Director: Arun Viswam
Cast: Gourav Menon, Saiju Kurup, Dinesh Prabhakar, Meenakshi , Sohan Seenulal, Dr Roney
Rating: 3 stars
Probably, it is not a good time for children-centric movies. When stories that get tailored around the innocence of the little one do not get stitched so well, they become run-of-the-mill. Kolumittayi, directed by debutant Arun Viswam, revolves around the time-old equation of school fist fights with a villain kid, your sixth standard crush and whatever else that goes on in your primary school life, but the director has also included a different theme — the kids’ pursuit to win a painting competition. The output of his first venture is pretty decent and though it is about a small school level painting competition, there are sequences which glue the audience to their seats.
Set against the backdrop of a village in the 1980s, Kolumittayi has Unni, played by national award winning child artiste Gaurav Menon and his friends Abu, Lalu and Varkey and Unni’s crush Riya, played by Oppam fame Meenakshi. Unni feels threatened by the newcomer in his class — Roney played by newcomer Master Naaif. To win the competition, Unni and friends go to Satheeshan Puzhakkara, played by Saiju Kurup, to teach them drawing.
It is that part which shows some excitement in the movie. Saiju comes up with a convincing part while Meenakshi’s role too gets attention but gets lost in the brim of a childhood romance. The cinematography is exceptional and so are the songs but the same cannot be said about the background score. As for the acting department, the kids have done fairly well. Some of the scenes look incomplete, for example, when the kids try to learn drawing.
