Marykkundoru Kunjaadu works

Paresh C Palicha reviews Marykkundoru Kunjaadu. Post YOUR reviews here!

There are teams that cast a magic spell when they come together. Writer Benny P Nayarambalam, Dileep and director Shafi is one such team.

Dileep has meandered into doing superstar characters in the recent past, which have not worked well critically, never mind the box office results. But he returns to his familiar territory of a physically vulnerable character in Marykkundoru Kunjaadu.

The protagonist Solomon (Dileep) detests violence and does not react to people who are physically stronger than him, even if it means bearing insults. This timidity is justified by his protected upbringing.

Solomon, who pretends to be creatively inclined and has directed a few episodes of a spiritual serial for a television channel to raise money for buying a golden cross for his church, is in love with Mary (Bhavana), the daughter of a rich man (Innocent). She has three brothers who are prone to violence. This is how he gets the nickname Mary's little lamb (the title of the film).

There is one more complication. Solomon's mother and Mary's father were in love when young. But his mother married the sexton (Vijayaraghavan) out of rage, because Mary's father impregnated his maid in a drunken state and was forced to marry her.

Solomon's life changes for better when Jose (Biju Menon) -- believed to be his elder brother who had gone missing as a child after a fight with his father -- enters the scene. Solomon now confidently walks around the village with the backing of a demented Jose.

The script makes Solomon vulnerable and believable, and Benny weaves a plausible story around him with minimum use of cinematic jargon. Full marks to Dileep for portraying Solomon without any heroics.

Dileep is ably supported by Innocent, Vijayaraghavan, Bhavana and others.

Moving away from the outlandish characters he has played in films like Karyasthan and Paapi Appacha, Marykkundoru Kunjaadu brings Dileep back to the territory that has endeared him to his viewers. The credit for this should be equally shared by the writer-director team. The film works well.

Rediff Rating: