Pallichattambi movie review: Tovino Thomas, Kayadu Lohar’s period action drama is a major letdown

Set mostly in the late 1950s, when Kerala was being ruled by one of the first democratically elected Communist governments in the world, Pallichattambi unfolds against the picturesque backdrop of the hilly village of Kaniyaar. This was also the time when religious institutions and certain political outfits began pushing back against the government’s pro-tenant, anti-feudal bills and ordinances, paving the way for the Vimochana Samaram (Liberation Struggle). Under the firm belief that “Communism is the enemy of God,” the local church priest Fr Pulamplaavil (Vijayaraghavan) decides to enlist a strongman to safeguard the church, its assets, and the interests of the believers from the Leftists. Krishna Pillai (Tovino Thomas), a rowdy from another village, takes up the job and becomes the Pallichattambi (Church’s Strongman) under the fake name Pothan.

Don’t Miss | Mohiniyattam movie review: Saiju Kurup and Suraj Venjaramoodu’s lighthearted comedy thriller is a worthy sequel to Bharathanatyam

He not only starts training the youngsters of Kaniyaar to equip them against the Communists, but also single-handedly resist the latter. However, going forward, they all gradually realise that they are not each other’s real enemies. Away from the public eye is an invincible force that is stoking the feud between the Communists and the believers, aiming to wipe out both groups and emerge as the sole overlord of the land. Can Pallichattambi take on this formidable force, Pattelar Kunjambu Nambiar, by uniting the commoners, making them set aside their differences?

For the longest time, I was under the impression that Sharis Mohammed was solely to blame for the poor writing in Queen, Jana Gana Mana, and Malayalee from India, which were marred by long, preachy, and prosaic dialogues. But Pallichattambi unequivocally proves that director Dijo also played a key role in it, as the issues the earlier movies had are very much visible here as well. It seems that Pallichattambi’s writer, S Suresh Babu, is also a member of Dijo and Sharis’ club.

Watch Pallichattambi trailer here:

From the very beginning, the Tovino Thomas-starrer makes one thing clear: that it is highly ambitious. However, it also makes it painfully evident that ambition might be the only thing in its kit, as neither Dijo nor Suresh Babu exhibits any sign of having a clue as to how to realise these dreams.

Suresh starts slipping in historical and political references from the word go, and the worst part is that these are mostly delivered to us through dialogues and in-your-face visuals. In fact, the movie never leaves any space for the audience to use their brains and connect the dots. Rather, Pallichattambi is like a radio drama where everything is explicitly detailed for reasons unknown.

“When you have to shoot, shoot, don’t talk” is what director Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) taught us, right? But if Dijo and Suresh were to direct that scene, they would first show us a 360-degree view of the gun, a 30-minute substandard lecture on its various parts, a short bio of both the assailant and the victim, and then pull the trigger. The only time they don’t stick to this template in Pallichattambi is when a key character is shot point-blank (literally) in a poorly staged scene, which might even make one face-palm.

ICYMI | Vaazha 2 review: Hashir and gang are impressive in a sequel that far outshines its predecessor

While Dijo and production designer Dileep Nath have tried to put extra care into the world-building, ensuring that the audience feels transported to a bygone era — which many in today’s population might not have even seen — the artificiality in the writing spills over into the visuals too. One of the major reasons behind this is that the script never connects with the viewer on an emotional level. Although Pallichattambi has enough moments that are clearly crafted for dramatic effect, almost none of them leave the intended impact. As a result, the visuals end up looking like just a series of images placed one after the other senselessly.

Another major drawback of the period action drama is the sheer pretentiousness it carries, with so much symbolism that sadly doesn’t add much weight to the flimsy narrative. For instance, the Pallichattambi, played by Tovino, is named Krishna Pillai after the real-life legendary Communist revolutionary. “Krishna Pillai vs Communists” is one of the earliest “brilliances” we see. Then, writer Suresh throws in the name Christopher (the bearer of Christ), then a reference to Ravana, the iconic Ningalenne Communistakki drama, a few references to real-life incidents of that era, and, at one point, a youngster named MN Chandy (yep, a tribute to Oommen Chandy). But all these only weaken the movie further, as none of them blends well with the narrative and ends up looking like mere plot devices introduced by the makers to appear smart.

Much like Suresh Babu’s old movies like Dada Sahib, Thandavam, Shikkar, and Live, Pallichattambi also struggles unnecessarily under the weight of the writer’s so-called social responsibility and penchant for spreading messages. But the major issue here is that, apart from the messages themselves, Suresh too — much like Dijo — has no clue how to present them.

What makes it worse is Dijo’s underwhelming filmmaking. From start to finish, the movie gives the feeling that it has been brought to theatres without adding final touches. If the colour grading is the issue in the opening sequence, the staging and rhythm are to blame for the dip in the second act’s quality. In the post-interval scenes, the movie’s visual language takes a fresh turn and resembles a high-end actioner with shades of director Prashanth Neel’s Salaar and the KGF movies, leading one to question the director’s overall vision. Even in the emotional and massy scenes, the visual buildup Dijo provides never really hits the mark.

While Tijo Tomy’s cinematography is good in some scenes, the fight between Pillai and police officer Rairu Ramanna (Shatru), one of the antagonists, towards the climax is nothing short of an abomination. Director Dijo, editor Sreejith Sarang, and action director Sandhosh also deserve equal criticism for the extremely deplorable job in this scene. Pallichattambi’s VFX are also poor, and the lack of planning in that domain is very evident in shots that have employed them. Although the song “Kaattuchembakam” is impressive, Jakes Bejoy’s music never rises to the level to save the sinking Pallichattambi.

Although Tovino’s performance in Pallichattambi is better than what he delivered in Narivetta (2025), certain acting choices he made and the way the character has been built actually detract from the experience. As powerful as he is — Tovino’s well-built physique really helps here — Pillai is also portrayed as slightly eccentric with exaggerated and cartoonish expressions at times. While this creative choice itself makes no sense, Tovino’s handling of it gives a major déjà vu of prime Mohanlal, which unfortunately does not help him.

Kayadu Lohar as Comrade Rebecca, who later falls in love with Pillai, is a total miscast, as it’s evident she was torn between focusing on lip movement (viseme) while delivering lines and on emotions. In every shot where she has dialogues, the struggle is palpable, made worse by the pacing of her delivery, which is completely out of tune with others.

There’s a special cameo appearance in the movie that serves to pave the way for a potential sequel, and I would rather not comment on it because it’s utterly pointless. Sure, it’s not as bad as Karthi’s in Kanguva (2024); but the one here is really not worth mentioning because of how poorly that character is designed and presented.

Pallichattambi movie cast: Tovino Thomas, Kayadu Lohar, Vijayaraghavan, Sidhique, Shatru, TG Ravi, Johny Antony, Baburaj, Alexander Prasanth
Pallichattambi movie director: Dijo Jose Antony
Pallichattambi movie rating: 1.5 stars