger issue of characterisation.

The protagonist is weak in every aspects, the initial graph builds up very well and then it strays and leads us to a place where I was wondering what was this movie all about. I felt the protagonist did not led me to any particular emotion where I can connect, everything looked superficial, even his qualms, his humiliation, his sudden spark of anger, all of these came out very casual without any empathy element, probably that could lead us to another aspect, the treatment.

Yes, the treatment worked for me to a large extent, the realistic approach. The treatment somehow loses its grip to convey the noble thought visually owing to poor characterisation and probably lack of some interesting plot points, especially in the second half.

Performance wise, nothing much to brag about except this should be Shammi's film, he gave a fab performance, the moment his character went offscreen, I felt the film took the downhill.

This could have been a far better & impactful short film.