Movie Review Jawan of Vellimala Malayalam

The hero is the watchman of the dam at Vellimala, a place in the high ranges of Kerala. The people of Vellimala are proud of their dam and their village. Gopikrishnan was a soldier who had to leave the army on medical grounds; he has only one good eye. Life for Gopikrishna in Vellimala is good and is made merrier in the company of Varghese, a government employee and Koshi Oommen who is in Vellimala for personal work. To add sweetness to the proceedings comes Anitha, project Officer for the Dam who is also a socially committed soul. Debutant Anoop Kannan’s Jawan of Vellimala picks up the threads from the lives of these people and connects them together to create the story with the dam and the blue hills as the backdrop.

'Jawan of Vellimala' is made under the banner of Mammootty’s own Playhouse and Mammootty is making his debut as a producer through the movie.'Venicile Vyapari' was the last film where Mammootty and writer James Albert worked together before.

Mammootty as Gopikrishnan plays his part effortlessly, easing into the role of an ex-soldier with one eye. His humour is natural and the slang is delivered perfectly. Sreenivasan as Varghese, is more restrained but equally effective and plays an equally important part in the film using the slangs with perfect timing. Asif Ali as Koshi Oommen and Mamtha Mohandas as the Project Officer give good support with impressive performance. New face Leona makes a good debut, while the rest of the cast like Babu Raj, Sunil Sukhada, Sadiq and Kottayam Naseer have done their expected job.

One of the highlights of the movie is the stupendous camera work by Satheesh Kurup who mops up the entire beauty of the mountains and splashes it on the screen. Bijibal’s music is melodious and lifts the spirits, sounding more enchanting in the fabulous background. Art by Prasanth Madhav, Edits by Manoj and Sound Design by Renganath Ravee are impressive. Anoop Kannan has announced his arrival with "Jawan of Vellimala" and he is a director to be taken seriously. More things are expected out of him in the future.

The film gathers pace most of the time but slows down at other places; however it does not affect the tempo of the movie. The script, characterization and style are nothing spectacular but on the whole, Jawan of Vellimala is a watchable if you don't dig too deep or go without much expectations . The story is simple, Mammootty’s acting is striking and all things considered, the film is a sincere effort to present a fine stuff to the viewers.