Fahadh Faasil’s brilliance is reflected in the manner in which his character Joji transforms from a lazy, good-for-nothing loser who spends time sleeping in his room to the dark villain with a nervous walk, talk and hyper energy. He communicates with his eyes as his haggard look, unkempt beard and small frame; here is a film that you must see just to watch his wonderful performance.
Veteran actor Gajaraj Rao has gone on record stating his admiration for the film. “Dear Dileesh Pothan and other Malayalam filmmakers (especially Fahadh Faasil & Friends), I recently watched ‘Joji’ and I’m sorry to say this, but I have a bone to pick with all of you. Enough is enough. It is not fair that you are constantly coming up with original ideas and executing them with utmost sincerity, making actually good cinema.”
Drawing parallels between Malayalam and Bollywood films, he sarcastically wrote that Mollywood filmmakers shouldn’t set the bar too high by not going after tiring marketing campaigns and whooping box office collections. “You need to learn a thing or two from other regional cinema, and especially us here in Hindi. You need to do some mediocre work also. Where are the tiring marketing campaigns and promotions? Where are the soulless remakes? Where is the obsession with weekend box office collections? This is too much,” the 50-year-old actor wrote.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews the Malayalam film #Joji released on #AmazonPrime and starring #FahadhFaasil, #Baburaj, #UnnimayaPrasad, #ShammiThilakan and #PNSunny. Directed by #DileeshPothan, this film marks a hat trick of well crafted, meticulously sketched out character driven films.
Loosely structured around Shakespeare’s Macbeth, #Joji tells the tale of a young man’s greed and eventual downfall. Joji is an engineering dropout and lives with his brothers and father in a large house amidst the rubber plantations somewhere in Kottayam district. The patriarch of the family Kuttappan PK (PNSunny) controls the household with an iron fist. The opening scene shows him exercising on pull-up rings and his broad chest and macho image sets the tone. The older brother is a divorced alcoholic and the younger tries to conform to societal norms, while cribbing about the troubles he has to endure. The only woman in the household is Bincy (#UnnimayaPrasad) and much like Lady Macbeth is the strongest of the characters as she witnesses the going-ons in the house. #Baburaj puts in a fine performance and the contrast of #Faaasil’s slender frame against his tall and hefty character stands out for the contrast.
#ShyjuKhalid’s cinematography captures the rolling plantations and the stand alone house that is cut away from all civilization and nests a set of flawed characters. The music score and the play of silence almost sets up the fact that there are crimes in the offing. #DileeshPothan introduces the themes of alcoholism and male chauvinism that are typical to Malayali households. The screenplay is replete with some brilliant one liners that leave you chuckling. In that sense, #Joji is almost a black comedy. #SyamPushkaran’s wriing is exemplary as he keeps you hooked through the rather long film.
Very unconventional, very unexpected and totally radical in its portrayal of the lead character, #Joji is yet another example of why regional cinema in general and Malayalam cinema in particular is fast becoming the torch-bearer of the country’s film industry. #FahadhFaasil is supremely brilliant as he slips into his role with ease and pulls off a fantastic performance.
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