Its wonderful how some of your past good deeds could return and help you when its needed. In 2011, Mammootty did a great gesture to Salim Kumar and Salim Ahmed when he delayed his Bombay March 12 by a week to give their Adaminte Makan Abu a solo release. Now 4 years later in Pathemari , the same director has gifted Mammootty easily with his most significant character and movie in last several years.
In Pathemari , when Mammootty puts a gold bangle in his mother’s hand, his face beams with happiness like a small kid. When a customs officer asks him to open his suitcase or when his brother asks him Rs 25000, you can see him breathing heavily bringing in all the helplessness instantly. When he tells his wife he does not want to return Gulf and would like to stay with his family , his voice stutters in his iconic style. And through his final lines in the climax , the actor once again makes you leave the cinema halls in tears. How Mammootty could follow up duds like Acha Dhin and Utopiayile Rajavu with such a superlative performance would never cease to amaze me.
It took long for me to get to watch Pathemari but it was totally worth the wait. Because in this heartrending tale of an expatriate who sacrificed his entire life for the sake his family , I have in all probability seen the best Malayalam movie of 2015.
