Nna, Than Case Kodu ( Malayalam ) - Movie Review

An expertly crafted satire that works wonders, Nna Than Case Kodu (loosely translated to 'Then, you sue!') is Ratheesh Balakrishna Pothuval's third outing as a director and he hits the bull's eye with this one. His fantastic writing lends itself to absurd situational laugh-out-loud comedy in almost every other scene of the movie, and no it doesn't get flat out boring or repetitive. Much of this credit goes to Kunchako Bobban as the endearable Rajeevan, a reformed thief, down and out on his luck who is falsely accused of theft from an MLA's house. It leads to hard times for Rajeevan, as that stamp of a 'thief' means that he doesn't get any useful job and even his lover, spurns him and asks him to get out of her house. 

The said 'attempt at burglary' happens when Rajeevan is coming back from a late night temple festival but when all we actually get to see, is him jumping over the wall and then being brutally attacked by two house pets of the MLA's house. 

Rajeevan resolves to clear his name and goes to court with a complaint. In a stunning twist that no one saw coming, the complaint blames the PWD / Roadways minister of the ruling government for the potholes in the road, which is ultimately the cause of the whole miss-hap. A series of unfortunate events, starting with a milk truck losing control due to that pothole, hitting an autorickshaw, ultimately swerving and just missing Rajeevan - who had to resort to jumping over the nearest wall, to save his own life. Which ultimately, didn't really end well for him, anyways. 

How this leads to a protracted fight for justice in the courts, in an utterly hilarious David Vs Goliath situation is what the movie is about. The best part about the whole movie, is the organic humour - from both the situations and the dialogues that lend itself to be really funny. A personal battle that has a public interest, the fight for justice by a common man against the 'system' ( here, personified as the PWD Minister!) that is usually an impossibility, is actually rigged in favour of the common man. Rajeevan actually finds his knights in shining armour to help out in this pitched battle against such steeply insurmountable odds, in many unexpected personas. Chief of them, is the Judge himself - played so brilliantly by PP Kunhikrishnan who frequently halts proceedings of the court, to indulge in a personal battle, ie shooing away the pigeons in the court by throwing broken bits of chalk at them. 

Ratheesh, in his third outing post that absolutely brilliant "Android Kunjappan" and a not-so-fab "Kanakam Kalaham Kamini" - has polished up his material well enough to make the proceedings shine bright. He is ably supported by the cast, some of them apparently having donned grease-paint for the first time ever. Which is quite unbelievable. But this is what makes the movie so effective! The casting of local milieu from the Kasargod district, where the movie is set in, comes out really well and brings out the local microcosm of this society. Be it the young police constable, who goes literally 'by the book' or the senior police officer, dressed up in his Theyyam avatar, doling out advices in this guise and even the old PWD engineer, who wants to right a wrong, having come to realisation at the fag end of his career. 

Kunchako Bobban is a revelation. An actor who has been quietly and resolutely redefining his image, by choosing extremely varied characters and script-backed roles in the recent few years, he is absolute standout as the endearing Rajeevan. Starting from that desi middle-aged Michael Jackson dance to the reboot of vintage classic "Devadoothar Paadi", to his sequences in the court, jutting out his lower jaw, an affected limp due to his 'posterior' getting ravaged by 'Kingini' and 'Painkali' (names of the pet dogs, that are famous household names in Kerala) and with a perpetual tan, Kunchakko has owned this character inside out. We as audiences, want this simpleton looking for lady luck to smile on him, to win this impossible landmark case. 

The laughs take the story along. Not withstanding that finale that plays to the galleries, the court sequences are actually fun due to the interactions between the Judge and Rajivan who advocates his own case, consulted on by an ex-police office turned advocate. A bold and unapologetic movie that tackles and makes light of many a political and religious malpractices, NTCK is going to be a timeless classic ( Like say. Varavelpu that pitted a common man against the system and created a no-nonsense story about this plight in the 1990's Kerala) that is winning the OTT audiences now, after having won the box-office. Recommended Watch!