Cast: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Soubin Shahir, and Saiju Kurup

Directed By: Ratheesh Balakrishnan

Android Kunjappan's story premise is beautiful and never seen before the film about a relationship between an old man and a robot.

Bhaskaran Poduval (a brilliant Suraj Venjaramood) is a stubborn old man who doesn't have anyone to look after. So to take care of him his son Subramanium (Soubin Shahir) an engineer from Russia employs a robot. Though initially reluctant, his dad Bhaskara Poduval gradually warms up to the robot, whom the local people name Kunjappan. But, it only complicates things further.

Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval makes an excellent debut as a director, setting the movie in a village in Kannur, capturing along with Poduval and his son, the lives of the villagers and their small talk, all adding to the beauty of the script. Soubin and Shahir effortlessly uttered the dialect of Kannur who are from other parts of Kerala.

Most of the movie happens inside a lovely old Kerala home in Payannur. Everything about the house and the old man living in it is old fashioned. He doesn’t use machines – not the grinder, not the mixie, not even the television. And yet it is the mother of all machines – a robot – that his son brings home when he visits from Russia. Soubin Shahir plays a responsible son very maturely. It is slightly different from his usual picks – there is less of comedy and more of confusion that comes to a son who has a difficult dad.

In the first half, the storyline, which is probably the first-of-its-kind in Malayalam, has so many moments of wonder for the audience. Be it as technology, some refreshing comic bits, novel characterizations, story settings and more, the film impresses. There are many laugh-out-loud sequences. The unconventional thinking behind the linear tale is quite impressive too, making it an unabashed entertainer. The songs, though simple, are also catchy and so are the performances of the lead cast and the new leading lady of the film, Kendy Zirdo. The movie is also embellished with some delightful neighborhood dynamics that most viewers can easily connect with.

However, the zing of the first half deserts the film post interval. The kind of nemesis created for Kunjappan is impact-less, and the presentation of complications in the situation also emerges a bit dull. The way the climax is fashioned, one also doubts what the intent of the storyteller is. When emotional and programmed minds interact, the film seems to say, things can go haywire resulting in misadventures and so, one must be beware of tech upgrades. Regardless, the manner in which the thought is conveyed isn’t striking enough.