Very rarely Mammootty picks up negative shade characters and when he does its a treat to watch. I can never forget his role in Vidheyan and Munnariyippu. Puzhu (worm) brings the best out of Mammootty and the debutant director used his talent to bring myriad of complicated emotions out of him. There is a beautiful sync and coordination with his body movements and facial expression.
The story is about a retired police officer who is so obsessed with caste, superior complex and also suffers from PTSD. He only sees what he wanted to see and hear what he wanted to hear. He has absolute control over his son and doesn't hesitate to take extreme measures if things dont work out. That portion reminded me of the movie Udaan and there is a brewing tension between him and his son. Now on top of that there is a threat to his life. He takes the matter on his hands and his increased suspicion brings chaos to near and dear ones.
The biggest problem with the film is it's so inconsistent in its story telling after the first hour. Though its a 2 hr movie the slow paced approach and not giving too much details will irritate a lot of viewers as there is a lot of repetitions in the structure too. The supporting cast is good even though they dont get a meaty role to play. The mood was set in an interesting way but it will fail to hook you through out. They left too much towards the end and the final act was totally underwhelming. A good attempt but not effective. The loaded symbolism did backfire a lot for me.
Verdict - 3/5(Diminishing Returns)