Pennum Porattum

Name: Pennum Porattum
Director: Rajesh Madhavan
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2026-02-13
Rating: 3
Cast: Raina Radhakrishnan, Dinesh Peppo, Satheesh Pulikka, Sanooj Alanaloor, Rajesh Madhavan

Directed by Rajesh Madhavan

TezScore60/100 Mixed Early coverage · 1 scored of 2 Indian-media reviews How TezScore works

119 min 13 Feb 2026

Wikipedia

Synopsis

Pennum Porattum

The story unfolds in the fictional village of Pattada, where decades ago, residents gave up arms to broker peace. When a private conversation between a young woman named Charulatha (Raina Radhakrishnan) and Kumar (Dinesh Pe Po) is overheard and shared on community WhatsApp groups, the village erupts into a moral frenzy to shame her. Simultaneously, Baburaj's pet dog Suttu escapes from his cage and is falsely rumoured to be rabid, triggering a parallel mob chase. The film intercuts between these two hunts, the first one targeting a woman's dignity and the second one pursuing an innocent animal, using the escalating chaos to expose the irrationality and hypocrisy of the villagers. Portions of the narrative are presented from Suttu's point of view through an internal monologue voiced by Tovino Thomas. The film explores themes of mob mentality, moral policing, and the contrast between animal innocence and human hypocrisy.

Director: Rajesh Madhavan
Release: 13 Feb 2026
Run time: 119 min
Language: Malayalam

Cast & crew

RA Raina Radhakrishnan Cast DI Dinesh Peppo Cast SA Satheesh Pulikka Cast SA Sanooj Alanaloor Cast RA Rajesh Madhavan Cast, Director P. P. T. Ravi Sankar Writer SA Santhosh T. Kuruvilla Producer BI Binu George Alexander Producer SH Sherin Rachel Santhosh Producer DA Dawn Vincent Composer SA Sabin Uralikandy Cinematographer CH Chaman Chakko Editor RA Rajesh Madhavan Director DA Dawn Vincent Composer

Santhosh T. Kuruvilla Producer

Reviews

Indian-media reviews, grouped by reception.

Critics' consensus

Mixed

Across 2 available source-linked Indian-media reviews for Pennum Porattum, reception is mixed. The scored review is 60/100.

Best forViewers looking for comedy and drama in Malayalam cinema.

Reception Order

All 2 reviews shown

The Indian Express Anandu Suresh

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 3/5

A bunch of ‘rabid’ people chasing a non-rabid dog

Read at source

OnManorama Swathi P. Ajith

Yet, the film does not feel entirely new. Its thematic core recalls earlier Malayalam films that have explored collective malice and moral policing. While the treatment is sharp, the central idea carries a sense of familiarity. The second half, in particular, seems to rely heavily on the novelty established earlier. Suttu the dog, who has a striking voice presence in the first half, fades away later, which slightly weakens the narrative’s tonal consistency. The film also shifts dramatically in portions, taking on the flavour of a porattu nadakam, the traditional folk theatre form. While this theatrical exaggeration adds energy, it occasionally reduces characters to caricatures. In several stretches, the exaggeration feels excessive, and by the end, the messaging becomes somewhat spoon-fed and mildly preachy.

Read at source