V M Vinu is one director whose name has become synonymous with family drama in Malayalam cinema -- whether it is a father-son relationship i.e Balettan starring Mohanlal and Nedumudi Venu or Vesham (Mammootty and Innocent), the two being some of his most successful films.
Based on this fact, we wonder what he will do when he achieved a casting coup of sorts by bringing together real life father son duo of Sreenivasan and Vineeth Sreenivasan (overshadowing the presence of Suhasini Maniratnam in their midst) on the big screen for the first time in his latest Malayalam film Makante Achan.
The result is nothing out of the ordinary except for using the father-son duo's charm and witticism to tell a stereotypical story about generational gap and such things.
Sreenivasan plays Vishvanathan, an upright and incorruptible village officer in a nondescript village. He wants his teenaged son Manu (Vineeth Sreenivasan) to get into an engineering course. He spends a lot of money on coaching his son, who has already failed in the entrance test once. But, Manu aspires to be a singer and wishes to participate in a reality show on television. So, the first half is spent on the Sreenivasan trademark sarcastic humour between the two before things get serious in the second half. The end is predictable.
The script overly depends on the charms of the duo to pull it through without giving them anything to sink their teeth into. They almost succeed in doing, but it gets repetitive after a point.
As if the makers felt that the premise did not have enough steam to make a full length film; a subplot about fake god men (very topical) in the form of Jagathy Sreekumar arises out of thin air.
Sreenivasan and Vineeth Sreenivasan do their best in the game of one-upmanship but, as the subject lose its steam, the actors find the going tough. Suhasini is wasted as the wife of the Sreenivasan Sr because she remains a mere spectator in the antics of the father son duo.
There are a few other performers like Thilakan, who plays the dictator-like owner cum principal of the coaching centre; Jagathy Sreekumar as the fraud god man and Salim Kumar as the peon in the village office (that is somewhat similar to the Jagathy played in Thanmathara).
If you're looking for substance, Makante Achan may not be the best bet. But if you are a fan of the Sreenivasan duo, you will have something to cheer about.
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