Fahadh Faasil ‘mediocre’ in Patriot? Even Mammootty, Mohanlal couldn’t save it

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One of the easiest ways to map and understand Fahadh Faasil’s evolution as an actor is to analyse his performances in grey characters over the years and how he handled them. This also provides ample evidence that he often strives to ensure vividness and diversity in his portrayals, given that the characters themselves are different in essence, handling each one as individually and intricately as possible.

Although not a grey-shaded role by definition, Fahadh’s Naveen Krishnamurthy in Cocktail (2010) offered an early glimpse of his acting prowess. One of the earliest notable characters in his career’s second phase, Fahadh impressively played the elite, slightly pompous Naveen. However, his fake anglicised accent and unfamiliarity with finding the right pace in dialogue delivery and ensuring perfect throw in dubbing were evident.

Chaappa Kurishu and 22 Female Kottayam

But in his performances in Chaappa Kurishu (2011) and 22 Female Kottayam (2012) — which played a key role in establishing him as a strong actor — he displayed significant improvement. While Chaappa Kurishu’s Arjun was grey-shaded, 22 Female Kottayam’s Cyril was an out-and-out villain initially disguised as a hero. Unlike conventional patterns in Malayalam cinema, where actors followed set styles and depicted appropriate emotions in line with norms, Fahadh delved deeper into Arjun. He did not add any extra embellishments to highlight Arjun’s greyness; instead, he simply focused on portraying him as honestly as possible, including in his vulnerable and emotional moments, thus making the character even more impactful.

This was also the period when Malayalam cinema began blurring the line between so-called noble and antagonistic characters. Previously, the heroes were good to the core, and the villains were the opposite, almost incapable of diverting from their prescribed paths. By the early 2010s, the industry began acknowledging that even the so-called heroes could have grey shades, and that conventional villains could be more than their wrongdoings.

Fahadh Faasil’s brilliance in villain roles

Fahadh Faasil played a key role in solidifying this understanding. He often went beyond perfecting his performances to focus on portraying his characters, their emotions, and life journeys with precision and impact, giving them distinct identities.

In 22 Female Kottayam, when Cyril is simply Tessa’s (Rima Kallingal) lover, he appears to be a compassionate young man. He smiles heartily, jokes, does lovey-dovey things, and enjoys quaint moments with her. However, once the movie reveals his true colours, Fahadh didn’t go loud as one might have expected, nor did he portray Cyril as a psychopath. He maintained restraint and demonstrated a strong command of the character and its emotions, following the “less is more” approach in his portrayal.

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Towards the end, upon realising that Tessa had performed a penectomy on him, he internalised the pain, and his outbursts became more suppressed. After coming to terms with his new reality, Cyril exudes a fresh shade of evil, suggesting he will continue his crimes without a purpose from then on. Fahadh showcased his mastery of acting by maintaining subtlety even in the most menacing moments.

In movies like Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla, Akam, and 5 Sundarikal, Fahadh demonstrated his keen understanding of his characters’ psychology, ensuring authentic depictions without relying on stock expressions. The distinctiveness in his performances as Preman and his alter ego, Narendran, in Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla showcased the depth of these characters, with Narendran embodying much that Preman lacked. The intensity and complexity of Akam’s Srini further underscored Fahadh’s ability to grasp his characters’ emotional and mental scars, transcending their character journeys across the narrative.

The beauty of Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

If one cannot classify Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum’s Prasad as a grey-shaded character, that’s because of Fahadh’s performance too. In Malayalam cinema, certain character types tend to follow a set template in writing and performance. Thieves, toddy-tappers, barbers, teashop owners, astrologers, and bartenders are often portrayed with little individuality from film to film, frequently delivering similar dialogues in the same manner. Aside from a few exceptions, such as Kallan Pavithran (1981) and Meesa Madhavan (2002), most thieves in Malayalam cinema appear cut from the same cloth, with similar emotional bandwidth and depth.

In Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, director Dileesh Pothan and writers Sajeev Pazhoor and Syam Pushkaran revolutionised this archetype, and Fahadh’s sharp, understated performance breathed new life into on-screen thieves, avoiding the trap of stock expressions, lines, jokes, and emotions.

