Pani review: Joju George’s directorial debut is an engaging revenge saga with a predictable story

Actor turned director Joju George’s debut Pani hit the screens with huge expectations. Touted to be a gangster drama, the film has good action sequences, and thrilling moments needed for a mass entertainer.

But is it a unique concept, with an exceptional screenplay? Probably not, but we can safely call it an impressive debut. Joju himself said in promotional interviews that the movie isn’t exceptional compared to other Malayalam films.

Needless to say, the movie revolves around the rivalry between gangs in Thrissur— the cultural capital of Kerala. Let’s see how the film fared as a whole.

Synopsis

The film starts by introducing Giri, a don in Thrissur city, played by Joju George. He is an important leader of a gang of 300-400 gangsters, among whom his wife and friends are also part. They run a real estate business on the side and enjoy support from a few police officers too.

Meanwhile, a murder happens in the city and two youngsters Don (Sagar Surya) and Siju (Junais VP) are involved in it. These two youngsters cross paths with Giri as one of them molests his wife, giving way to a revenge drama.

The rest of the runtime is about how Giri’s gang takes revenge against the duo. The plotline isn’t path-breaking, but a usual revenge drama, however, the movie shines with its sleek and stylish making. Giri and Gauri (his wife) share great on-screen chemistry.

As the story evolves, the two youngsters become a real headache for Giri and his team as they start targeting the former’s accomplices.

Impressive debut

Joju George’s directorial debut, for which he is the scriptwriter too, suffers due to the lack of a strong script. However, he excels as a director in making the film engaging and watchable.

While the first half sets the stage for the major events of the film, the second half is more engaging with some good car chase scenes and action sequences. The climax scene is the trump card, which shows the intensity of Giri’s brutality.

Pani however has explicit content with respect to sexual and violent scenes, making it difficult for light-hearted people to watch. This could be the reason why Anurag Kashyap compared Pani to Korean thrillers.

Joju definitely made an impressive debut with his mass entertainer and it’s clear that he has taken adaptations from veteran directors to make this revenge drama.

Also Read: Anurag Kashyap compares Joju George’s ‘Pani’ to new-wave Korean films

Technical aspects

To make a usual revenge story work, an engaging screenplay is required. Pani however focuses on the presentation of the movie, rather than the screenplay making it stand out technically. The story starts with a mild pace and gets its momentum as it goes forward.

The music of the movie by Vishnu Vijay and Sam CS adds value to important scenes, especially car chase scenes and climax scenes.

The cinematography by Venu ISC and Jino George has given beauty to the majority of the frames. The essence of Thrissur has been captured, with local festivals also getting featured.

Also Read: Joju George’s directorial debut ‘Pani’ to release in five languages

Performances

The movie has some good performances by the actors who are mostly newbies. Sagar Surya as Don is the most cruel character and the actor was able to bring out the beast out of him doing all the wrong deeds. Junais as Siju too is a criminal mind and the young actor could make it feel on the screen.

Joju George as Giri was a cakewalk for the actor, who has done similar roles in his previous films like Porinju Mariyam Jose (2019) and Antony (2023).

Another major performer is Bobby who played the role of David, the other main gang member. The actor delivered a good performance as the local goon.

While there were four major women characters, only Abhinaya—a well-known hearing and speech-impaired actor— who played the role of Gouri had a good role.

Singer Abhaya Hiranmayi as Jaya was an interesting role. Veteran actress Seema as Giri’s mom also had a key role. But being a gangster drama, the women didn’t have equal importance as the men in the movie.

Final take

Pani is a usual revenge drama, but the movie excels in its making and presentation style.

(Views expressed here are personal)