However, Velaikkaran’s (2017) Aadhi was, for the most part, a rehash of Cocktail’s Naveen and Immanuel’s (2013) Jeevan, albeit with a touch of greyness. As a result, Fahadh’s performance wasn’t particularly extraordinary, largely due to the lack of freshness in characterisation. Nonetheless, he delivered a serviceable performance, marking one of the earlier instances demonstrating how staleness in character may affect (his) acting quality.

Shammi and Kumbalangi Nights

The reason why Shammi in Kumbalangi Nights (2019) remains one of the finest performances in Malayalam cinema is not just due to the brilliance with which Fahadh Faasil handled the role, but also because of the magnificent conception by Syam Pushkaran and director Madhu C Narayanan. Shammi was created by subverting the once-celebrated patriarchs in middle-class households, and Fahadh magnificently drew from such heroes of the past, particularly the fake calmness and compassion they exhibited to assert power. What added to the performance’s splendour was a dash of psychopathy, which made the role more chilling.

The sturdy and intricate source material gave Fahadh ample space to explore the depths of Shammi, which he did astonishingly well, setting a benchmark for on-screen acting. Unlike typical villains, his outbursts were few and far between, as he communicated villainy through calmness often.

Trance and Joji

On the other hand, he increased the decibel significantly in Trance (2020) as the character demanded a more intense portrayal. While one can’t label Joshua Carlton a villain, he indeed possessed enough shades of grey, and Fahadh brought out his absoluteness with substantial command. It is when we compare this with his handling of the titular antagonist in Joji (2021) that Fahadh’s mastery of acting becomes even more evident, as he adeptly shifted to an understated portrayal in the latter film.

Unlike Shammi from Kumbalangi Nights or Joshua from Trance, Joji was more like an inflated balloon — hollow on the inside. He had lofty ambitions but made reckless mistakes/crimes without a second thought. Fahadh magnificently portrayed Joji’s fake courage and underlying cluelessness with subtlety, avoiding any heavy-handedness with the audience.

The casteist villains

In Malayankunju (2022) and Maamannan (2023), he brought forth different shades of casteism, while allowing the environment around him to dictate how direct he could be about it. While both Anikuttan and Rathnavelu were bigots, the level of humanity in them differed significantly, and Fahadh communicated this through his body language and expressions rather than overt theatrics.

One of the reasons his antagonist characters in Maamannan, Pushpa: The Rise (2021), and Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024) proved noteworthy was his physique. Fahadh isn’t as strong as Amjad Khan or Amrish Puri, nor does he appear as threatening as Pran or Balan K Nair. His voice and dialogue delivery may not be as impactful as Murali’s. Yet, his eyes exude an eerie sense of devilishness, prompting one to wonder how far he could go if he possessed the commanding physique typical of conventional villains. This has undoubtedly added depth to many of Fahadh’s villainous performances.

Is Fahadh Faasil’s performance in Patriot poor?

However, in Patriot, the character of Shakthi Sundaram is underwritten. Although he is provided with an arc, it remains somewhat superficial and fails to add depth to the character. Moreover, we rarely see Shakthi in mundane moments. Whenever the film cuts to him, he is either striking deals, looking tense, or furious. Consequently, we rarely witness him interacting as a normal human being. When he speaks, it’s usually to demand that someone be tracked down or eliminated. The only other thing he utters in between is praise for Colonel Rahim Naik (Mohanlal).

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In a way, it can be said that Fahadh was simply trying to establish his character in the most impactful manner with the limited material he had. Even Mammootty and Mohanlal’s performances in the movie were at best serviceable, with some moments even coming across as dull. One cannot claim this was due to Mammootty and Mohanlal being average performers; they have proven themselves as acting legends time and again over the decades. However, all their mediocre performances may well be a result of Patriot’s underwhelming script — a possibility we shouldn’t ignore.

After all, an actor is only as good as their director. Yes, there have been ample instances where Fahadh’s performance fell flat, with some of the most recent examples being Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira (2025), Dhoomam (2023), and Irul (2021). In these movies, even his acting choices were unimpressive, compounded by equally poor narratives. Yet, in Patriot’s case, I would still argue that Fahadh was one of the few saving graces in an otherwise drab film.

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